FROOME CLEARED TO RACE THE TOUR
BRITON FREE TO DEFEND HIS TITLE AS ANTI-DOPING CASE IS DROPPED
CHRIS FROOME was today cleared to compete in the Tour de France, which starts on Saturday, after his anti-doping case was dropped by t h e s p o r t ’s governing body.
The Team Sky rider was investigated by the UCI after double the allowed level of legal asthma drug Salbutamol was found in his urine during his Vuelta a Espana win in September last year.
Team Sky and the authorities had been at loggerheads over the case, which l o o ke d s e t to overshadow Froome’s attempt to win the Tour de France for a fourth successive time.
Race organisers ASO had over the weekend revealed their intention to block Froome from riding this year’s race, which Froome and Sky had appealed against.
But this morning, the 33-year-old was given the all clear by the UCI’s antidoping tribunal to ride on, not just at the Tour but for the rest of the season, after almost 10 months of legal wrangling that have been damaging to Froome, Sky and the sport as a whole.
The ruling, which was backed by the World Anti-Doping Agency last Thursday but made public only today, means Froome will keep both the Vuelta win and his Giro d’Italia success in May.
In a statement, the UCI said: “The UCI confirms the anti-doping proceedings against Mr Christopher Froome have now been closed.
“The UCI understands that there will be significant discussion of this decision but wishes to reassure all those involved in or interested in cycling that its decision is based on expert opinions, WADA’s advice and a full assessment of the facts of the case.
“The UCI hopes that the cycling world can now turn its focus to, and enjoy, the upcoming races on the cycling calendar.”
From the outset, Froome has denied any wrongdoing over the case but was ordered by the UCI to explain how he had been found with twice the allowed