The UCI says that the police search that led to the termination of Andrea Piccolo's contract with EF Education-EasyPost took place after an investigation by the International Testing Organization (ITA).

Late Friday night, EF Education-EasyPost revealed that Piccolo was stopped by Italian law enforcement authorities "on suspicion of transporting human growth hormone" earlier in the day.

According to a report by La Gazzetta dello Sport, Piccolo stopped at an Italian airport. It was believed he was training in Colombia recently, and he was supposed to ride the Italian Championship on Sunday.

In a statement on Saturday, the UCI said Piccolo was under investigation by the ITA, which was cooperating with the Italian anti-doping Agency and the Italian police in the case.

"Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) took note of the statement released by UCI WorldTeam EF Education–EasyPost in 2024/6/21 and announced that the team will immediately terminate its contract with Italian rider Andrea Piccolo due to suspected transport of human growth hormone (hGH)," the statement read.

"The search carried out in the Rider is the result of an investigation led by the International Testing Agency (ITA) and close cooperation between the Italian National Anti-Doping Agency (NADO Italia) and the Italian Law Enforcement Authority (NAS Carabinieri). The UCI welcomes this cooperation and appreciates any further action that may be required in this regard.

In their statement on Friday night, EF said he suspended Piccolo without pay for a month after using "a sleep aid that was legal but not approved by the team," the team said it was reporting usage to UCI at the time and also claimed that it attempted to dismiss Piccolo at that time. "For legal reasons surrounding the UCI Standard Rider contract, we were not able to terminate his contract at the time," the statement continued.

However, despite the incident, Piccolo was still chosen for the Giro d'Italia on May 5. It was Piccolo's first race since he withdrew from Paris-Nice ahead of Stage 6 on May 3. EF said at the time that he had abandoned Paris-Nice because of a shoulder injury.

EF Manager Jonathan Verters wrote on the Escape Collective's website that Piccolo alerted him to the search via text message:"Jonathan, I have already lost everything, and I know this, so I speak to you from the bottom of my heart...I took 4 drugs that I do not want to name from Colombia, I want to take my responsibility for this...They found them and confiscated them at the airport."

Under the WADA Code, "trafficking or attempted trafficking of a prohibited substance or prohibited method" carries a suspension of at least four years. Il Corriere della Sera reports that Piccolo is also "almost certain" to face criminal charges and sports sanctions.

Piccolo turned professional in Astana in 2021, but left the team mid-season for "personal health reasons" and never raced for them. Before joining Gazprom in early 2022, he was also called up to represent Italy.

He was released from the Gazprom contract when the team was suspended after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. After a brief spell with Gianni Savio's Dronehopper team, Piccolo signed EF in 2022 for88 million.

Piccolo made his grand Tour debut at last year's Vuelta a España and spent the day wearing a red jersey. The 23-year-old's 2024 season began with a sequence of remarkable attacks on Tour Colombia, trained domestically in the offseason.