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On the carpet Prosecutor orders DNA tests on Pantani's blood
Posted: Thursday October 14, 1999 06:30 PM
TRENTO, Italy (AP) -- An Italian prosecutor ordered DNA tests on the blood of Marco Pantani, the Italian cycling star who was kicked out of the Tour of Italy in June after failing a blood test. The office of prosecutor Bruno Giardina said Wednesday that the tests were intended to prove if blood samples showing a high count of red cells actually belonged to the Italian cyclist and if tests that led to Pantani's ban from the Giro d'Italia were properly handled by UCI doctors. Tests might also reveal if blood samples taken by doctors from Pantani and 10 other cyclists on the eve of the next-to-last stage of the Giro contained natural or artificial substances. Pantani, a double Giro and Tour of France winner in 1998, was suspended for two weeks and prevented from completing the Giro that he was dominating, after random blood tests showed his count of red cells exceeded the allowed level of 50 percent. A high count of red blood cells might signal the use of the banned growth hormone EPO, but can also occur naturally. Further investigations into the case had been long sought by Pantani's lawyers. Pantani, also troubled by a knee injury, has not been competing since his suspension in the Giro, but said recently he planned to return to action next year.
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