Simon Yates: Briton banned for four months for failed drug test

Simon Yates won gold in the points race at the 2013 Track World Championship

British cyclist Simon Yates has been banned for four months for a failed drugs test.

Yates, 23, whose ban starts from the date of the test, will miss the Tour de France but can return on 11 July.

News of the failed test was revealed in April, with his team Orica-GreenEdge blaming an "administrative error" over the use of an asthma inhaler.

The team said they took "full responsibility for the mistake" and there was "no wrongdoing" by Yates.

Yates, who tested positive for terbutaline on the final stage of Paris-Nice on 12 March, said: "Ultimately the responsibility is on the athlete to know exactly what they are taking and what they are putting into their bodies.

"Unfortunately as a result of an honest mistake of my team doctor, whom I trusted wholeheartedly, there will now be a doubt cast over my name, my previous results and any future glories."

The Tour de France begins on 2 July. Yates will return to competition at the Tour of Poland starting on 12 July, according to Orica-GreenEdge.

General manager Shayne Bannan said in a statement: "Simon cannot be blamed, but above all we are happy that it has now come to a conclusion."

Yates' twin brother Adam is set to lead Orica-GreenEdge at the Tour de France.

Both are strong contenders to be included in the GB road race team for the Rio Olympics, which start on 6 August.

UK Anti-Doping chief executive Nicole Sapstead said: "The case of Simon Yates serves to highlight that all athletes are responsible for what is found in their system, regardless of how it got there.

"In relation to medications, all athletes need to take personal responsibility for what they are being given, even when prescribed by a doctor."