Cyclist Alessandro Petacchi faces a one-year ban after a dope test showed excessive levels of salbutamol during May's Giro d'Italia, the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) said yesterday.

Petacchi, who looks set to miss the Tour de France starting on Saturday, told a two-hour doping hearing on Monday he had a medical certificate to use a set amount of salbutamol in his asthma inhaler and that any overuse was simply an oversight.

But the Italian Olympic Committee decided he was still culpable and has asked cycling authorities to give the 33-year-old Milram rider a one-year ban.

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