Hannes Hempel finished third at last year's Ironman in Austria---that's the good news for him.
The bad news: He's was named by former cyclist Bernhard Kohl as his supplier of the banned blood-booster CERA, which Kohl was suspended for after the 2008 Tour de France, according to USA Today.
Since Kohl startling admission Hempel has been battling with the Ironman Austria race officials in a Austrian court.
Based on the allegation, Ironman Austria had banned Hempel from competing in this year's race but now a court in Klagenfurt had ruled that Hempel must be allowed to race this weekend on July 5th.
"I feel very relieved," the 36-year-old Hempel said. "Finally I can completely focus on my sport again. I've done nothing wrong. I have been training hard all year and I am in the form of my life."
According to USA Today:
"Ironman Austria organizer Stefan Petschnig called the court's verdict "bizarre and sad," but said he was not surprised by it.
"We had invited Hempel to start a long time ago," Petschnig said. "That means there is an existing contractual relationship. The court based their verdict entirely on that fact."
Petschnig said he would consult a lawyer before deciding about possible further steps to prevent Hempel from taking part in Sunday's event.
Kohl told Austrian media on Tuesday he and Hempel had switched doping substances and he gave a drug similar to testosterone in exchange for CERA."
Follow on twitter @everymantri
