The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Ruta Del Sol start for Froome
Change of schedule for British star at centre of doping crisis
Chris Froome’s first race since he was plunged into a doping crisis will be the five-day Ruta Del Sol, which starts in the Spanish town of Mijas on February 14.
While that date is usually associated with affection, Valentine’s Day falls on Ash Wednesday this year and the Christian festival of sombre penitence is perhaps more in keeping with the mood surrounding Team Sky.
Although Froome strongly denies any wrongdoing, the 32-year-old returned a urine sample during September’s Vuelta a Espana containing twice the permitted amount of the asthma drug salbutamol.
The four-time Tour de France winner went on to win that race, completing an historic Tour-Vuelta double, and then won bronze medals in the team and individual time trials at the Road World Championships in Norway a week later.
That individual time trial, on September 20, was his last competitive outing. It was also the day he was informed by the International Cycling Union (UCI) of his adverse analytical finding. News of that test was confirmed by the team after it was leaked to the media at the beginning of December.
Having announced his intention to clear his name, Froome has chosen not to suspend himself until the case is resolved, one way or another, and has just put in a huge block of training in South Africa.
Froome has started his last two campaigns slightly earlier in the season in Australia but was always going to change his schedule this year as he is targeting the Giro d’Italia, cycling’s other Grand Tour, for the first time since 2010.
In a team statement, Froome said: “It’s been a couple of years now since I was last at Ruta del Sol. It’s a race I’ve enjoyed in the past and so I’m looking forward to going back there.”
He reiterated his confidence that he and his team “will be able to get to the bottom of what has happened” but acknowledged the “situation has created a lot of uncertainty”.
Many in the sport, including UCI president David Lappartient, have suggested it would be better for cycling if Froome avoided racing until his case was settled.