Chris Froome confident of doping scandal vindication
Written by News on 02/05/2018
Team Sky rider Chris Froome has urged people not to “make up their minds just yet” as he continues his bid to clear his name after an adverse analytical finding for the asthma drug salbutamol.
The five-time Grand Tour winner was speaking in Jerusalem ahead of Friday’s opening Giro d’Italia stage, where he is attempting to re-write the history books and become the first cyclist in 35 years to hold the Tour de France, Vuelta a Espana and Giro titles at the same time.
“I would say to people ‘don’t make up your minds just yet’,” the British rider, who uses an inhaler to cope with exercise-induced asthma, told Sky News.
“Wait until you have all the information. That information will come. It’s a difficult situation for me to be in because it’s meant to be a confidential process and there’s a process in place for me to demonstrate I have done nothing wrong.
“It’s not something I can give a running commentary on, the exact details, the timeline. I’m confident that when we get to the end of the case people will see it from my point of view.”
Froome was found to have twice the permitted amount of the asthma drug salbutamol in his system after a Vuelta stage in Spain last September. He went on to win the race.
If the 32-year-old rider can’t prove his innocence he could be stripped of the Vuelta title and banned from the sport.
“I’m absolutely confident of where I am in this,” he added. “I have done nothing wrong and I will demonstrate that.”
The first three stages of this year’s Giro d’Italia are being held in Israel, the first time the race has been staged outside Europe.
(c) Sky News 2018: Chris Froome confident of doping scandal vindication
