Sergio Henao to return to racing at the Critérium du Dauphiné

Sergio Henao will be thrown right back into racing after an investigation into his blood values was dropped, with Team Sky set to start the Colombian at the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Henao was cleared to return to action on Tuesday and will support Chris Froome in the French race, which starts on Sunday, with an eye on gaining selection for the Tour de France, according to colombiasports.net.

The 28-year-old was sidelined by Sky in April before La Flèche Wallonne after the UCI started looking into anomalies in his biological passport, although a panel of independent experts concluded there was no case to answer earlier this week.

It is the second time that the UCI has looked into Henao's blood values, having initiated an investigation in 2014, with anomalies put down to the amount of time the rider spends training and living at altitude in his native Colombia.

Henao enjoyed a strong start to the season, with second place at the Tour of the Basque Country and a top-10 finish at Paris-Nice in support of Geraint Thomas. Forty days away from racing will have an effect on his form, but should he help Froome to a third Dauphiné title his chances of riding the Tour de France will be good.