Italy’s National Anti-Doping Tribunal (TNA), acting on a request from the National Anti-Doping Prosecution Office, has provisionally suspended Carmelo Aiello, a masters cyclist registered with the Federazione Ciclistica Italiana (FCI) and competing for Sicily-based MTB ASD Rosolini, for alleged violations of Articles 2.1 and 2.2 of the Italian anti-doping code, according to reporting by Ragusa News. The banned substance identified was recombinant erythropoietin (EPO). NADO Italia conducted the controls, but provided no details.
The timing is striking. Just weeks before the suspension was announced, Aiello stood on the podium in Malta at the 30th edition of the Tour of Malta, held from 24-26 April, where the 44-year-old finished second overall in the Masters category, including a Stage 2 victory.
What potentially elevates this case beyond a routine provisional suspension — if there is such a thing — is a prior anti-doping violation buried in official CONI records. In 2013, the TNA found a rider with the same name responsible for violations of Articles 2.1 and 10.2 of the WADA Code, imposing a two-year disqualification that expired in May 2015. That sanction was registered under the ACSI federation. The current case, filed under the FCI, could therefore potentially involve a repeat offence — a status that typically draws significantly heavier sanctions under WADA’s escalating penalty framework.
The case is the latest in a long line of amateur EPO positives emerging from Italy. Aiello’s case is at least the third provisional suspension involving an Italian amateur cyclist linked to EPO in the past three weeks, underlining what Gran Fondo Daily News has repeatedly documented as a systemic problem at the grassroots level of the sport.
As with all provisional suspensions, Aiello is presumed innocent unless and until a formal hearing is held and a verdict rendered by the TNA.
He is, however, barred from participating in sport in any capacity while the case proceeds. No hearing date has been announced. Results from events contested during the period under review may be subject to disqualification pending the outcome of the proceedings.
Neither Aiello nor his team had publicly commented at the time of publication.
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