Italian riders Gabriele Bosisio and Francesco De Bonis have both been banned indefinitely by the UCI after testing positive to the banned performance-enhancing drug EPO this week.

The LPR Brakes riders have been provisionally suspended which means Bosisio and De Bonis will be banned from cycling until their cases are heard by the Italian cycling federation and a penalty handed down.

The results for Bosisio come from a report from the WADA accredited laboratory in Lausanne indicating an Adverse Analytical Finding of Recombinant EPO in a urine sample collected from him at an out-of-competition test on September 2, 2009.

De Bonis, on the other hand, tested positive for the new-generation EPO called Cera during the first stage of the Tour of Italy on May 7.

The 27 year-old De Bonis and 29 year-old Bosisio, who this year came runners up in the Italian national time trial championship, both have the right to appeal by requesting further analysis of his B sample.

Under the World Anti-Doping Code and the UCI Anti-Doping Rules no further details can be given at this stage.

The findings once again put the sport of cycling in turmoil and will once again have damaging consequences for those involved in the industry.

It has been an uphill battle since the drug findings that clouded the 2007-08 Tour de France’s and it appears there will be more mountains to climb before this issue is finally put to rest.