Froome cleared of wrongdoing

Chris Froome was cleared on Monday of wrongdoing in an anti-doping case which had cast a shadow over his participation in the Tour de France.

"I am very pleased that the UCI has exonerated me", the British rider said after the Union Cycliste Internationale, the sport's ruling body said a probe into Froome had been dropped.

The 33-year-old Kenyan-born rider said he is now looking forward to attempting to win a fifth Tour de France which gets underway on Saturday.

"I am very pleased that the UCI has exonerated me," he said in a statement issued by Team Sky.

"While this decision is obviously a big deal for me and the Team, it's also an important moment for cycling."

The UCI announced the decision to clear Froome a day after Tour de France organisers barred Froome from taking part in the 2018 edition of world cycling's biggest race over doping suspicions.

Froome's appeal against the decision to bar him will be heard by the French national Olympic committee in Paris on Tuesday.

Experts expect him to be cleared to race following the UCI's ruling to clear him.

"The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) confirms that the anti-doping proceedings involving Mr Christopher Froome have now been closed," the UCI said in a statement.

Team Sky's four-time Tour de France champion has been under a cloud since he was found to have twice the permissible amount of the legal asthma drug Salbutamol in his system during September's Vuelta a Espana, which he won.