Two months ago, Bobby Lea was looking with dread at an ignominious end to an otherwise celebrated career as a pro track cyclist. In December, Lea, a two-time Olympian and many-time national champion, was handed a 16-month suspension for a positive test for noroxycodone at the US National Track Championships last August. That would have made the 32-year-old Lea ineligible for the Rio Olympic Games, where he hoped to retire.

But Lea appealed the ruling to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, arguing not that he was innocent (he admits to taking Percocet the night before his final race at nationals, as a sleep aid), but that the ban was overlong. On Thursday, CAS announced that it agreed and shortened Lea’s ban to six months. Lea will still miss the World Track Championships, March 2 to 6 in London. But it re-opens the door to his hoped-for Olympic finale.

“It’s been quite the emotional rollercoaster,” said Lea of the past two months. “In one way, the announcement and ability to go public in December was liberating, but there was no way to pretend that it wasn’t there.”

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When word of the positive test broke, Lea had prepared himself for public scorn but says he was surprised by the level of support he received–even from those who didn’t know him. “I was prepared to delete social media off of my phone, but the messages kept pouring in,” he said. “Every tweet and Facebook comment was read and so greatly appreciated.” The primary criticism, in fact, came expressed as concern that Lea was addicted to prescription painkillers, a growing concern in pro cycling. “At the time, I didn’t address that in my statement, largely because it was very much not the case,” he said. “But when I looked at it from the outside, I could see how people thought it was a possibility.”

Lea said he fully accepts a six-month suspension. “It’s a fair sanction for the offense,” he said, but underlined that there was never any intent to dope and that he simply made a mistake by taking a drug that’s banned in competition the night before a race. Neither the American Arbitration Association nor CAS has made its ruling available, but Lea maintains he had extremely low levels of the active ingredient in Percocet in his system and that it would not have conferred any kind of competitive advantage. Still, his August 8 title in the points race was vacated as a result of the positive test.

Lea says he’s ready to put the episode behind him and has resumed training. But what’s not yet known is his path to Rio. USA Cycling announced the Olympic Long Team for track on December 18. Because Lea was still suspended, he was not named to it. Normally, Lea would be an automatic selection for the Olympic team on the basis of his national championships, but membership on the long team is required for selection to the Olympics.

As well, new USA Cycling CEO Derek Bouchard-Hallhas been plainspoken about the organization’s stance on doping, saying that USAC has to be a voice of “moral authority.” As of press time, USA Cycling had not responded to a request for comment about whether Lea could be added to the Olympic long team or if the organization considered Lea’s case a technical “anti-doping rule violation” or a more serious offense that might limit his chances to be named to the Olympic team.

Lea is proceeding with the belief and hope that he will race in Rio. He says that while the entire case has been difficult, good things have come of it. “Any seasoned competitor can agree that, to a point, you can take for granted not just the ability to compete, but all the little things that go into competition,” he said. “You can get calloused. So this has been a healthy reminder of what I actually love about the sport and that I do love it.

“Now that I’ve grappled and dealt with the idea that my career could’ve been over, I can hopefully toe the start line in Rio knowing that, while there’s a lot of hopes and dreams pinned on the competition, the world doesn’t end with the closing ceremony. That’s a powerful way to move into the future.”

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