Spanish cyclist Alejandro Valverde has appealed against a doping ban imposed by Italian authorities last month.
The Italian Olympic Committee last month banned Valverde from racing in Italy for two years due to his alleged involvement in the Operation Puerto blood doping scandal.
That rules him out of the Tour de France, which this year passes trough Italy's Val D'Aosta region on 21 July.
Valverde called on the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to 'exonerate him of any sanction and to terminate this matter' and 'state that CONI had no jurisdiction'.
