Di Luca gets two year ban

"We will go to the Court of Arbritration for Sport. I'm convinced I'll be able to return earlier than in two years," Di Luca, who has argued his innocence, said after a hearing.

Prosecutors had wanted Di Luca, the 2007 Giro champion who was the runner-up last year, to face a three-year suspension but the tribunal opted for a two-year ban and a 280,000 euro fine plus costs.

Di Luca, provisionally suspended in July when news of the failed test was announced, had questioned the methods of the laboratory which handled both his positive samples.

He already served a three-month suspension in late 2007 after he was found guilty of frequenting a doctor accused of supplying doping products to athletes.

Italian authorities also tried to ban him in 2008 for two years for having abnormal hormone levels during the 2007 Giro but he was cleared after much legal wrangling.

Despite his troubles with the anti-doping bodies, Di Luca won respect from the peleton at the 2009 Giro when he led a protest about safety concerns which led to a stage in Milan city centre being annulled.

However, his subsequent positive test stunned Italian cycling, which has been battling a widespread doping problem.