Italy's Alessandro Petacchi was sacked by his Milram team after he was banned for doping earlier this month for testing positive for excess salbutamol in the Giro d'Italia last year.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport banned him for one year, backdated to the start of Nov. 2007. Top sprinter Petacchi, who had a medical certificate to use a set amount of salbutamol in his asthma inhaler, had argued that any overuse of salbutamol during the Giro had been human error.

"Every breach of our team policy is going to be penalized," Milram team general manager Gerry van Gerwen said.

"Team Miram's policy regarding the breach of UCI rules by any team member is such, that team MILRAM and Petacchi have decided to terminate the contract. Parties have discussed the consequences of the termination and came to a mutual settlement."

Petacchi refused to comment on the announcement when contacted by Reuters.

The 34-year-old has been a professional since 1996 and has been one of the most successful sprinters in cycling for the last five years.

Reuters