Daryl Impey has been cleared of any wrongdoing after returning a positive test for the banned diuretic, and masking agent Probenecid, which had seen the South African provisionally suspended until his case was heard. Impey was first notified of the failed drug test a little over two months ago, though the sample dated back to February 6, 2014, after Impey had taken part in the South African National Championships. On his own website Impey stated that he was able to prove that the positive test was a result of cross-contamination, which explains why tests taken on the 8th and 9th of February had returned negative results. Impey had this to say about his defence:
" On Thursday 28th August 2014, I finally got the chance to prove my case against the allegation: That I had committed an anti-doping violation for a diuretic called Probenecid. Whilst I never disputed the lab results and the finding, I was put in a very tough position of defending my case due to strict liability. That being said, and after already having to go back 5 months to try find out how this could have happened, I finally was able to prove that this was a case of cross-contamination and I was also cleared of any fault or negligence on my part."
Orica GreenEDGE confirmed the news in a press release, with team manager Shayne Bannan saying: “We are extremely happy with the fact that Daryl has been 100% cleared to race and we all look forward to having him back riding for us. Daryl is a key rider for the team and we very pleased with how he has handled his case and the process around it. We will reinstate Daryl in our racing roster as soon as possible.”
Being able to race again is terrific news for Impey, but this unfortunate situation caused him to miss out on the Tour de France, dramatically altering his plans for the season. Given the injuries suffered early in the race by Simon Gerrans, the opportunistic Impey would have been a featured rider for the team in several stages in the first half of the race; his absence hurt both team and rider. On his website Impey spoke of his delight to be back:
"I am hoping to return back to racing now, and hopefully compete before the World Championships in September. I re-iterate my stance against doping and I will continue to race clean throughout my career. Right now, I am just really happy that I can be a bike rider again and do what I love the most."