Yates has not raced since early April following an adverse analytical finding for the illicit substance Terbutaline from stage 6 in Paris-Nice. However, Ryan is expectant that the UCI will deliver its verdict in the course of the next two weeks.

“Everything has been sent in. We will just wait and see the outcome,” Ryan told Cycling Weekly on Wednesday. “Hopefully they will look upon [it] as a genuine mistake, considering the team assumed responsibility.”

At the very least, Ryan is confident the UCI’s verdict will be handed with enough time before the Tour in July to allow the team to prepare for the race — likewise for Yates, should the outcome mean that he is eligible to race in it. “I think the UCI realize Simon is a contender to ride the Tour,” Ryan said. “Hopefully they see the rationale and, in the next week or so, we’ll get an outcome.”

While not provisionally suspended, Yates hasn’t raced since stage 6 in the Paris-Nice.

Terbutaline is used to treat asthma, but the substance is banned in competition unless riders have a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) for its use. 

The team assumed complete accountability for what it labelled an oversight, claiming in a statement that Yates was not at fault and that the substance was provided to him to treat “documented asthma problems” via an inhaler — a fact the team said was noted by the team doctor in the doping control form. But the team said the doctor made an “administrative error” by failing to apply for the TUE.

So far, the UCI has not commented upon when its verdict may be expected.