Paris (AFP)

French cyclist Rémy Di Gregorio, temporarily suspended since April 2018 due to a positive EPO test, received a four-year suspension from the International Cycling Union (UCI).

The suspension of the ex-climber of the Delko-Marseille Provence team takes effect from his control on March 8, 2018 in Paris-Nice and runs until March 7, 2022, according to the updated list of riders sanctioned by the UCI and published on Monday.

Excluded from the Tour de France in 2012 for suspected doping and indicted for possession of prohibited material, Di Gregorio had also been sentenced in July 2018 to one year in prison suspended.

His arrest on July 10, 2012, in Bourg-en-Bresse, during a rest day of the Tour de France had led to his suspension then his dismissal by his team of the time, Cofidis.

In 2013, the Marseillais had been authorized to take legal action and resumed competition with the training that has since become Delko-Marseille Provence.

After starting out with La Française des Jeux, Di Gregorio had worn Astana's colors before joining Cofidis.

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