Caisse d'Epargne team announced Tuesday that Spaniard Alejandro Valverde will miss next month's Tour de France after being imposed a two-year ban in Italy.

The 2009 Tour passes through Italy, in the Val d'Aosta region, on July 21. "Under these circumstances ... we are obliged to announce Alejandro Valverde will not be at the start," Caisse d'Epargne said in a statement.

Valverde, ranked on top in the world, was banned by Italy's Olympic Committee (CONI) last month but the punishment only applies within their borders.

CONI said blood samples Valverde gave at a doping control when last year's Tour entered Italy matched DNA from code-named bags of blood discovered in Spain's Operacion Puerto doping investigation, launched in 2006.

Valverde appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport this month but his team said the CAS ruling could not be made before the Tour started in Monaco on July 4.

(Xinhua News Agency June 25, 2009)