Rome - Italian cyclist Marco Pantani has been banned for eight months for using the prohibited substance insulin, a disciplinary commission of the Italian Cycling Federation said on Monday.
A syringe containing the drug was found in the hotel where Pantani stayed during last year's Giro d'Italia.
Pantani, 32, rides for the Mercatoni Uno team and has been the most popular Italian cyclist for a decade. In 1998 he won both the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France.
In the last three years his career has been overshadowed by a series of doping investigations, despite his protestations of innocence.
A specialist climber, he thrilled his fans with his spectacular attacks and became a national hero when becoming the first Italian to win the Tour de France for 33 years.
But in the 1999 Giro he was disqualified while leading for having a high blood haematocrit value.
He started this year's Giro but, struggling towards the back of the field, he retired with bronchitis.
Insulin is only permitted to treat athletes with diabetes. Italy's Olympic Committee (CONI) had asked the cycling federation to ban Pantani for four years.