The Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) has set the date for a final judgement on the doping case involving Danilo Di Luca on October 15. The Italian, who finished second overall in last year's Giro d'Italia, returned two positive an💛ti-doping cont🍰rols for EPO-CERA during the race.

The positive results were announced in July 2009, and the B samples confirmed positive in early August by the Châtenay-Malabry laboratory in Paris. While Di Luca has maintained his innocence in public and appealed his initial two-year ban, the Gazzetta dello Sport reports that accordi🍸ng to unconfirmed sources, Di Luca may have collaborated with anti-doping authorities in recent months, providing them with "interesting information useful to revenue tax officers and Italian doping police NAS."

On the basis of the international anti-doping code, this cooperation could get him a reduced ban and even see him back in the peloton as soon as January 2011, Gazzetta claims. According to the paper, the Italian has even already had contacts with various 🃏teams, including the newly-found Geox outfit.

Di Luca is thought to defend his innocence by questioning the analysis methods used in the French Châtenay-Malabry laboratory. His racing ban ends July 21, 2011.