ROME, July 2 - Cyclist Alessandro Petacchi spent
two hours with Italian anti-doping officials on Monday in a bid
to explain why he tested for excessive levels of salbutamol
during the Giro d'Italia in May.
Petacchi, desperate to take part in the Tour de France
starting on Saturday, has a medical certificate to use a set
amount of salbutamol in his asthma inhaler and was heard by
Ettore Torri, the Italian Olympic Committee's doping prosecutor.
"I tried to explain my case scientifically and the good
faith in which it happened," the sprinter told reporters as he
left the hearing.
"Now it is all in the hands of the prosecutor. The Tour? It
depends on the prosecutor."
A verdict is expected later on Monday.
(Writing by Mark Meadows in Milan)