Kolobnev rejoins Russian team after doping case

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian cyclist Alexandr Kolobnev has rejoined the Katusha team after clearing his name in a Tour de France doping case.

Katusha said in a statement Wednesday that it has signed Kolobnev for the 2012 season, though he will not race immediately “because of recovery period after a training accident.”

Katusha released the Olympic bronze medalist last July when he tested positive for a diuretic after the Tour’s fifth stage.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport last month dismissed the International Cycling Union’s appeal to ban 30-year-old Kolobnev for two years.

CAS said Kolobnev’s use of a medication for chronic vascular disease was “justified.”

Kolobnev says he passed “a very hard period of time in my life,” and thanked Russian Cycling Federation leader Igor Makarov for his support.