Pantani faces new charges

An uphill struggle for Marco Pantani

Former Tour de France winner Marco Pantani has been hit by news of a fresh criminal investigation, just weeks after receiving a suspended jail term.

Officials said the 31-year-old Italian cycling star is being investigated over the abnormal level of red blood cells revealed in a test prior to the penultimate stage of the 1999 Tour of Italy.

He was forced out of the race and was denied an almost certain victory.

Prosecutor Bruno Giardina said on Wednesday Pantani had been charged following a series of interviews carried out last week.

Angry denials

In December he was given a three-month suspended jail-sentence after an Italian court found him guilty of the same charge.

The case related to unusually high haematocrite levels in his blood. He had given a reading of 60.1 after a serious fall in the Milan-Turin classic in 1995.

A level over 50% is taken as an indicator - although it is not proof - that a rider has taken the banned substance EPO, which is used by endurance athletes as it increases the amount of oxygen in the blood.

Pantani, known as the Pirate for his colourful bandana and earrings, has always angrily denied any wrongdoing.

In July of last year, Italian politicians passed a law forbidding "the procuring, administering, absorbing or favouring the use of medicines not prescribed for illnesses, and therefore destined to alter athletic performances."