Actually it seems like he is still riding:
In any case, being a Norwegian I would mostly like to see Hushovd winning the Green Jersey and a couple of stages :-)
Greece To Investigate Doping Blunder
1:11 pm PST, 20 December 2004
Greek prosecutors have opened an investigation into how a lab blunder allowed Olympic cycling champion Tyler Hamilton escape an alleged blood doping charge.
The American tested positive for a blood transfusion after winning the Olympic time-trial gold medal.
But the result of his B or second test was deemed "non conclusive" after it was discovered the sample had been destroyed by being deep-frozen.
Prosecutors want to determine if the freezing was deliberate or negligent.
The American is also being investigated for failing another test for a blood transfusion during October's Tour of Spain.
He has always denied the doping allegations.
No, Hamilton is not back racing professionally at this time. At the moment, he's somewhat in limbo. At the Tour of Spain last September, Hamilton failed a test that indicated that he had engaged in "blood doping" (i.e., infusing whole blood -- either one's own, that had been previously banked, or blood taken from somebody else -- into one's system, so as to increase the concentration of red blood cells, thereby boosting performance). Apparently, with a direct test for the use of the red blood cell-boosting drug EPO having been developed, professional cyclists have begun to revert to this older technique (first made infamous when the Finnish runner Lasse Viren was rumored to have blood doped at the 1972 Munich Olympics). Unbeknownst to these cyclists, however, a new testing method had also been developed to detect blood doping. The test was used at both the Athens Olympics and at the Tour of Spain.
Hamilton has protested his innocence, and is still awaiting to put his appeal before the International Court of Arbitration and Sport. Things are still up in the air in this regard, but it looks like his hearing could be held, and a decision rendered, within the next month or so. Absent a successful appeal, Hamilton will almost certainly be suspended by the UCI for two years, which will effectively end his cycling career, given his age.
In the meantime, no professional team has hired Hamilton subsequent to his being fired by Phonak, so he has no opportunity to race in any event.