Disgraced Italian cyclist Ricardo Ricco is to be interviewed by the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) at the end of the month, Italian news agency Ansa said on Wednesday.

The 24-year-old became one of the major attractions of this year’s Tour de France when he stunned a host of big names to win two stages, just a few weeks after finishing second at the Giro d’Italia.

However, Ricco was arrested ahead of stage 12 on July 17 following a positive test for EPO after the fourth stage time trial at Cholet on July 8.

He subsequently denied taking any banned substances but has been fired by his Saunier-Duval team – whose sponsor on Wednesday withdrew from cycling with immediate effect, due to Ricco’s doping scandal.

Ricco will be interviewed by Coni on July 30, a day after his former Saunier team-mate Leonardo Piepoli is also heard. Piepoli, who won the Tour’s 10th stage was also sacked by Saunier for infringing the team’s code of ethics.