THOMAS SPEAKS OUT ON DOPING AND GIVES BACKING TO FROOME
GERAINT Thomas has backed his under-fire team-mate Chris Froome but admitted his intense frustration at being ‘tarnished’ by cycling’s doping issues.
And the Welsh star has also called for a complete ban on controversial Therapuetic Use Exemptions (TUEs) and life bans for those who are found guilty of certain doping offences.
In a wide-ranging interview with Cyclingnews.com, the double Olympic champion revealed he will be riding for himself at the 2018 Tour de France having been handed a free role by Team Sky and insisted he is ready to lead the team at the world’s greatest race if Froome does not make the start line.
The four-time Tour winner has been the subject of intense media speculation following last week’s revelations that he had produced an adverse analytical finding for salbutamol in a urine test carrried out after Stage 18 of the Vuelta a Espana in September.
“For a start, I trust him (Froome),” said Thomas. “I don’t think that he would do anything to try and cheat. It’s just a difficult situation.
“I don’t know the facts that they’re going to use to argue their case but it’s hard and being who he is, I can’t see them going lightly on him.
“I back him 100 per cent. I don’t think he’s a cheat. I’m sad for him, and his reputation but also for the team as well.
“That’s the main thing. It’s another thing against the team but I do trust that he wouldn’t have gone out of his way to cheat.”
Froome has yet to submit a full defence but it is understood that he declared his salbutamol use on his declaration forms before being tested at the Vuelta. According to Team Sky, the rider upped his dose of asthma medication at the race on the advice of one of the team’s medical staff but in a Sunday Times article last weekend it was put forward that Froome used the medication – via an inhaler – even after stage 18 in a bid to subdue his coughing while conducting television interviews.
“If the team back him and trust him now then they should stick with him” added Thomas.
“That’s what they’ve decided now, so I don’t see the point in backing him and then if he does have a ban just fobbing him off. But I’m a bike rider and I have to abide by the decisions that the bosses in Team Sky make.” Thomas revealed he has spoken to Froome and that the events of the past week have taken their toll on him.
“We talked briefly. It’s the first time I’ve seen him and he’s quiet. In the past he’s been at the Tour and had things thrown at him, and had people accuse him of things,” added Thomas.
“He takes that in his stride but this is another level to that. It’s on his mind, and we’ve talked, not really about the details but I’ve said that I’ve backed him. You can see that it’s affected him but it’s going to, something like that.”
It is just the latest in a long line of controversies which have dogged Team Sky over the past two years and Thomas, who has never been linked to any of them, admitted his frustrations at the events which have unfolded around him.
“It’s obviously frustrating for the riders who don’t have anything to do with any of it,” he said.
“I don’t know how it’s happened but it does seem that it’s one thing after another, whether it’s Team Sky or British Cycling.
“That’s life though and there are things that aren’t in your control. At the end of the day, I can only worry about myself. I don’t read all the articles or Twitter, where all sorts of things are said. All I can do is worry about myself and concentrate on my training and not eating too much.
“It’s frustrating when we’re all tarnished by whatever happens. You’ve just got to deal with it and as long as I’ve got a clear conscience, then that’s all I can do. I can’t change what others do, I can just be the best I can be.”
Thomas believes a ban on TUEs would clear up a grey area that has become one of the sport’s most controversial subjects.
“Let’s say I was at the Tour and I was leading and then I got sick. I could technically have a TUE but I’m not sure I would because it’s going to come out, it’s going to be leaked, and then I’m going to be seen as a cheat, even though I’ve had a genuine reason,” he said.
“I don’t really know what else I could do really. I’m not going to come out and preach how good I am and that I’m whiter than white. They’re just words so it’s down to how you act and even though I’ve not had TUEs, even if I had it doesn’t mean I’ve cheated.
“I have a strong stance on antidoping. So I’d get rid of TUEs and I’d ban people for life for blood doping, and EPO. Why give them a second chance? This life is a luxury, and I feel I’m in a privileged position, so if someone goes out of their way to break the rules then they’re just not needed.
“Why don’t they just get rid of TUEs and that whole grey area? If you have something that affects you then having an inhaler is one thing but if you’re having intravenous injections then it might cure you, but if the side effects are also beneficial, then I think you should just get rid of all TUEs. Let’s not have them because it would make things a lot simpler.
“Whatever happens, happens. I can’t affect any of that but I’ll have a free role at the Tour. That will suit me, especially in the first week if there’s wind and we’ve got the cobbles. I can just stay near the front and then maybe have a bit of an advantage after the first nine days. If I’m good enough, I’ll have a free role to see what I can do.”