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The International Cycling Union has started disciplinary proceedings against five riders after discovering suspicious data in their biological passports.

Spain's Igor Astarloa (pictured), the 2003 world champion, and his compatriots Ruben Lobato Elvira and Ricardo Serrano Gonzalez were on the list disclosed by the UCI along with Italians Pietro Caucchioli, third overall in the 2002 Giro, and Francesco De Bonis.

"After having informed all the parties concerned, the International Cycling Union announces that disciplinary procedures have been requested against the (above) riders for apparent violation of the Anti-Doping Rules on the basis of the information provided by the blood profile in their biological passports," the UCI.

Since January 2008, the UCI has been collecting blood samples from all professional riders to create a medical profile, or passport, to be compared with data registered in doping tests.

UCI president Pat McQuaid said last week that no immediate suspensions would be announced because it was down to the teams themselves to hand out initial penalties.

Of the five riders named, only Caucchioli belongs to a ProTour team, Lampre, and was a possible starter for next month's Tour de France.

He was suspended by his team, although Lampre said Caucchioli had been disciplined because of a doping violation which occurred last season.

"Team Lampre has suspended Caucchioli, according to the employment contract and to the internal rules of the team," the Italian team said.

"Referring to the documents received, the value that brought a warning about a potential anti-doping rule violation concerns a blood test taken in September 2008 before the Tour of Poland, when the cyclist was not in Team Lampre," they added.

Caucchioli was riding for French team Credit Agricole at that time. Credit Agricole withdrew from the sport at the end of last year.

Team Diquigiovanni said De Bonis had been suspended and that he had been disciplined for an offence he committed in 2008 when riding for Gerolsteiner, who also left cycling at the end of last season.

Anne Gripper, the UCI anti-doping manager, called for tough sanctions.

Speaking in a conference call from the UCI headquarters in Aigle, Switzerland, she said: "This is wilful manipulation (of their blood). We want four-year suspensions as per the WADA regulations."

The UCI added that Wednesday's announcement was an important step in the battle against doping.

"The UCI is confident that the information obtained from the new approach, based on the indirect detection of doping practices, will greatly reduce the possibility of that cheating in the future by any athlete who decides to disrespect the rules of the sport remains undetected," the UCI said.

"The UCI is proud, once more, to be the pioneering international federation in this field.

"After the introduction of blood tests in 1997 and the EPO detection test in 2001, it is now through the biological passport that the UCI is confronting the scourge of doping."

Reuters