Acquittal for Christopher Froome: The international cycling federation UCI has closed the investigation against the four-time Tour de France winner in the asthma drug affair and acquitted him of any misconduct. This was announced by the UCI on Monday, five days before the start of the 105th tour of France. In its explanatory statement, the association is essentially based on the assessments of the World Anti-Doping Agency WADA.
The 33-year-old Briton Froome has been under investigation for months due to a positive doping test for the asthma drug salbutamol during the 2017 Spain Tour.
The values of the later Vuelta winner were twice as high as the permitted limit. Froome’s participation in races like his recent victory at the Giro d’Italia was highly controversial because of the unsettled affair.
“I am very pleased that the UCI has relieved me,” said the native Kenyan, who spoke of an “important moment” for cycling. He never doubted the outcome of the investigation, “for the simple reason that I did nothing wrong. I have had asthma since I was a child. I know the rules about medication.”
He was glad that the case was now closed. “This decision marks an end. Now we can look forward and focus on the Tour de France.”
Whether Froome on Saturday on the Ile de Noirmoutier on the Atlantic coast will actually roll into the most important round trip of the year, however, seems uncertain. The daily Le Monde reported on Sunday about the tour organiser ASO’s intention not to let Froome start.
The organisation, which is powerful in cycling, therefore relies on Article 28 of its regulations, by which it expressly grants itself the right to deny a rider or team the right to compete if this damages the reputation of the ASO or one of its races. Whether the UCI decision has dispelled the doubts of the ASO is not yet known. Froome’s position, however, has now been significantly strengthened.