A statement on Team Sky's website said Henao had not failed an
anti-doping test but had been contacted by world governing body, the
UCI, and Cycling Anti-Doping Foundation (CADF) with regards to his
Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) data between August 2011 and June
2015.
"It is our hope that this can be looked at and resolved quickly by
all the relevant authorities so Sergio can start racing again soon,"
a statement said.
Henao, 28, a specialist climber signed with Team Sky in 2012 and
finished in the top-10 in his first Grand Tour, the 2012 Giro
d'Italia.
He was voluntarily withdrawn by the team for three months in March
2014 after their own monitoring of his ABP and his
out-of-competition tests during his usual winter training block back
home at high altitude in Colombia.
 Sky commissioned an independent 10-week research program into the
biological characteristics of riders who live and train at high
altitude with the results revealing nothing to raise suspicions of
any wrongdoing by Henao.
He returned to racing but suffered a serious crash at the Tour de
Suisse in June, 2014, fracturing his patella.
The latest probe into his ABP by cycling anti-doping authorities is
another setback although Sky's Team Principal Dave Brailsford said
he fully supported his rider.
Henao said he was confident the issue would be resolved soon but
added: "I am beyond disappointed. I have worked incredibly hard to
get back to racing fitness after shattering my knee, but I know who
I am, how hard I have worked and the sacrifices I have made to be
where I am today."
[to top of second column] |

Team Sky say they stand by the conclusions of the independent
research carried out in Sheffield and said that they had been under
no obligation to withdraw Henao.
"This is team policy if and when a formal process such as this
begins," the statement said.
Brailsford said the issue of 'altitude natives' remained a complex
area and that the science was still limited.
"We have proactively sought to understand it better by undertaking
detailed scientific research -- both for Sergio and for the benefit
of clean sport more widely," he said.
"Thus far, Sergio's data has been anonymous to the CADF experts. We
hope and believe they will reach the same conclusions when they
consider the background and all the evidence over the coming weeks."
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Sudipto Ganguly/John
O'Brien)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |