Cross-country skiing a 'Mickey Mouse club' after six Russians allowed into World Cup

Evgeniy Belov (left) and Alexander Legkov (right) are among six Russian skiers banned from the Olympics for life by the IOC

Cross-country skiing has been branded a "Mickey Mouse club" after six Russians banned from the Olympics for life were cleared to compete in the World Cup.

The six were found guilty of doping by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in November, after investigations into Sochi 2014.

But the International Ski Federation (FIS) says the IOC's ban is not legally binding proof of their guilt.

Canada's Alex Harvey called the situation "shameful".

But in a statement, the FIS said it is "obliged to wait on the conclusions from the IOC's disciplinary commission and the evidence before taking other measures".

Canada's 2011 world relay champion Devon Kershaw said: "The fact that those suspended for life by the IOC can still win races shows that our sport has become a Mickey Mouse club."

Compatriot Harvey added: "We are already compared to cycling. Yet it's us, with biathlon, which has the highest number of doping cases."

The decision relates to athletes Alexey Petukhov, Evgenia Shapovalova, Maxim Vylegzhanin, Alexander Legkov, Evgeniy Belov and Julia Ivanova.

Legkov won gold in the men's 50km freestyle at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, with Vylegzhanin taking silver. The pair were also in the men's 4x10km relay team that won silver for Russia, while Vylegzhanin claimed a further silver in the men's team sprint.

Their provisional doping bans were upheld after a failed appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) in May.

The IOC has said it will make a ruling on Russia's participation at the 2018 Winter Olympics, which begins on 9 February, in December.

The first leg of the World Cup season begins at Ruka in Finland from Friday.