Bobby Lea, a two-time US Olympic cyclist, has had a doping ban reduced from 16 months to six by a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) panel, restoring his hopes of competing at the Rio Olympics.

The US Anti-Doping Agency announced Thursday that a three-member CAS panel had upheld the doping violation against Lea first imposed by the American Arbitration Association.

But in considering Lea's appeal, the CAS panel decided to trim most of the ban's length while maintaining the start date of September 10, 2015, when he accepted a provisional suspension.

As a result, instead of his ban ending in January of 2017, Lea's period of ineligibility will conclude on March 10, allowing him the chance to qualify for the US squad and compete in Brazil if he is selected for the team.

Lea was a bronze medalist in the scratch race at last year's world championships. He failed to finish the points race and was 16th in the Madison at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and was 12th in the Omnium at the 2012 London Games.

Lea, 32, tested positive in a urine sample last August at the US national championships in Los Angeles for noroxycodone, a metabolite of the banned substance oxycodone. He forfeits his victory in the points race at the US championships as a result of the doping violation.

In an essay last December, Lea said he had used up his usual sleep aid and took a prescription medication, Percocet, without checking the ingredients list against the banned substances list.

Lea apologized for the violation but also announced his plan to appeal his case to CAS "because I want to end my career on the track and not in a lawyer's conference room."
Source :AFP