Piepoli twice tested positive at Tour de France

PARIS (Reuters) - Italian rider Leonardo Piepoli twice tested positive for the banned blood-boosting drug erythropoietin (EPO) at the Tour de France, the French Anti-Doping Agency (AFLD) said on Monday.

"Leonardo Piepoli tested positive twice, on July 4 and 15," AFLD president Pierre Bordry told Reuters. "The substance is

EPO."

Piepoli, who has been summoned to appear before the Italian Olympic Committee on Friday, and fellow countryman Riccardo Ricco were sacked during the Tour after his Saunier Duval team mate failed a dope test.

Piepoli had not yet failed a dope test but Saunier Duval said at the time he had "violated the team's code of ethics."

The entire team quit the race when it was announced Ricco, winner of two stages in the event, tested positive.

Ricco has already been banned for two years.

(Reporting by Julien Pretot, editing by Pritha Sarkar and Tony Jimenez)