UPDATE 6 May 2026: Second amateur Italian cyclist provisionally suspended for EPO.
Italian amateur cycling appears to have a repeat-offender problem, and Felice Giangregorio, 38, is the latest suspect.
Italy’s National Anti-Doping Tribunal (TNA), acting on a request from the National Anti-Doping Prosecution Office, has provisionally suspended Giangregorio—registered under the Federazione Ciclistica Italiana (FCI)—for violations of Articles 2.1 and 2.2 of the anti-doping code. The substance identified is recombinant erythropoietin (EPO). The test was conducted by NADO Italia.
What makes this case particularly damning is that this is not Giangregorio’s first encounter with Italian anti-doping authorities. In February 2020, NADO Italia found him guilty of doping and imposed a four-year ban, which expired on 14 November 2023. The sanction followed a positive test for the same substance—recombinant EPO—detected during an out-of-competition control in Calvi on 24 October 2019.
As a consequence, his 2019 Italian National Medio Fondo Championship title, won in the men’s 30–34 category at the Mediofondo Primavera, was stripped.
After serving his ban in full, Giangregorio returned to competition and quickly became competitive again. At the Granfondo Rerum Novarum in Carpineto Romano on 11 May 2025, he finished second overall in the Mediofondo, just 1 minute 16 seconds behind winner Rossano Mauti. More recently, in March he placed 8th at the Granfondo Unione Comuni Val Vibrata and 6th at Granfondo Tratturo Magno.
He has now been provisionally suspended a second time for the same prohibited substance, again triggering Articles 2.1 and 2.2.
Under the WADA Code, a second anti-doping violation carries significantly harsher sanctions than a first, ranging from eight years to a lifetime ban depending on the circumstances.
Positive cases involving EPO are now more common in the Italian amateur ranks, where it remains one of the most detected banned substances. Giangregorio’s case—the same drug, twice, across two competitive periods—stands out as a particularly brazen example of this persistent issue.
The provisional suspension is a precautionary measure pending full proceedings. Giangregorio is presumed innocent until a full TNA hearing is held and a final decision announced.
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