Chris Froome blocked by organizers from racing in this year’s Tour
By Elliot Howey
The race organizers have taken a huge step in attempting to revoke Froome’s place in this years Tour De France.
According to reports, the 2017 Tour de France champion was blocked from signing in for this year’s race. Meaning Chris Froome will not be allowed to defend his title he won last year. However, Team Sky are set to appeal the decision in a hearing on July 3.
ASO have taken the step to ban Froome from this year’s race as he would damage the image of the race and the organizers due to a AAF (Adverse Analytical Finding) test result for Salbutamol after a race in last year’s 2017 Vuelta a Espana.
Froome is set to have a decision for what or if any disciplinary sanctions are placed on him when The Legal Anti-Doping Services review his case after the tour. However, many teams and fans have questioned the time taken to resolve an issue which is nearly one year on from the AAF sample taken from Froome.
The drug which was found was not the issue, it was the amount. The Sky rider’s sample had double the amount of the drug allowed in his system.
The organizers are claiming that because this is a pending case over Froome’s head ASO rules state that they have the right to “refuse participation in — or to exclude from — the event, a team or any of its members whose presence would be such as to damage the image or reputation of ASO or the event.”
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Team Sky still remain upbeat about Froome’s participation in this year’s Tour. A spokesman from Team Sky told Le Mondre: “We are confident that Chris will be riding the Tour as we know he has done nothing wrong.”
Still, ASO taking the step to actively try and ban the defending champion from the race is a big statement by the race organizers. The Englishman has won the tour on four separate occasions. Winning the last two Tours in 2016 and ’17 and was aiming to make it three titles in a row this year.
The decision on whether Froome will be allowed to race in this years Tour de France will be made on July 4. Not the ideal preparations for a rider who is looking to win his fifth Tour de France as the Tour starts on the 7th of July.