Italian Rider Giovanni Carboni Banned Four Years in Latest Biological Passport Doping Case

Italian rider Giovanni Carboni has been banned for four years for an anti-doping violation linked to abnormalities in his biological passport, the International Testing Agency said Thursday.

The case centers on abnormal readings recorded during and after the 2024 Tour of Langkawi that experts said were “highly likely” to have been caused by doping.

Carboni’s suspension runs from September 11, 2025, through September 10, 2029.

Carboni, 30, joined Unibet Tietema Rockets for the 2025 season after spells with Bardiani CSF Faizanè and other Italian teams, but the passport abnormalities that triggered the case pre-dated his arrival at the Belgian ProTeam.

The 29-year-old was provisionally suspended in September 2025, prompting Unibet to terminate his contract three months later.

Cycling’s biological passport tracks changes in riders’ blood profiles over time and can be used to detect signs of doping even without a positive test.

This is the latest in a string of biological passport cases that have rocked the peloton in recent months, including provisional suspensions for Oier Lazkano and Franck Bonnamour and lengthy bans handed to António Carvalho Ferreira, Venceslau Fernandes and Delio Fernández Cruz.

Carboni’s ban comes as anti-doping efforts intensify across the peloton.

Riders at this year’s Tour de France faced a wave of late night and pre-dawn tests as authorities stepped up efforts to track blood manipulation and other sophisticated forms of cheating.

Carboni can appeal the ruling before the Court of Arbitration for Sport. There was no immediate response from the rider.