California: BMC Racing have lifted a suspension on former world champion Alessandro Ballan, who had been implicated in a doping investigation, the American cycling team said on Friday.
Italian Ballan, the 2008 world champion, was among dozens of people involved in a criminal investigation in northern Italy. He was targeted as a former member of the Lampre team.
"The BMC Racing Team could not find indications that Alessandro Ballan was involved in any doping in connection with his former team, Lampre," BMC President Jim Ochowicz said in a statement.
Ballan had given his full cooperation to the authorities during the investigation, Ochowicz said.
"No sporting authority has opened a proceeding against Alessandro Ballan so far. Given all these aspects, the BMC Team has no reason at all to not respect the presumption of innocence and will no longer withhold Alessandro Ballan from competition."
Bureau Report
First Published: Friday, May 28, 2010, 20:48