Daryl Impey free to race again after being cleared of wrongdoing over positive drug test

South African rider Daryl Impey has been cleared of wrong-doing after failing a drug test earlier this summer, his team Orica-GreenEdge have announced.

Impey was withdrawn from the Australian squad's line-up for this year's Tour de France in the week before the race after it emerged he had tested positive for the banned substance Probecenid at the South African Championships in February.

"We are extremely happy with the fact that Daryl has been 100 per cent cleared to race and we all look forward to having him back riding for us," Orica-GreenEdge general manager Shayne Bannan said.

"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."

Impey, 29, added: "I'm thrilled to have been given the notification that I'm 100 per cent OK to race again and no sanction whatsoever will be applied. I was confident in my defence and I'm thankful that I was given the chance clear my name beyond any type of doubt.

"It's been a tough period to get through, but I'd like to thank my team for giving me the possibility to focus solely on getting this process done properly."

Impey became the first African in history to lead the Tour de France last year after taking the yellow jersey from team-mate Simon Gerrans on on stage six of last year's Tour and wore it for two days..