Team Sky Froome in hot water
CHRIS FROOME is facing a 12-month ban after a doping sample he provided in September contained twice the permitted level of an asthma drug.
Britain’s four-time Tour de France champion and Team Sky were plunged into a fresh crisis by an adverse laboratory analysis of a test at La Vuelta.
If he cannot account for the high concentration of salbutamol in his urine on September 7, Froome could be stripped of his maiden Vuelta title and be banned from defending the Yellow Jersey on Le Tour in July.
He could also miss his attempt to win a third consecutive Grand Tour on the Giro d’italia next May.
The adverse results were discovered after a routine test following stage 18, where
Froome – who had struggled the previous day - stretched his lead over rival Vincenzo Nibali on the final climb.
Froome’s sample was found to contain 2,000 nanograms of salbutamol per millilitre – double the World Anti-doping Agency limit of 1,000 ng/ml.
After the controversy surrounding Sir Bradley Wiggins’ permitted use of a banned corticosteroid before his 2012 Tour de France triumph, and a separate jiffy bag mystery he branded a “witch hunt,” the revelations about Froome are another devastating blow to Team Sky’s image.
Froome posted a message on his Twitter page thanking fans for their support, saying: “I am confident that we will get to the bottom of this.
“Unfortunately I can’t share any more information than I already have until the enquiry is complete.”