Ricco comes clean over taking EPO
Italian cyclist Riccardo Ricco admitted today that he took the blood-booster EPO before this month's Tour de France.
Ricco, who tested positive after the fourth stage of the three-week race, could now face a two-year ban after appearing before the Italian Olympic Committee's anti-doping prosecutor.
"In front of the anti-doping prosecutor I have taken responsibility," he said. "Before the Tour I made a mistake.
"I took a substance you all know about. It was solely my error."
Ricco was kicked out of the race when the results of the test were revealed. His Saunier-Duval team pulled out of the Tour.
The French Anti-Doping Agency claimed that Ricco had tried to avoid the doping test. In all, four riders were disqualified from the race for failing drug tests.
