In a statement released to the public today, EF Pro Cycling announced it has terminated its contract with Italian rider Andrea Piccolo following the 23-year-old’s second run-in with risky substances this year.
The team reveals that Piccolo was internally suspended in March for taking a sleeping aid that was not approved by the team. While the aid was legal, the says it reported the usage of the substance to the UCI immediately.
The team indicates that it couldn’t terminate Piccolo’s contract at the time due to “legal reasons surrounding UCI standard rider contract.” Instead, it suspended the rider without pay until his return to racing at the Giro d’Italia in May.
But on June 21, Piccolo again found himself in trouble.
“Piccolo was stopped by Italian authorities upon entering the country on suspicion of transporting human growth hormones,” the statement reads.
More about this suspicion and how these authorities came to be informed is not known at this time. However, growth hormone is in the category of Anabolic Agents on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Prohibited List and is prohibited at all times and for all levels of athletes.
“Our organization will cooperate fully with any investigation into the matter, and we encourage Andrea to be open and truthful with anti-doping authorities,” the team states.