UCI says Kashechkin still suspended

The UCI insisted Friday that suspended Kazakh rider Andrey Kashechkin has not been cleared to race again and remains suspended until further notice. The governing body's statement came in response to an announcement from Kashechkin's law firm on Thursday, which stated that the former Astana rider had been cleared by the Kazakhstan cycling federation due to insufficient evidence.

"The UCI has received absolutely nothing from the Kazakh federation," read a statement from the UCI, according to l'Equipe.

On Wednesday the UCI said it had sent the Kashechkin dossier three times to the Kazakhstan cycling federation, and expected the result of the rider's hearing to be known by this weekend. Recent media reports have suggested that Kashechkin had protested against the timing of the test - an unannounced out of competition control taken in Turkey on August 1, 2007 - and other irregularities in the testing procedure.

Should Kashechkin be officially cleared by his national federation, the UCI has the right to lodge an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport.