Italian cyclist Franco Pellizotti in this 2009 file photo. [Photo/Agencies]

PARIS - Italian cyclist Franco Pellizotti was banned for two years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the International Cycling Union (UCI) said on Tuesday.

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The UCI provisionally suspended Pellizotti, the 2009 Tour de France best climber, before the Giro d'Italia in May last year after they ruled the then Liquigas rider's blood values were 'abnormal'.

Pellizotti was cleared by the Italian Olympic Committee in October, prompting the UCI to appeal to CAS.

"We won the appeal," said UCI press officer Enrico Carpani.

"It shows the remarkable work of UCI and cycling, with the biological passport, is paying off."

A UCI source, who declined to be named, said Pellizotti, 33, would have to serve a two-year ban - the usual sanction for first-time offenders in doping cases.

A biological passport is an electronic record where the results of all doping tests by a rider over a period of time are collated and compared.