Italian cyclist Marco Pantani had his conviction for sporting fraud overturned by the Italian Court of Appeal today.
Pantani had been sentenced to a suspended three-month prison term for doping-related allegations surrounding the 1995 Milan-Turin classic, but the court ruled "the deed was not enshrined in law as an offence".
Pantani, the 1998 Giro d'Italia and Tour de France champion, had been admitted to hospital after crashing during the race, and medical tests revealed the rider had a haematocrit level of 60.1 per cent in his blood.
That figure was far over the 50 per cent threshold used as an indicator that a rider has taken the banned substance EPO.
Pantani has also been implicated in other doping-related affairs.
He was thrown out of the 1999 Giro d'Italia before the start of the penultimate stage when leading - again after giving a reading above the 50 per cent threshold.
He has also been named as a client of Francesco Conconi, alleged to have organised a doping ring involving up to 63 top-class athletes. Pantani has not been charged in relation to that affair.
AFP