Tom Dumoulin says Chris Froome at Giro d'Italia would be “worst scenario ever” if drug scandal isn't resolved

Matt Jones - Editor 22:40 20/02/2018
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  • Tom Dumoulin believes the ongoing saga with Chris Froome is not good for cycling.

    Defending Giro d’Italia champion Tom Dumoulin says Chris Froome would be a welcome addition to this year’s race, but insists the saga over the Briton’s failed drug test last year can’t be allowed to hang over one of the most prestigious races in cycling.

    Team Sky rider Froome won both the Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana in 2017 – two of cycling’s famed Triple Crown – but his success has since been shrouded in controversy after two urine samples taken following the Vuelta turned up with twice the allowed level of asthma drug salbutamol in.

    That became public knowledge in December, thus throwing aspersions on Froome’s two victories last year, as well as his three previous triumphs at Le Tour in 2013, 2015 and 2016.

    Froome has already stated he will compete at the Giro – cycling’s third Grand Tour – this year, starting on May 4, and the Kenyan-born rider remains free to compete while under investigation.

    He finished 10th at the Ruta del Sol in Spain on Sunday and Giro organisers are pushing for a solution from the UCI before the race starts as it does not want a situation like in 2011 – when Alberto Contador won the overall title but later was stripped of it for an anti-doping case from the 2010 Tour.

    And ahead of the Abu Dhabi Tour which starts on Wednesday, Team Sunweb rider Dumoulin claims a repeat would be the “worst scenario ever” for cycling.

    “It would be very bad if he starts the Giro without still knowing something and they have to say after the Giro then that he’s suspended. That would be the worst scenario ever so I hope they find a solution,” Dumoulin, 27, told reporters at the Abu Dhabi Tour press conference at Yas Marina Circuit in the UAE capital on Tuesday.

    “I hope justice prevails, and whatever that may be. Everyone wants clarity. I think Froome wants the same. Everyone wants that. The public is asking for that.

    “I don’t think a lot of riders have a different opinion, I think they agree that it’s not good for cycling that this case is lingering on and there’s not a solution.”

    A team of legal advisers are challenging the Froome finding and it is understood the crux of their argument centres around the 32-year-old’s kidney function.

    Tom Dumoulin (l) poses with other riders at Yas Marina Circuit with the Abu Dhabi Tour trophy on Tuesday.

    Tom Dumoulin (l) poses with other riders at Yas Marina Circuit with the Abu Dhabi Tour trophy on Tuesday.

    Dumoulin declined to say whether he believed Froome should take himself out of competing while the case is resolved, but believes everyone wants the situation resolved before the Giro.

    “I can’t say if he should sit out. At the moment he’s allowed to race, so he may do that, he may not, but it’s his decision,” said Dutchman Dumoulin who claimed the 2017 Maglia Rosa ahead of Movistar’s Nairo Quintana and Vincenzo Nibali of Bahrain-Merida.

    “I guess everybody wants that and I guess Froome wants the same. Also the public too. They want to know what’s going on.”

    Giro director Mauro Vegni said earlier this month: “We cannot accept a repeat of the Contador case or a trial after the fact. We want a certificate from the UCI that allows the rider to start the Giro.”

    As for Dumoulin, Abu Dhabi forms part of his preparations for defending his Giro title. And he revealed that he wants to compete in Le Tour in July too, depending on how he fares at the Giro.

    “The Tour could definitely be an option,” he said.

    “We will see after the Giro. We have a few scenarios ready and then will decide maybe a week or two after the Giro how I feel. If I’m completely f****d and I mentally don’t see myself riding the Tour anymore then we don’t do it.

    “If I feel good then it may be possible to do it. First the Giro and first Abu Dhabi.”

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