Former Tietema Rockets rider Giovanni Carboni handed four-year doping ban

Italian cyclist Giovanni Carboni has been suspended for four years by the International Testing Agency, acting on behalf of the UCI. The climber was riding for Team UKYO when the violations occurred, before joining Unibet Tietema Rockets in 2025, where he was subsequently suspended and later had his contract terminated.

“The International Testing Agency (ITA), on behalf of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), reports that Italian cyclist Giovanni Carboni has been sanctioned with a four-year period of ineligibility by the UCI Anti-Doping Tribunal following an anti-doping rule violation based on abnormalities in his Athlete Biological Passport,” the ITA announced.

“A review of the rider’s haematological Athlete Biological Passport by the Athlete Passport Management Unit produced an adverse passport finding due to abnormalities in his blood ABP values.”

“More specifically, a panel of independent experts unanimously concluded that the abnormalities in the rider’s Athlete Biological Passport during and after the 2024 Tour de Langkawi were highly likely to have been caused by the use of a prohibited substance or prohibited method,” the ITA continued. Carboni abandoned that race after several stages.

“Following the results-management process conducted by the UCI, the case was referred to the Tribunal for adjudication. On August 3, 2026, after a full hearing process in which the ITA represented the UCI, the Tribunal found that the athlete had committed an anti-doping rule violation through the use of a prohibited substance or prohibited method, in accordance with Article 2.2 of the UCI Anti-Doping Rules.”

“As a result, the Tribunal imposed a four-year period of ineligibility on Giovanni Carboni, running from September 11, 2025, until September 10, 2029. In addition, all results obtained by the rider from the start of the Tour de Langkawi on September 29, 2024, until the date of his provisional suspension on September 11, 2025, have been disqualified,” the ITA stated.

Carboni rode his final race for the Rockets on September 7, 2025. The team terminated the Italian’s contract in December of that year. “Our internal review confirmed a violation of the rider’s duty of transparency and loyalty. While this decision stands apart from the UCI’s disciplinary process, it underlines our uncompromising commitment to integrity, transparency and open communication, in line with our values and our status as an MPCC member,” the team stated.