On 5 June 2014
Patrick Facchini gave an adverse analytical finding for
Tuaminoheptane and was consequently banned for 10 months. On 30 June 2015
Davide Appollonio gave an adverse analytical finding for EPO and was provisionally suspended. On 27 July 2015
Fabio Taborre gave a positive test result for the banned blood-booster
FG-4592 in an out-of-competition control on 16 June. The team were automatically suspended by the UCI under new rules. FG-4592 (
Roxadustat) is in phase 3 clinical trials and has not yet been commercialised. The drug was developed jointly by FibroGen and
AstraZeneca. Unlike EPO, which directly stimulates the production of red blood cells, FG-4592 is taken orally, and stimulates natural production of EPO in a manner similar to altitude training. This class of compounds has been outlawed by WADA. The UCI subsequently suspended the team for 30 days. |thumb ==Team roster==