Paulding gains title as Lynch ban is upheld

The Welshman Steve Paulding became British keirin champion yesterday - five weeks after the race in Manchester - when an appeals panel stripped the South African Shawn Lynch of the title, writes Robin Nicholl.

They upheld a 12-month suspension imposed on Lynch last month for a doping offence but changed the date from which it started. The ban originally began from the hearing on August 5, but the panel back-dated it to June 4, the date of the offence.

Lynch, who had qualified for a British racing licence through his British- born father, failed a drug test after his sample exceeded the permitted ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone.

Paulding was awarded gold in the event, in which riders jockey for position behind a pacing motorcycle before a final sprint for the line.