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British cyclist Simon Yates failed a drugs test following a doctor’s error, his team have claimed.Yates, 23, tested positive for Terbutaline , which is used to relieve asthma symptoms, during last month’s Paris-Nice ‘Race to the Sun’.
But his Australian team Orica- Green Edge have accepted responsibility for the 2013 track world points race champion’s doping violation – and insist an administrative error led to the medicine being administered without the required therapeutic user exemption certificate.
A statement from Orica- Green Edge read: There has been no wrong-doing on Simon Yates’ part.
The team takes full responsibility for this mistake and wishes to underline their support for Simon during this process.
The team were made aware of the positive test on April 22, following a test conducted on March 12, at stage six of Paris-Nice. He finished sixth on the stage and seventh overall in the general classification.
The positive result is also for the substance Terbutaline. The substance was given to Simon Yates in the form of an asthma inhaler and accordingly, this was noted by the team doctor on the doping control form, signed at the time of the test.
The substance was given in an ongoing treatment of Simon Yates’ documented asthma problems. However, in this case the team doctor made an administrative error by failing to apply for the TUE required for the use of this treatment.