Tour de France owners move to block Chris Froome from race

The owners of the Tour de France have moved to prevent Chris Froome from starting this year’s race.

Four-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome. Picture: AFP

Defending champion Chris Froome will ride the Tour de France even if the owners of the sport’s biggest race want to prevent the four-times winner from appearing in this year’s event due to an ongoing doping investigation, his wife said yesterday.

The Team Sky rider tested positive for excessive levels of the asthma drug Salbutamol at last September’s Vuelta.

Citing sources close to the matter yesterday, French daily Le Monde said Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), which owns the event, was trying to prevent Froome from starting the race.

“Chris will ride the Tour,” Froome’s wife and representative Michelle Froome said yesterday.

The daily newspaper said ASO had sent a letter to Team Sky asking them not to include Froome in their team line-up to protect the Tour’s image. ASO was not immediately available for comment.

A final decision on the organiser’s attempt to prevent the four-time Tour champion from taking part is expected to be made by the French National Olympic and Sports Committee, which is to make a ruling tomorrow, Le Monde said.

Agencies