Australian track team hit with scratching

Australian track sprinter Mark French, who has been resurrecting his career after a doping suspension in 2004, was turned around and sent home from Los Angeles airport on Friday after what Cycling Australia describes a 'code of conduct' issue on his flight from Australia to the US.

A Cycling Australia (CA) official declined to outline to Cyclingnews the nature of his violation on the flight, but it's understood the cyclist will be counselled and could face further penalties imposed by his federation. French has been back in training with John Beasley in Melbourne and has represented Australia in competition after the young sprinter caused considerable problems for CA in 2004 prior to the Athens Olympics.

His sudden scratching from the Australian team will weaken its sprinting capabilities at the upcoming Los Angeles round of the UCI Track World Cup, which got underway on Friday. At the Moscow round, French qualified eighth-fastest for the men's sprints, while in Sydney he qualified fourth-fastest.

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