LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Italian cyclist Riccardo Ricco's two-year doping ban was reduced to 20 months Tuesday.

The decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport means Ricco will be eligible to ride in the 2010 Giro d'Italia and Tour de France.

The 25-year-old rider tested positive for CERA, an advanced version of the blood-booster EPO, after winning two mountain stages of the 2008 Tour.

He was thrown out of the race and later banned for two years by the Italian Olympic committee (CONI).

CONI said it reduced Ricco's ban by six months from the maximum two years because of his cooperation with the doping tribunal, but it added six months because Ricco had gone to a physician already banned for doping violations.

Ricco then appealed to CAS to have the ban reduced to one year, while CONI asked the court to impose a 20-month ban.

CAS said in a statement that CONI accepted Ricco "had been helpful to the French authorities in investigating other similar doping cases with the result that Leonardo Piepoli was found guilty of doping with the same substance."

Piepoli, a teammate of Ricco's, won the 10th stage of the 2008 Tour before admitting he had doped. He was banned for two years in January.

In rejecting Ricco's request, CAS confirmed he had committed two anti-doping violations — taking a banned drug and collaborating with a person banned by sports authorities.

Ricco's suspension will run through March 17, 2010.