A former professional cyclist who served a two-year suspension for doping pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to conspiracy to distribute two performance-enhancing drugs.

Joe Papp, 34, of Bethel Park, was selling human growth hormone and another drug, erythropoietin, known as EPO, online.

He will be sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Gary L. Lancaster on June 25. Mr. Papp could face an advisory sentencing range of 10 to 16 months in prison.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy for selling the substances between September 2006 and September 2007. During that time, Mr. Papp sold about $80,000 worth of drugs to approximately 187 customers.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Houghton, Mr. Papp's supplier was in China, and his customers included cyclists and other athletes both in the United States and around the world.

They submitted payment through a private mailbox at a UPS store in Bethel Park.

The plea agreement in the case is sealed, so it is unclear if Mr. Papp is cooperating against anyone.

On his website, Mr. Papp represented himself as a "USA Cycling Elite Coach." He finished in the top 10 at the UCI Pan American Continental Championships road race three times between 1996 and 2005.

During the International 42nd Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey in May 2006, Mr. Papp tested positive for testosterone metabolites. He was suspended from competitive cycling for two years.

In May 2007, he testified about his illegal use of drugs and the performance-enhancing benefits of them at the trial, conducted by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, concerning Floyd Landis and his use of drugs during his win at the 2006 Tour de France.

Mr. Papp never testified that he sold any substance to Mr. Landis. Instead, during the doping trial, Mr. Papp spoke about the effects the drugs had on him and how he would use them to help recover from individual race stages more quickly.

Following the plea hearing, neither he nor his attorney, William Ward, would comment.

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