Former cycling champ Bastianelli appeals to have ban overturned

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) -- Italian cyclist Marta Bastianelli appealed to sport's highest court Monday to overturn her one-year doping ban for testing positive for a stimulant.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport said Bastianelli, the women's world road race champion in 2007, has asked it to annul her suspension by the Italian Olympic committee (CONI) in October.

"The cyclist considers that the substance found in her body was not a stimulant," CAS said in a statement.

Bastianelli tested positive for flenfluramine at the under-23 European championships in Verbania, Italy, in July. She was then dropped by the Italy team for the Beijing Olympics in August.

The 21-year-old Bastianelli has said she did not knowingly use the drug, but acknowledged taking a weight-loss product that contained the banned substance.

A date has yet to be set for the CAS hearing.

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