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Sky stand by Knaven despite doping allegations

PARIS (Reuters) - Servais Knaven remains a Team Sky sports director despite doping allegations resurfacing against the former Dutch rider, the British outfit said. "We have taken these allegations very seriously... Handed over the information presented to us to three independent world-class anti-doping experts for their analysis and expert opinion," Sky said in a statement. "Their view on the basis of what has been presented to us is that there is no proof of doping and Servais continues to maintain his innocence." Knaven was a member of the TVM team, who faced trial in France in 2001 after vials of EPO were found in a team car back in 1998. The Mail on Sunday, who said it had access to court documents, reported that experts found Knaven had doped. "It is important to remember that no charges were ever brought against Servais. This goes back over 15 years and has been looked at several times during that period," Team Sky's statement added. "Servais has played an important part in the success of Team Sky over the last five years. He remains a valued team member." Team Sky claim they have a zero-tolerance policy against doping, asking staff and riders to sign a statement saying they have never doped. In 2012, Dutchman Steven de Jongh, also a member of the TVM team in 1998, admitted to doping and subsequently left his job as Team Sky sports director. (Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Sudipto Ganguly)