The UCI has today notified Sergio Henao that, after reviewing information he provided regarding readings in his Athlete Biological Passport (ABP), no action will be taken against him.
In line with Team Sky policy, Haenao was voluntarily withdrawn from racing after he was contacted by the UCI about his ABP several weeks ago. He will now return to racing with Team Sky in the coming weeks.
Henao was first put on inactive status by his team in 2014 when his blood values reuqired further investigation. The examinations proved that the results were due to his status as a high-altitude native and he was allowed to return to racing at the Tour de Suisse. Nontheless, the UCI asked him to clarify the values earlier this year and Team Sky decided to withdraw him from racing on the eve of Fleche Wallonne.
SInce then Henao has used the results of the previous examinations to explain his innocence and he has now been cleared by the Cycling Anti-Doping Foundation.
Welcoming the news, Team Principal Dave Brailsford said: "We are pleased but not surprised by this outcome. We have always believed in Sergio and he has always had our full support.
"This decision obviously means he can now get back to racing and I am sure he will be ready to make a big contribution to the team during the rest of the season.
"What this process has highlighted is the gap in research regarding the physiology of athletes like Sergio who are born and raised at altitude and who continue to spend prolonged periods of time living at altitude.
"This is something I am sure that the anti-doping authorities will want to look at further in the interests of clean competition but also in the interests of others like Sergio."
Sergio Henao said: "I am happy that this is finally over. It's been a difficult period for me but I know I have done nothing wrong, so I was confident that the UCI would come to this decision. I am looking forward to getting back on the team and racing."
It is still unclear when Henao will make his comeback. He was set to do the Giro and has expessed his desire to make his Tour de France debut.
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