Emanuela Sella (CSF - Navigare) tested positive for CERA, the latest form of the blood-booster erythropoietin (epo), the same substance found in a sample provided by his fellow countryman Riccardo Riccò during the Tour de France.

Sella was tested on July 23, a week after Riccò's positive test. Before Riccò's test it was believed CERA was undetectable.

Sella had been targetted by the Italian Cycling Federation (FCI) and the UCI after his spectacular performance in the mountain stages of the Giro d'Italia raised many questions.

Sella was immediately suspended by the CSF - Navigare team, but there are many questions about the team as well. The team had to start the Giro d'Italia with 8 riders after Ariel Maximiliano Richeze was withdrawn by the team from the Tour of Italy. Richeze tested positive for an anabolic steroid earlier this year.

Emanuele Sella will appear before the anti-doping commission of the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) on Friday.

Italian cycling was hit by a series of positives in the last couple of weeks. After Riccò's positive test, Marta Bastianelli, the Women’s World Champion tested positive for a banned stimulant/diet product. The news of her positive test was quickly followed by the announcement of positives on Paolo Bossoni (Lampre) and Giovanni Carini (S.S. Pagnoncelli) at the Settimana Tricolore.