A French court's decided not to hear the case of Belgian cyclist Tom Boonen, who's bidding to overturn a ban for cocaine that's stopping him competing in the Tour de France, starting this weekend.
The former world road race champion was barred from the tour by its organisers following his positive test for the banned drug in April, even though the test was taken outside the sporting calendar.
The cyclist's legal team decided their case stood a better chance in a civil court rather than before the French sports tribunal, in the limited time available before the race starts at Monaco overnight Saturday.
But the court in Nanterre ruled it didn't have jurisdiction to hear the case as the agreement between the Amaury Sports Organisation and competing teams was that any disputes should go before the French Olympic Committee's arbritation panel.
