Spanish cyclist Manuel Beltran has been ordered to pay 100,000 Euros in compensation plus legal costs to his former Liquigas team after testing positive for EPO at the Tour de France two years ago.

Liquigas were awarded the sum by an Italian Cycling Federation tribunal to become the first cycling team to win damages from a rider for doping, a spokesman said.

"We're really satisfied with this decision, which recognises our company as the victim of an athlete's recklessness," Liquigas Sport president Paolo Dal Lago said in a statement.

"We're sure this sentence is an historic event for the cycling world, as well as an important precedent in the battle to protect sports ethics."