The Lampre-Farnese Vini team has pulled Lorenzo Bernucci from competition as a precautionary measure following searches by the Guardia di Finanza of his and teammate Alessadro Petacchi's homes. The police found banned products in Bernucci's home including albumin, a substance used to dilute the blood and lower hematocrit levels, sibutramine, a stimulant, as well as some vials that required further analysis, according to Italian paper La Repubblica.
Lampre team doctor, Carlo Guardascione, told the La Gazzetta dello Sport that Bernucci claimed the products found in his home belonged to his wife and brother. The Italian newspaper reported today that the team has decided to prevent the Italian from competing until there is more clarity on the situation.
Bernucci was scheduled to ride in the Tour of Flanders on Sunday, but withdrew from the race citing illness. He immediately returned home to Italy as news surfaced about the searches. The police did not find any doping products during the searches of Petacchi's residence.
In 2007 Bernucci was fired from his then T-Mobile team after testing positive for an appetite suppressant. He claimed that he had used the product for years, and did not realize that it had been added to the World Anti-Doping Agency's (WADA) list of banned substances. However almost three full years later, that same product - sibutramine - was one of those seized this time around.