Chris Froome has been cleared of any wrongdoing by world cycling's governing body, the UCI, after an adverse drugs test.
The announcement comes just one day after French media reports that Tour de France organisers were seeking to block Froome from riding in this year's race.
Froome is now free to chase a fifth Tour title, with the race due to start on Saturday.
A drug test on Froome during last year's Vuelta a Espana found a larger than permitted dose of the asthma drug salbutamol in his system.
In a statement on Monday the UCI said: "The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) confirms that the anti-doping proceedings involving Mr Christopher Froome have now been closed."
Although Froome's sample was reported to contain a concentration of salbutamol in excess of 1000ng/ml, the UCI said it had closed the case based on World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) advice pertaining to permitted use.
The UCI added: "The UCI has considered all the relevant evidence in detail (in consultation with its own experts and experts from WADA).
"On 28 June 2018, WADA informed the UCI that it would accept, based on the specific facts of the case, that Mr Froome's sample results do not constitute an AAF [adverse analytical finding].
"In light of WADA's unparalleled access to information and authorship of the salbutamol regime, the UCI has decided, based on WADA's position, to close the proceedings against Mr Froome."
In a statement released via Team Sky, Froome said: "I am very pleased that the UCI has exonerated me.
"While this decision is obviously a big deal for me and the team, it's also an important moment for cycling.
"I understand the history of this great sport - good and bad. I have always taken my leadership position very seriously and I always do things the right way.
"I meant it when I said that I would never dishonour a winner's jersey and that my results would stand the test of time."
Froome added: "I have never doubted that this case would be dismissed for the simple reason that I have known throughout I did nothing wrong.
"I have suffered with asthma since childhood. I know exactly what the rules are regarding my asthma medication and I only ever use my puffer to manage my symptoms within the permissible limits.
"Of course, the UCI had to examine these test results from the Vuelta. Unfortunately, the details of the case did not remain confidential, as they should have done.
"And I appreciate more than anyone else the frustration at how long the case has taken to resolve and the uncertainty this has caused. I am glad it's finally over.
"I am grateful for all the support I have had from the team and from many fans across the world. Today's ruling draws a line. It means we can all move on and focus on the Tour de France."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here