(Reuters) – British cyclist Simon Yates has been handed a four-month ban after failing a drugs test, the sport’s governing body UCI announced on Friday, meaning he will miss this year’s Tour de France. The 23-year-old Englishman tested positive in March for the drug Terbutaline which he uses to treat his asthma.
His Australian team Orica-GreenEdge confirmed then that they were fully responsible for an administrative error in not applying for a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) which would have allowed him to compete. Until the UCI ruling, Yates had been hopeful that he might still be able to take part in the Tour de France but his four-month ban will only end on July 11, nine days after the sport’s premier event begins. However, his team confirmed Yates would be back in action at the Tour of Poland later in July.
“Simon has been given a four-month sanction by the UCI given the administrative error in not having a required TUE for his asthma inhaler at Paris-Nice,” said Orica-GreenEdge general manager Shayne Bannan on the team’s website. “The team has taken full responsibility for this all along and we look forward to seeing Simon back racing.
“It has been an unfortunate break due to circumstances that Simon cannot be blamed, but above all, we are happy that this has now come to a conclusion.
“Simon has been training well and we welcome him back on the roster for a strong second part of the season.”
(Reporting by Ian Chadband; Editing by Toby Chopra)
Reuters
