LONDON: Chris Froome has admitted that his adverse drugs test during his victory at the Vuelta a Espana is “damaging” as the four-time Tour de France winner battles to clear his name.
The British rider had twice the permissible amount of asthma medication Salbutamol in his system during the Grand Tour race he won in September.
Cycling’s governing body UCI has asked the Team Sky rider to provide more information but in line with World Anti-Doping Agency guidelines has not suspended him.
If Froome fails to provide a satisfactory answer the UCI could proceed with an anti-doping rule violation case, which could strip him of his Vuelta victory and result in him missing a large chunk of next season.
“This is damaging. It’s come as a huge shock to me as well,” Froome told Sky Sports.
“At the same time I know within me that fundamentally I have followed the protocol, I have not overstepped any boundaries and I hope by the end of this process that will be clear to everyone and I’ll be exonerated of any wrongdoing.
“I can’t say what other people are going to think at the end of this. I can only obviously control my input to the situation.”
Team Sky said in a statement on Wednesday that Froome experienced “acute asthma symptoms” during the final week of the Vuelta and increased his dosage of Salbutamol, within permissible limits, on medical advice.
“Coming into the last week of La Vuelta I began to feel a lot more symptomatic — my asthma was playing up a lot more and that’s when the doctor advised me to increase the number of puffs — obviously staying well in the legal limit of the maximum allowed number of puffs you can take during the race,” said Froome.
“So we did increase it and that’s why we’re faced with this question of ‘I did stay within the limits but obviously the test results show a different reading’ so we’re trying to evaluate what has happened.”
Froome, widely considered the greatest Tour rider of his generation, is scheduled to race the Giro d’Italia in May 2018 ahead of defending his Tour de France title in July 2018.
The test raises fresh questions about British cycling following the scandal surrounding Bradley Wiggins, who received therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs) to take a corticosteroid in 2011, 2012 and 2013, including before his 2012 Tour de France win.
Wiggins and Sky have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, saying the drug was prescribed to treat a longstanding pollen allergy.
Chris Froome admits failed drugs test at Vuelta is "damaging"
Chris Froome admits failed drugs test at Vuelta is "damaging"
Real Madrid face Man City, PSG draw Chelsea in Champions League last 16
- This is the eighth season in which the teams have played each other since 2012
- Liverpool will have a last-16 rematch against Galatasaray
PARIS: Real Madrid and Manchester City will face off in a Champions League knockout tie for the fifth season running after being drawn Friday to play each other in the last 16, while reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain will take on Chelsea.
The Spanish giants, record 15-time European champions, will host City in the first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu next month before traveling to England for the return the following week.
The clubs have already played each other this season, with Pep Guardiola’s City winning 2-1 in Madrid in December during the league phase, in which the Premier League club finished eighth and Real ninth.
That allowed City, Champions League winners in 2023, to advance straight to the last 16 while Madrid had to come through the knockout phase play-offs, in which they beat Benfica 3-1 on aggregate.
This is the eighth season in which the teams have played each other since 2012. Real beat City in the knockout phase play-offs last season, and in the quarterfinals on the way to winning the trophy in 2024. They also emerged victorious in the semifinals in 2022 with City winning at the same stage the following year.
PSG will be at home to Chelsea in the first leg after qualifying for this stage with a 5-4 aggregate win over Ligue 1 rivals Monaco in the play-offs. Chelsea progressed straight to the last 16 after finishing sixth in the league phase.
The sides played each other in the knockout stages in three consecutive years from 2014 to 2016, with Chelsea winning the first of those confrontations in the quarterfinals and PSG triumphing in the last 16 in the following two.
Their last encounter came in July’s Club World Cup final in the United States, when Chelsea won 3-0 against last season’s European champions.
“The draw is fascinating, as usual,” said PSG coach Luis Enrique. “It will be fascinating to play against one of the best English teams, who we know well, but it will not be about revenge. These are two different competitions.”
Chelsea have been coached since January by Liam Rosenior, who had previously come up against PSG in Ligue 1 as coach of Strasbourg.
- Arsenal face Leverkusen, Newcastle play Barcelona -
There is a record total of six English clubs in the last 16. None will play each other in the last 16 but there are two potential all-English quarterfinals.
Liverpool will have a last-16 rematch against Galatasaray, the Turkish giants having defeated the Anfield club 1-0 in September in the league phase.
The winner of that tie will play either PSG or Chelsea in the quarterfinals, meaning there is a chance Liverpool will get the opportunity to avenge their defeat by the Parisians on penalties a year ago.
Meanwhile, Newcastle United will take on Barcelona with the first leg at St. James’ Park — the Spanish side won 2-1 there during the league phase in September.
Barcelona’s only other possible opponents were holders PSG, but their coach Hansi Flick insisted: “We are not celebrating not getting PSG. We must respect our opponents. Everyone wants to reach the final and Newcastle will also be eager to win the Champions League.”
Tottenham Hotspur were drawn to play Atletico Madrid, with the winners of that tie then facing Newcastle or Barcelona in the last eight.
Arsenal, who finished first in the league phase, will come up against Bayer Leverkusen and if they win that would then be huge favorites in a quarter-final against Bodo/Glimt or Sporting of Portugal.
The last-16 meeting with Sporting is the Norwegian upstarts’ reward for knocking out last season’s beaten finalists Inter Milan in the play-offs.
Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes described Arsenal as “perhaps the top favorite for the title in both the Champions League and the Premier League. Everything has to go right, but then we’re capable of making life difficult for them.”
German champions Bayern Munich will play Atalanta, the sole Italian club left in the competition.
The first legs will take place on March 10 and 11, with the second legs a week later. The teams who qualified directly for this stage after finishing in the top eight in the league phase will all be at home in the return matches.
This season’s Champions League final will take place at the Puskas Arena in Budapest on May 30.
