Italian cyclist Leonardo Piepoli, one of seven riders to fail a drugs test at the Tour de France, saw his hopes of clearing his name shattered Friday when his B-sample showed traces of banned blood booster EPO CERA, the French anti-doping agency (AFLD) said.

Piepoli tested positive at the end of the tenth stage of this year's Tour and was then dumped by his Saunier-Duval team.