Tour de France winner Froome failed doping test
Chris Froome, a four-time winner of the Tour de France, including its last three editions, tested positive for excessive levels of an asthma drug last fall.
In a urine test taken at the Vuelta a España in September, Froome, of Britain, was found to have double the allowable level of the drug, Salbutamol. Froome won the race.
“It is well known that I have asthma and I know exactly what the rules are,” Froome said in a statement. “I use an inhaler to manage my symptoms [always within the permissible limits] and I know for sure that I will be tested every day I wear the race leader’s jersey.
“My asthma got worse at the Vuelta so I followed the team doctor’s advice to increase my Salbutamol dosage. As always, I took the greatest care to ensure that I did not use more than the permissible dose.
“I take my leadership position in my sport very seriously. The UCI is absolutely right to examine test results and, together with the team, I will provide whatever information it requires.”
The maximum permissible dosage is 16 puffs of salbutamol from an inhaler in a 24-hour period, The Guardian reported. Team Sky, Froome’s team, suggested that the drug could metabolize in unusual ways, resulting in elevated levels.
The UCI, the sport’s governing body, said a B sample analysis had confirmed the positive test. But it said it would not act to discipline Froome until further study of the samples was completed.
Froome had planned to ride in the Giro d’Italia in the spring in a bid to hold the titles of all three major Tours — Spain, Italy and France — simultaneously. He also planned to pursue a record-tying fifth Tour title in August.
Froome, 32, joins a long list of cycling champions who have run into trouble over doping. Most famously, Lance Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour titles over drug use. Alberto Contador lost the 2010 title and Floyd Landis the 2006 championship. Many of the other winners, starting in the late 1990s, including Marco Pantani, Jan Ullrich and Bjarne Riis, also have been caught up in doping scandals.