The Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano, known as CONI, called last month for the two-year suspension because, it said, the D.N.A. in a blood sample taken from Valverde matched a packet of blood found in a doping laboratory in Madrid in May 2006 during the raid called Operación Puerto.

Image The Italian Olympic Committee is seeking a two-year suspension of Alejandro Valverde, a Spanish cycling star, at a hearing on Monday. Credit... Denis Balibouse/Reuters

“We can say with certainty that blood packet 18 is Valverde’s,” Torri said in February after meeting with Valverde. He also said that he had payment documents from the rider to the director of the laboratory, Eufemiano Fuentes, to cover the costs of extracting and then transfusing blood into a rider and thus increasing the red corpuscles that carry oxygen to weary muscles.

The sample was taken when the Tour de France finished a daily stage in Italy last year. How CONI got the blood packet and the vouchers has not been made public, although they are suspected to have been furnished by officials of the Guardia Civil, the Spanish Interior Ministry’s police force, which carried out the Puerto raid, arrested five suspects and seized large quantities of money and medical equipment, including 100 packets of blood with code names.

The blood packet and documents did not come from the Spanish federation, which says it has been unable to get evidence in the Puerto case from a Spanish judge, Antonio Serrano, who has limited the investigation, twice closing it until appeal courts ruled otherwise.

Serrano has been supported by the Spanish secretary of state for sports, Jaime Lissavetsky.

Although neither man was available for comment last week, their spokesmen were. Under Spanish custom, the spokesmen, who spoke by telephone, cannot be identified.

Representing the Consejo Superior de Deporte, the high sports council, Lissavetsky’s spokesman said: “The C.S.D. respects the autonomy of the CONI and its freedom to act within its own jurisdiction. Nonetheless, Operación Puerto was directed by a Spanish court and Spanish courts should be the ones to pursue the case.”

He denied rumors that the case would be allowed to die under a three-year statute of limitations that could take effect at the end of this month. “The Operación Puerto case remains open and a trial will begin in the near future,” he said.