Simon Yates: UCI not suspending cyclist despite failed drugs test

Simon Yates is sidelined with a knee injury sustained at the Tour of the Basque Country earlier this month

British cyclist Simon Yates will not be provisionally suspended despite failing an in-competition drugs test.

Yates tested positive for terbutaline last month, with his Orica-GreenEdge team blaming an "administrative error" over the use of an asthma inhaler.

The sport's governing body said Yates, 23, had not been suspended because of the nature of the substance involved.

The UCI said in a statement "such a substance does not entail imposition of a provisional suspension".

Yates tested positive on 12 March, at stage six of the Paris-Nice. He finished the race in seventh.

Orica-GreenEdge said a team doctor failed to apply for a therapeutic use exemption and it took "full responsibility for the mistake", adding there was "no wrongdoing" by the rider.

Owain Doull has backed his Great Britain team-mate, writing: "Can always rely on Twitter for some abuse. Tweet my thoughts on Yatesy yesterday and people calling me naive and stupid for believing in him.

"I'm not naive, I just know and trust the lad I raced and lived with for years and have seen first hand how he has struggled with asthma."

Yates, a former points race world champion, is regarded as one of Britain's brightest prospects on the road, along with his twin brother Adam.

The Bury-born rider is a strong contender to make the Team GB road race team for the 2016 Olympics, which begin in Rio de Janeiro on 5 August.

Rod Ellingworth, who is responsible for the British men's road squad in Brazil, said Yates remains in contention until he is deemed ineligible.

"My job is to put the best team on the line," he said. "I'll use anybody eligible."