Banned Austrian cross-country skier targets World Championships

AUSTRIAN cross-country skier Jurgen Pinter has set his sights on next year's World Championships in Oslo with his four-year doping ban now over.

COMEBACK TRAIL: Jurgen Pinter, whose four-year ban expired on March 1, admits his comeback was never in doubt

The 31-year-old, who has always protested his innocence, received his ban following the doping scandal surrounding the Austrian cross-country and biathlon team at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.

Pinter was suspended by the International Ski Federation after large amounts of blood-doping products and equipment were found in the team lodgings in Turin following a raid by Italian police.

He was one of four cross-country skiers banned from the Olympics for life by the IOC, which also fined the Austrian Olympic Committee $1 million.

But Pinter has trained throughout his suspension and insists a comeback to the sport was always on the cards.

"A comeback had only been doubtful for a short time. I decided to continue my career shortly after the ban had been announced," said Pinter, whose ban ended on March 1.

"Next year's world championships in Oslo are my goal."

Pinter had initially been cleared by FIS and the Austrian Ski Federation, but that was overruled in November 2008 by the Court of Arbitration of Sport on appeal by the International Olympic Committee and the World Anti-Doping Agency.