News shorts: Santambrogio to return with Amore & Vita

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Mauro Santambrogio, who is nearing the end of his two-year ban for an EPO positive test which expires on November 2, plans to return to the peloton next season with the Amore & Vita team, Tuttobiciweb reports.

The Italian was suspended after the 2013 Giro d'Italia when he tested positive for EPO in a sample taken on the opening stage of the race.

It was later reported that Santambrogio cooperated with the UCI's independent investigation into doping in the sport, known as the CIRC, and was given a reduced 18-month ban.

Santambrogio's contract with Amore & Vita reportedly contains a clause that will let him out of the deal if he signs with a Pro Continental or WorldTour team by October 30.

Numainville to Bigla

Canadian cyclist Joëlle Numainville will join the Bigla Pro Cycling Team for the 2015 season, the team announced today. The  former national road and time trial champion joins Annemiek van Vleuten, Shelley Olds, Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio, Iris Slappendel, Vera Koedooder, Lotta Lepistö, Sharon Laws and Doris Schweizer, manager Thomas Campana and directeur sportif Manel Lacambra in the growing squad.

"We chose Joelle as part of the set up because she is capable is playing so many roles within a team. She is a strong ITT rider, she is good in the sprints so will play an important part in our sprint train, she's good in the classics and generally just a very positive rider," Campana said.

"The most impressive aspect was the structure," Numainville said. "I feel it's the best place for me to learn to be the best athlete. I see myself being an important player in the Classics in the beginning of the season. I really love those one day races. They are super hard and I think it's somewhere I can really help and have an impact and help the team go for victories there."

Brazilian champion suspended for doping

The Brazilian cycling federation has suspended road champion Marcia Fernandes after she tested positive at the national championships in June.

The UCI has not yet updated its list of provisional suspensions or sanctions to reflect this case.

The 23-year-old, who rides for the Bizkaia-Durango trade team was not the only rider to test positive: The country's under-23 champion Nayara Gomes Ramos also tested positive for EPO at the event and was banned. Two other cyclists, Juliana Jacobs Renner and Patrick Gabriel Oyakau, were banned for doping positives from the 2013 track championships.

Johan Van der Velde joins Roompot as bus driver

Retired Dutch rider Johan van der Velde will return to cycling, acting as a bus driver for the new Roompot Orange cycling team.

Van der Velde was the best young rider of the 1980 Tour de France, and won two individual stages in the next year's event, and was third overall in 1982. He won the points classification in the Giro d'Italia three times, but his career declined due amphetamine addiction. He has since recovered, and has worked as a VIP driver for teams over the past few years.