PARIS, June 17 (Xinhua) -- The International Cycling Union (UCI) said Wednesday that five cyclists would face doping charges based on suspicious test results in their biological passports, according to local media.

According to the UCI, the 2003 world road race champion Spanish Igor Astarloa, as well as his two compatriots Ruben Lobato Elvira and Ricardo Serrano, Itanlian Pietro Caucchioli and Francesco De Bonis were the five cyclists, who had "violated the anti-doping rules on the basis of information from blood profiles on their biological passport". They will become the first athletes to face doping charges based on irregularities found in their respective biological passports.

The news came out just two weeks before the start of this year's Tour de France slated for July 4-26.

Related Story

• China's Sheng Lihao wins 2nd Paris Olympic gold with men's 10m air rifle victory(08-29 19:31)
• Olympics | Day 13: Chinese diver defends Olympic title, weightlifting debutant claims gold(08-09 16:50)
• Olympics | Chinese weightlifters Hou, Li retain gold at Paris 2024(08-08 14:26)
• Olympics | Day 12: Chinese weightlifters retain Olympic golds, artistic swimming team make history(08-08 14:23)
• Olympics | Chinese diver Quan defends women's 10m platform title at Paris Games(08-07 22:37)