‘I never doubted Froomey’

GERAINT THOMAS has “always believed” in

Tour de France legend Chris Froome’s integrity and his Team Sky boss Sir Dave Brailsford.

Four-times champion Froome ran the gauntlet of appalling abuse on Le Tour after he was cleared of wrongdoing over a dope test sample which revealed he exceeded the permitted level of asthma medication salbutamol.

And Brailsford, vilified by a parliamentary report on sporting ethics, had to ride out a storm of innuendo to survive as Team Sky principal.

After last Wednesday’s shock announcement that Sky are ending their £25million-a-year sponsorship after the 2019 season, Thomas’s future is uncertain unless a new backer is found.

But he insisted: “We’re still confident in Dave (above) and the management that they can keep us together – a lot of other teams have lost title sponsors but have carried on.

“It’s certainly not the end, or at least I hope it’s not the end. It just gives everyone a bit more motivation.”

Froome and Thomas are expected to ride the Tour in 2019 as twin warheads, just as their double act delivered Sky’s sixth Yellow Jersey in seven years last July.

And Thomas – never implicated in allegations of skulduggery – said: “I’ve always had 100 per cent trust in Froomey’s integrity.

“When I heard about the salbutamol case, it just didn’t stack up. You would have to be stupid to take well over the permitted level when you are race leader and are being tested every day. It didn’t make any sense why he would do that.

“I’ve always believed in him, and that there would be an explanation for how that happened.”