Ski governing body to rule on Russian doping cases next Thursday.

Berlin (dpa) - The skiing governing body FIS is to provide an update on the status of six Russian cross country skiers disqualified from the 2014 Sochi Olympics for doping violations next Thursday.Alexander Legkov, Evgeniy Belov, Julia Ivanova, Evgenia Shapovalova, Alexey Petukhov and Maxim Vylegzhanin were banned from the Olympics for life by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after being implicated in a state-sponsored doping system.They had previously been under provisional suspension by the FIS which now wants to clarify their position in time for the first cross country World Cup in Ruka, Finland, on November 24."Following receipt of the pending reasoned decision of the IOC Disciplinary Commission, the FIS Doping Panel will undertake the necessary steps in complete accordance with the FIS Anti-Doping Rules, affording the athletes the right of due legal process and convening personal hearings," the FIS said in a statement Saturday."The procedures will take into consideration the impending FIS Cross-Country World Cup season which begins at the end of November 2017. A media communication with the status of the cases will be issued by FIS on Thursday 23 November 2017."Legkov, who won the 50-kilometre race in Sochi, previously insisted he was clean and would take his case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.The cases against the athletes, who have not failed doping tests, are based on reports from independent World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) investigator Richard McLaren who, however, did not single out individual athletes.