The International Cycling Union Bans for failing doping tests could be doubled to four years as of next year.
The news comes after the Austrian rider Bernhard Kohl, who placed third at this year's Tour de France, tested positive for a strain of the banned blood booster EPO, named CERA.
The UCI president Pat McQuaid says sanctions will be made on a case-by-case basis, will be judged on the gravity of the infringement and in particular the nature of the substance.
Kohl is the fourth Tour de France rider after Italians Riccardo Ricco and Leonardo Piepoli, to test positive for the drug along with Germany's Stefan Schumacher.
McQuaid says he would like to see drug cheats banned for life rather than the current two-year maximum.
