Despite being vindicated by comprehensive inquiries in Spain and Australia, Davis knows it will be some time before the air clears completely. "I always said it was a matter of weathering the storm and knowing it would pass," he said.

"I'm not sure how long that will take, but it will pass, I know that. I still always get asked about it and it just reminds me of what happened. But there comes a point where you need to forget about it. I don't need to prove anything to anyone any more, I've done that over and over. I'd rather forget about the past."

You can't blame him. When a drugs sting began in May 2006, Davis and several of his teammates found themselves caught in a terrible position. The investigation, named Operacion Puerto, implicated no less than 200 professional athletes. Many were cyclists, but footballers and tennis players were also named in association with the scandal's central characters.

The drama began when an unemployed cyclist made claims of systematic doping in his former team. Spanish police launched raids that led to the arrest of highly placed cycling officials, as well as a doctor named Eufemiano Fuentes, in whose possession they found a vast quantity of steroids, blood products and paraphernalia.

Over the following months, cycling was thrown into turmoil. Riders and directors were suspended and sacked. Amid the threats, accusations and charges, there were fears the sport was absorbing its final blow. And, somewhere among it all, Davis - one of five riders from the Astana-Wurth team to be implicated in the operation - was left scratching his head.

What happened to Davis was the flipside of efforts to catch cheats. Operacion Puerto caught out many big names (for instance, Jan Ullrich and Ivan Basso, two favourites to win the 2006 Tour de France, were forced out one way or another by the case) but Davis and many other innocent riders were caught in the crossfire, betrayed and their reputations sullied.

Davis was also forced out of the 2006 Tour de France, but was cleared by a Spanish court on July 26 that year. Finally, five months later, the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority closed the file on Davis. From that point on, he was left to rebuild his career.

But it wasn't so easy. Despite the clearance, the international cycling authority, UCI, demanded he sit out the 2007 road world championships. Cycling Australia refused and UCI later relented. After parting ways with controversial team Astana - which was not invited to compete in this year's Tour de France, denying Alberto Contador the chance to defend his title - Davis signed with Lance Armstrong's former team, Discovery Channel.

He performed very well, but when that sponsor ended its association with the sport, Davis found that the mud stuck and he struggled to find a new team. After months of uncertainty, he was forced to take a step back and sign with Mitsubishi-Jartazi, competing at a level below ProTour.

Now, with Quick Step taking him on, he appears to have reached a turning point in his career. "It's all starting to come good now, I hope," he said. "I signed with Mitsubishi in March and started the season straight away with them. Results-wise, I've been consistent with places, but not many victories. Last week, I finalised a deal with Quick Step for another two years. So it's turned out in my favour. It's one of the biggest teams in the world. It's great news."

Respected cycling journalist and commentator Phil Liggett said he was pleased for Davis. "I always felt that Allan was dealt an unfair hand as he was not shown to be guilty of anything except by association," Liggett said from Beijing. "Despite that, he has been treated like someone who has given a positive test and was forced to serve a suspension because of it. I am sure [Astana boss, Johan] Bruyneel would have given him a contract at the start of the year but the slur hanging over him made him unemployable."

Davis was hurt at having to miss the Tour, and instead of competing he returned home to San Sebastian, where he lives with his wife and two children. His cyclist brother Scott and his family are nearby. At the end of July, he raced in Belgium, preparing himself for the second half of the year.

"I missed [the Tour], but what can you do?" he said. "It was hard to watch it. It's been a goal of mine the whole time, to race there again, but it makes it easier knowing that there's now opportunities for me in the years to come. I just need to keep working hard, get back to that level where I know I can accomplish what I want."

Davis has always been thankful for the support he received throughout the ordeal. "Everyone's been supportive," he said. "There's been no reason not to be supportive. Anyone in that sort of situation is going to need help. We're all human and it was very sad for me what happened. It was sad also for my family to be involved. We had no part in it whatsoever, so it was very hard to swallow.

"We had a lot of support from Australian cycling, from friends, family - and even people I don't know. I thank every one of those people. It's made me stronger and I just want to concentrate on the future."