DEFIANT FROOME
Sky rider is racing in Spain despite his failed drugs test
Chris Froome marked his return to competitive cycling yesterday by insisting that he will yet prove his sporting integrity to be beyond reproach.
The stain of doubt on the fourtime Tour de France winner’s reputation was the subject on everyone’s lips outside the Team sky bus ahead of the little ruta del sol race through southern spain’s majestic landscape. it was his first event since news broke in December that his urine contained double the permitted amount of the asthma drug salbutamol while ile he was winning ng last year’s Vuelta a a Espana.
Froome came out of the bus, relaxed enough to stop to crouch for a picture with an eight-yearold local boy, samuel, - before saying: ‘i do believe that when en all the facts are out there, people will see it from my point of view.
‘There’s a lot of misinformation and also a lot of people who don’t necessarily understand the process that’s in place. i’m not asking for the benefit of the doubt here, i’m just asking for a fair process.
‘Nobody wants this resolved more quickly than i do.’
Froome, 32, has so far taken five months since learning of his controversial test result (pre-dating December’s revelation) without submitting his defence.
But despite the delay, his boss at sky, general manager sir Dave Brailsford (below), offered his most unequivocal support in spain yesterday. ‘i am 100 per cent sure there has been no wrongdoing,’ said Brailsford. ‘Let’s keep a bit of perspective here. What we’re talking about is an inhaler. it’s a puffer. You’re allowed to use it 16 times in 24 hours and the question here is, “Did he use it more than that?” ‘ The rules aren’t bout the urine. The rules are about how many times you take your puffer. it has been proven that even if you take your puffer less than the amount you’re entitled to, you can excrete more than theres hold in your urine.’
regardless of guilt, many felt Froome should not be here to muddy the waters. Those calls were led by UCi president David Lappartient, who encouraged Froome to sit out all competition until the matter is resolved.
sabutamol is not a banned substance, so it does not trigger an immediate suspension, but the level found in Froome’s system means he and Team sky must provide a compelling physiological explanation for the abnormal reading to escape a ban.
Yesterday, there was no apparent ill-feeling among spectators towards Froome, who finished the opening stage of the five-day event comfortably in the peloton. No boos, no missiles. it can be far more hostile high up in the French mountains.
Will the issue be resolved by the time of Froome’s assault on the two grand tours he dreams of winning this year, the Giro d’italia starting on May 4 and the Tour de France on July 7? Neither Froome nor Brailsford were offering any timescale on their submissions, but Froome did confirm he still intends to take part in both races.
The central figure kept up long conversations with his peers in the peloton as he made the 122-mile trip from Mijas to Granada, notably speaking to former teammate Mikel Landa, of Movistar. he was buoyed by their reaction.
‘it’s the first time i’ve seen a lot of guys since this all happened, so it’s great to catch up with them in person and amazing to see how much support there is out there,’ said Froome. ‘it was really quite touching, some of the things people said.’