Amid all the doping accusations, Chris Froome comes through the doom and gloom to shine at Giro d'Italia

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  • After crashing in the prologue and fading like a flower for large spells of the race, Chris Froome has blossomed to become the first Briton to win the Giro d’Italia – but the pre-race favourite didn’t have it all his way over the past three weeks.

    Trailing by over three minutes heading into Friday’s third last stage, it looked like compatriot and long-time maglia rosa holder Simon Yates was all but set to clinch a first Grand Tour victory.

    But for the first time in 15 days, the man who has won four Tour de France titles and is considered one of the greatest cyclists of all time burst to life and showed us his true pedigree.

    Friday’s mammoth 185km stage to Bardonecchia was cycling at its rawest and thrilling best. With Yates struggling at the back of the peloton, Froome and his Team Sky set the pace like a Maserati charging around an F1 street circuit.

    With a grueling 80km still remaining, Froome attacked on the Colle delle Finestre, a mountain that makes the body shake by even looking at. Too many times in the past we’ve seen riders attack too early and it all end in tears, but the Briton sparkled on the hills of northern Italy, with each pedal stronger than the next.

    As he crossed the finish line to record one of the most extraordinary stage wins in Giro history, the margin of his effort meant he donned pink for the first time, finishing over three minutes ahead of reigning champion Tom Dumoulin and nearly 39 minutes ahead of Yates.

    Yet, strangely, before this, he was nowhere to be seen – apart from his win on Stage 14 – with most people believing his lack of form and confidence was down to the distractions of the ongoing anti-doping case against him.

    Three weeks ago many believed Froome shouldn’t have been on the start line in Jerusalem with the positive test for the banned substance salbutamol from last September at the Vuelta a Espana continuing to hang over his name and reputation.

    He dismisses any wrong doing and is fighting his case with the UCI, but too many times before in this sport we have heard similar stories with a sad ending.

    It’s easy to imagine the pressure from the world’s media, coupled with certain members of the peloton criticising him, was affecting his focus and momentum during the early stages of the race.

    But until a ban is issued or statement to clear his name circulated, we can only speculate as to what the result will be and what it will do to his status going forward.

    For now, the 33-year-old remains one of the greatest-ever cyclists – only the third man in history along with Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault to hold the Tour de France, Vuelta and Giro titles at the same time.

    It’s a phenomenal feat considering the three races navigate the most arduous terrains around Europe and offer little rest for those who consider themselves to be strong enough to challenge for general classification honours.

    His Giro victory is nothing short of spectacular, with the historic stage win on Friday sure to live long in the memory of cycling fans worldwide, especially after he looked down and out when crashing hard before the Jerusalem time trial.

    Whether Froome will be on the start line bidding for his fifth Tour de France crown in July remains to be seen, but there is no doubt he is the undisputed king of world cycling at the moment.

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