Rome - Italian cyclist Danilo Di Luca has tested positive for the latest generation of the blood booster EPO twice at this year's Giro d'Italia and faces a long ban, the Italian cycling federation FCI said on Saturday.

The FCI said that examinations of the b-samples confirmed the presence of the substance CERA.

The 2007 Giro winner Di Luca, 33, faces a four-year ban as it is his second doping offence, and is expected to end his career.

"I will quit cycling if the b-samples are positive as well," Di Luca had said recently. (dpa)