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Colombian federation clears Botero
Santiago Botero has been cleared of doping allegations by the Colombian cycling federation, allowing him to rejoin international competition after being sidelined since June.
Botero's name surfaced in the Spanish doping investigation Operación Puerto, causing the Phonak team to leave the 2002 world time trial world champion off its Tour de France roster this summer.
The Colombian federation said Saturday night that documents pertinent to Botero's case, provided by the UCI’s anti-doping commission, offered no evidence the cyclist had engaged in blood doping.
The federation also said the 34-year-old Botero had demonstrated by showing his passport that he was in Colombia on three days in January 2002 when he was alleged to have received the performance-enhancing drug EPO in Spain.
