Riccardo Ricco, the cyclist from Italy, has made an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to reduce his two-year ban.

Italian authorities handed down the penalty on Ricco and he was banned from the sport by the Anti-doping Tribunal of the National Olympic Committee of Italy (CONI) on October 2 after testing positive for CERA, a third generation version of banned substance EPO.

From Espnstar.com:

The 25-year-old, after initially denying the allegations, eventually pleaded guilty and named the doctor who had given him the substance, as well as another rider, in an effort to get a reduced punishment.

A decision on Ricco’s appeal will likely be reached within four months.

A statement released today by CAS read: “The CONI Anti-doping Tribunal has imposed a suspension of two years on Ricco after a positive doping test with EPO, performed during the Tour de France 2008.

“The athlete requests the reduction of the suspension on the basis of his collaboration with the authorities in this matter.

“The directions with respect to the arbitration procedure will be issued later on by the Tribunal in accordance with the Code of Sports-related Arbitration.

“As a general rule, CAS delivers its decisions within four months from the filing of the appeal.”

Ricco won two stages on the Tour – the second with a spectacular finish on one of the toughest mountain climbs.

If the appeal fails, the former Saunier Duval rider will not be able to race again before July 30, 2010.

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