UCI react to news of Andrea Piccolo's doping case - "The UCI welcomes this collaboration and will assess any further action"
Cycling
The UCI has confirmed and acknowledged the action taken by EF Education-EasyPost against Italian rider Andrea Piccolo. The American team has fired one of it's top riders after finding out about the possible transportation of Human Growth Hormone.
In the same message, the team revealed that he was internally suspended for a few weeks back in March after taking non-authorized sleeping aid - whilst the consequences were in no way severe; he was selected to race the Giro d'Italia. "On June 21, Piccolo was stopped by Italian authorities upon entering the country on suspicion of transporting human growth hormone," EF Education-EasyPost wrote in a statement published last night. "Our organization will cooperate fully with any investigation into the matter, and we encourage Andrea to be open and truthful with anti-doping authorities."
The 23-year old classics rider was a key part of the team's block and was also briefly in the lead of the Vuelta a España last year.
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The UCI has reacted this Saturday afternoon with the following message: "The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has taken note of the statement made by UCI WorldTeam EF Education–EasyPost on 21 June 2024, announcing the team’s immediate termination of its contract with Italian rider Andrea Piccolo due to suspicion of transporting human growth hormone (hGH)*.
It is not known yet what consequences this case will lead to, but what is known for certainty is that the Italian has been kicked out of the World Tour and isn't expected to make a return any time soon whilst this situation is ongoing. "The search conducted on the rider is the result of an investigation led by the International Testing Agency (ITA) and its close collaboration with the National Anti-Doping Organisation of Italy (NADO Italia) and Italian law enforcement authorities (NAS Carabinieri). The UCI welcomes this collaboration and will assess any further action that may be necessary in this respect."
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
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- I get the point totally. We live in the snowflake society where some riders forget they are getting paid to ride and get results. When they have a few issues they try to look outside of the real issue instead of themselves. It odd so many of the team are making no complaints and getting on with their job. If you do not like what you do find another job simples. Tough love as my mum would say.paultryan200207-11-2026
- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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UCI statement concerning Andrea Piccolo - bit.ly/3z7xnes
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