Vroom Froome
British rider Chris Froome extends his Tour de France lead in Pyrenees.
CAUTERETS, France — Tour de France leader Chris Froome understands those who harbor doubts about his dominant performances in a sport long marred by doping. Maybe, he says, it’s time to bring in an independent specialist to test his body and help prove that he’s riding clean.
Fromme, 30, of Britain, cruised through a second day in the Pyrenees mountains Wednesday, finishing more than five minutes behind Stage 11 winner Rafal Majka of Poland but keeping his main rivals in check.
The bumpy, grueling ride under a hot sun came a day after Froome blew away the pack, prompting new suspicions about doping. Ironically, it came as Lance Armstrong — who was stripped of seven consecutive Tour titles — was to return to French roads nearby, even though he’s persona non grata at the Tour de France.
Armstrong was to take part in charity rides Thursday and Friday to raise money to fight leukemia, taking the same route that Tour riders will cover a day later.
Froome brushed off Armstrong’s visit as a “nonevent,” noting that “he’s not on the start line with us.”
But Armstrong’s presence is a reminder that any Tour leader can expect to come under at least some suspicion. To deal with that, Froome is willing to take testing even further.
“I’m open-minded to potentially doing some physiological testing at some point after the Tour, or at whatever point suits,” he said. “Obviously, there would be some interesting things that come out of it, and maybe as a team we might even learn something from it.”
Speaking to French TV, Froome said he does “sympathize” with people who have their doubts about him, adding: “It’s a normal question to ask” given the sport’s history. The day’s glory meanwhile went to Majka, 25. The victory was the first for his strong Tinkoff Saxo Bank team and offered some redemption for the squad whose leader, two-time Tour winner Alberto Contador, has been struggling in this race.