Froome assured of safe passage on Tour after drugs saga
DEFENDING champion Chris Froome has expressed relief that he is able to pursue a fifth Tour de France title after being cleared by cycling’s governing body of any wrongdoing in a doping case.
Earlier this week, the case was dropped by UCI after an investigation into excessive levels of asthma drug Salbutamol found in Froome’s urine sample during last September’s Vuelta a Espana.
Froome won the Giro d’Italia in May while the investigation was still ongoing, and the Tour organisers had sought to block his registration prior to the long-awaited verdict.
“Now I just want to draw a line in the sand and move on,” the 33-year-old said.
“My aim is to win and go for a Tour-Giro double.”
Froome believes he has nothing to fear from the French public, after UCI president David Lappartient’ s call for a safe environment for the British rider during the race.
“I just raced the Giro in May with the Salbutamol thing hanging over me, and nothing happened there,” Froome said.
“In terms of safety I obviously would encourage fans of the sport to come watch the race, and if you are not necessarily a Chris Froome fan or a Sky fan, come to the race and put a jersey on of another team you do support. That would be my advice.”
Team Sky boss Dave Brailsford praised Froome’s strength of character during the doping investigation.
“Chris has shown great strength and integrity while also maintaining his form. He won the Giro under those conditions,” Brailsford said.
“This is not the first time where there has been this feeling (against the team). We have to focus on our race.”
In a post on his Twitter account, Lappartient denounced calls for “violence” during the three-week event
“I have heard calls, sometimes completely irrational, to violence on the Tour de France,” he said.
“I cannot accept that and I call on all spectators to protect all the athletes and to respect the judicial decision so that Chris Froome can compete in a safe and serene environment like all other athletes.”
The French Government said it would deploy all means necessary to guarantee security.
Tour de France security chief Pierre-Yves Thouault said he shared Lappartient’s concerns but was ready to unleash a huge security operation to police the 10 to 12 million fans at the race this year.
“There will be 23,000 police and 6000 firemen,” Thouault said, adding that several thousand private security agents would also be deployed.
“We are concerned with mountain-top finishes.
“But we will not be focusing more on one team than on any other,” he added, mentioning one notorious mountain stretch, the top section of the Alpe d’Huez.
It has in the past attracted huge unruly crowds where punches have been thrown and urine has been splashed on competitors.