Phonak overturn ProTour exclusion
 |  Hamilton's former team Phonak have regained a place on the 2005 ProTour |
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LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- Swiss cycling team Phonak has regained a place on the 2005 ProTour after the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld its appeal on Tuesday.
CAS said it had "set aside" the decision by the the ruling body (UCI) last November to exclude Phonak after three riders failed doping tests in 2004.
But the panel of three legal experts granted the team a license for a reduced period of two years instead of the usual four.
The team could not be excluded now because at least two of the riders -- US team leader Tyler Hamilton and Spain's Santiago Perez -- were still appealing their cases, the court said.
CAS said it believed Phonak's rights of a fair hearing had been breached and it said the team had acted immediately and taken the correct procedures over the three riders.
"The panel consider that the appellant (Phonak) did not have an unethical behaviour and that its application met all the required conditions to obtain a license," CAS said.
"However, it is indisputable that, for the Phonak team, the year 2004 was marked by blood tests with average high values, a confirmed doping case and two cases of adverse analytical findings."
The decision means Phonak can race in all 2005's major events including the Tour de France.
Considerable sympathy
In its ruling, CAS said it had considerable sympathy with the UCI's anti-doping stance and efforts.
"However, the panel is of the opinion that, unless there is evidence of an intentional or negligent implication of a team representative, the team as such cannot be held liable for the individual actions of its riders."
Phonak said they were delighted.
"This decision naturally pleases us hugely," said team owner Andy Rihs. "We were always convinced that our team belonged among the ProTour teams.
"Now the legal hurdles have been cleared we can prove ourselves at the highest level."
Phonak dismissed Swiss former world champion Oscar Camenzind immediately after his positive test for the banned blood booster EPO in August.
However, the team was slower to act after Hamilton and Perez failed a newly introduced test for blood doping, in which riders take a blood transfusion to boost their red blood cell count.
Initially saying that it would stand by both riders, Phonak questioned the validity of the new test and gathered a panel of scientists to investigate its accuracy.
However, Hamilton -- who won the time trial gold in Athens -- agreed to the termination of his contract to try to help Phonak get a license for next year's Pro Tour. He insisted his departure did not constitute an admission of guilt.
Hamilton has twice tested positive for a blood transfusion -- in Athens in August after winning the gold and then after a time trial stage victory in September's Tour of Spain.
The International Olympic Committee decided his B sample in Athens was "non-conclusive" because it had been damaged by being deep-frozen and the American kept his Olympic title.
