The Italian Gilberto Simoni shrugged off testing positive for cocaine in an out-of-competition dope test to win the 11th stage of the Giro d'Italia in Campitello Matese, yesterday. But he was then questioned for two hours at his hotel by police from Trento, near his home, about the failed dope test, his Saeco team manager said.

Simoni won the toughest stage of the Giro d'Italia by beating compatriot Francesco Casagrande of the Fassa Bortolo team to the finish at the ski resort of Campitello Matese.

The Saeco rider won a sprint after the two riders broke clear two kilometres from the top of the 14km climb to the finish.

On Wednesday, Simoni and his Saeco team admitted in a press conference that he had failed the first analysis of an out-of-competition drugs test taken by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) after traces of cocaine were found in his urine.

Simoni claimed the positive test was caused by a pain-killing injection his dentist had given him a few hours before the test.

Meanwhile, All six riders competing for the elite Mapei team in the Tour of Belgium were taken away by police to be tested for banned products yesterday after a suspect ampule was discovered in one of the riders bags.

The swoop took place as the riders crossed the finishing line of the first stage of the tour at Knokke-Heist, Belgium.

The six riders are Italian Eddy Ratti, who discovered the suspect product in his bag on Wednesday night, Belgians Tom Steels and Fabien De Waele, Spaniard David Canada, Austrian Gerhard Trampusch and Britain's Charles Wegelius.

Ratti found the ampule and alerted his team doctor, Theo Lebon. Lebon destroyed the ampule so as not to get embroiled in a scandal after confirming that the ampule contained a growth hormone. The team's sports director for the tour, Eric Vanderaerden, informed the police when he learned of the development and the entire team stayed up until three in the morning discussing the matter.