Froome could be denied Tour de France entry unless…

Tour de France organisers are planning to deny Chris Froome a place in this year’s race if his salbutamol case has not been resolved, it is understood.

The four-time Tour champion returned an adverse finding for the asthma drug salbutamol during his winning ride at last year’s Vuelta a Espana.

Froome, 32, denies any wrongdoing and continues to race for Team Sky this season - as is his right under the World Anti-Doping Agency’s rules - while his team of lawyers and scientists work on an explanation for the adverse sample, which contained twice the allowed concentration of the drug.

The Team Sky rider has made no secret of his plans to race in this year’s Giro d’Italia in the hope of adding that title to his existing Tour and Vuelta crowns, and UCI president David Lappartient has confirmed that the Brit’s case will not be heard before the race gets underway on May 4.

Giro d’Italia organiser Mauro Vegni has previously told Cyclingnews he is powerless to stop Froome competing in the race, but two senior cycling sources have told PA Sport that ASO, the French company that runs the Tour de France, has no intention of letting a rider compete with a potential antidoping violation hanging over them.

Team are understood to have received no communication from the UCI or ASO that Froome would be barred from riding in the Tour should his case not have concluded. Sky