Lizzie Armitstead: 'I will hold my head high in Rio and do my best for Great Britain'

Lizzie Armitstead has issued a statement hitting back at comments about missed doping tests.

The cyclist had been suspended pending disciplinary action after being issued with three strikes for missing drug tests.

But her Rio Olympics hopes were reprieved after she successfully appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to declare the first test void.

In a statement posted on her Facebook, Armitstead asked for understanding from the public, stressing that the CAS had ruled "quickly and unanimously in my favour and cleared me of any wrong doing".

Armitstead laid out the reasons behind her three 'strikes' - warnings issued by the Doping Control Officer (DCO) if they are unable to contact an athlete for a drugs test within an allotted time period.

She wrote:

Refusing to divulge too much detail, Armitstead said that her second strike was due to personal reasons and that she was dealing with a "traumatic time" when she forgot to tick a vital box on the form.

Responding to abuse on Twitter following the announcement of the CAS's ruling, Armitstead ended her long statement by saying: "To any of the 'Twitter army' reading this, do yourself a favour and go for a bike ride. It's the most beautiful thing you can do to clear your mind."