Tom Boonen is now free to race at this years Tour de France (Image credit: AFP)
Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme welcomed Tom Boonen to this year's Tour de France at a meeting today in Paris despite the Belgian cyclist's positive test for cocaine in April. The winner of this year's Paris-Roubaix and six Tour de France stages had threatened legal action if forbidden to race.
Prudhomme made the announcement at a meeting with the International Cycling Union (UCI) and French anti-doping agency (AFLD). The parties met to discuss the Tour de France anti-doping controls.
Tour organisers Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) prohibited Boonen last month from racing the Tour de France, July 4 to 26.
Boonen tested positive for cocaine in an out of competition control on April 27. It was the third occasion he tested positive for cocaine. He missed the Tour de France in 2008 because of his second cocaine positive.
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