Rio Olympics hopeful Simon Yates will miss start of Tour de France after being given four month ban for inhaler error

SIMON YATES will miss the Tour de France after he was given a four-month ban after a positive test for Terbutaline.

The Brit, 23, who rides for Orica GreenEdge, was told his positive was ‘non-intentional’ by the UCI.

His team have taken responsibility for the positive test after they failed to report a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) for Yates to use his inhaler.

Yates’ four-month ban is backdated to when the violation took place on March 12 to July 11 – meaning he will miss the start of cycling’s biggest race which starts on July 2.

The upcoming rider – who Orica GreenEdge and British Cycling coaches will be a future Grand Tour winner – was told that his positive was a “non-intentional anti-doping rule violation.”

His team said they accepted full responsibility after a doctor forgot to fill out a form declaring Yates’ use of his inhaler.

Orica GreenEdge general manager Shayne Bannan said in a surprisingly upbeat statement: “Simon has been given a four-month sanction by the UCI given the administrative error in not having a required TUE for his asthma inhaler at Paris-Nice.

“The team has taken full responsibility for this all along and we look forward to seeing Simon back racing.

“It has been an unfortunate break due to circumstances that Simon cannot be blamed, but above all, we are happy that this has now come to a conclusion.

“Simon has been training well and we welcome him back on the roster for a strong second part of the season.”

Simon’s twin brother Adam is due to compete at the Tour de France which starts at Le-Mont-Saint-Michel on July 2.

Both brothers are strong climbers and have been widely tipped to make an impact on this year’s race, but now Simon’s dream appears in tatters.

He is also in contention for the Rio 2016 road race, where he will be eligible to ride for Team GB.

Team Sky have long held an interest in Yates, but with this latest drugs ban – even though non-intentional – their interest could cool because of their policy of not employing any rider or coach with a chequered past.