First the Giro, now suddenly fired: EF Education-EasyPost kicks out Piccolo after suspicion of doping transport

The 23-year-old Piccolo briefly wore the red jersey in the Vuelta a España last year and still rode in the Giro d'Italia in May, but EF Education-EasyPost reveals that there had been issues behind the scenes. "The contract is terminated, effective immediately. Andrea was suspended internally without pay in March after taking a sleeping aid that was not approved by the team, though legal. The team reported the usage to the UCI immediately, but due to legal reasons surrounding the UCI standard rider contract, we were unable to terminate his contract at the time."

Piccolo returned and continued racing until things went wrong again. "On June 21, Piccolo was stopped by Italian authorities upon entering the country on suspicion of transporting human growth hormone. Our organization will cooperate fully with any investigation into the matter and we encourage Andrea to be open and truthful with anti-doping authorities."

Piccolo has been a pro rider since 2021, when he joined Astana in the WorldTour. However, he never competed for the Kazakh team. According to Astana, this was initially due to "health reasons", but Piccolo's contract was ultimately terminated in May due to "internal issues". In 2022, he worked for Gazprom-RusVelo, but that also lasted only three months. The team was no longer allowed to race due to the Russian war in Ukraine.

Piccolo then rode for Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli for one month before joining EF Education-EasyPost on August 1, 2022. That relationship has now abruptly ended. Piccolo has not yet responded.