Savoldelli banned for seeing Armstrong's physician

ROME (AP) Retired two-time Giro d'Italia champion Paolo Savoldelli has been banned for six months for visiting with a banned physician involved in the Lance Armstrong doping scandal.

The Italian Olympic Committee's anti-doping prosecutor had sought a 28-month ban but the committee's in-house doping court decided to drop the harsher penalties of actual doping.

Until the end of November, the 41-year-old Savoldelli is banned from any sports-related activities for visiting with the physician, Michele Ferrari, during his racing days.

Savoldelli was Armstrong's teammate on the Discovery Channel team in 2005 when the American won his seventh consecutive Tour de France. However, Armstrong was stripped of all seven Tour titles and has admitted doping.

Savoldelli won the Giro in 2002 and 2005 and retired in 2008. He recently worked for RAI state TV.