Matteo Spreafico

(Vini Zabu) left the Giro d'Italia on Thursday after "two abnormal test results" for the anabolic Enobosarm, also known as ostarin.

The International Cycling Union (UCI) confirmed that the 27-year-old Italian was notified of these results after samples taken on October 15 and 16, after the 12th and 13th stages of the Corsa Rosa.

According to UCI regulations, Spreafico is "provisionally suspended until the verdict of this case", given that ostarine is a substance banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency since 2008 and classified as an anabolic agent.

Spreafico, who was 127th overall in his first Giro appearance, is entitled to a second analysis to prove his innocence.

According to doping specialists, the effects of Enobosarm translate into an increase in muscle mass, but with the risk of causing heart and liver ailments.

Invited by the organization

This case is the first positive in the Giro since

Davide Apollonio

in 2015, then by EPO.

The use of ostarine also splashed a few weeks ago on

Luca Colnaghi

, a young promise of Italian cycling.

Years ago,

Nikita Novikov

and

Kayle Leogrande

were also dismissed by the UCIA for their use.

Vini Zabu, one of the three teams in the UCI ProTeam category that received an invitation to participate in the Giro, has not yet wanted to comment on the case of its rider.

Since Di Luca in 2013

The squad led by

Luca Scinto

had emerged as one of the cheerleaders of the race, thanks to their regular appearances at breakaways.

He had also been on the podium for two days thanks to

Giovanni Visconti

, with the best climber's jersey.

However, the leader of the ranks decided not to start on Thursday, citing knee pain.

The structure of Vini Zabu, which is not a member of the Movement for Credible Cycling (MPCC), has been in place since 2009 with different sponsors.

In recent years he has starred in numerous positives for EPO, such as

Danilo di Luca

(2013),

Mauro Santambrogio

(2013) or

Ramón Carretero

(2015).

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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