October 23, 2013 (Lausanne, Switzerland) – The Swiss-based Court of Arbitration in Sport (CAS) has overturned a UCI ruling regarding riders coming off doping suspensions. The UCI rule was introduced in 2011 and applied to WorldTour teams signing riders returning from suspensions and prevented these teams from accumulating points earned by such riders for 12 months after the suspension was finished.

The CAS ruled that preventing teams from accumulating points from riders after the suspension has expired constitutes a double punishment (double jeopardy) and violates the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code.

Reports say the case was brought forward by Team Saxo-Tinkoff’s Bjarne Riis and he was supported by Movistar manager Eusebio Unzue according to the Spanish periodical El Pais.

Some big names affected by this ruling include Alberto Contador (Team Saxo-Tinkoff), who won the Vuelta in September only a month after finishing a two-year suspension for testing positive for clenbuterol. According to UCI rules, Contador could only begin to accumulate points for his team as of August 2014. Another rider in a similar situation was Alejandro Valverde (Movistar Team).

The exact wording of the ruling is not yet available on the CAS website and the UCI has yet to respond.