Cycling: Di Luca banned, fined

Italian cyclist Danilo Di Luca was banned for two years and fined €280,000 ($551,000) by the Italian Olympic Committee yesterday.

Di Luca, the 2007 Tour of Italy champion, finished second to Russia's Denis Menchov in a thrilling finish to last year's race.

Di Luca's samples provided during the three-week race had tested positive twice for the latest generation of the banned blood booster EPO (erythropoietin), called CERA.