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Four-time winner of the Tour de France cycling race, Britain's Chris Froome answers questions during a television interview in Saint-Mars-la-Reorthe, Vendée, Wednesday, July 4, 2018 Saturday, start of the race (Christophe Ena / Associated Press)
by Joseph Wilson | AP July 4 at 2:24 pm
SAINT-MARS-LA-REORTHE, France – Chris Froome asked fans of the Tour de France to let him run in peace, even if they doubt the recent decision that the innocent allegations of doping.
The British cyclist has been the target of spectators in the past. During the 2015 Tour, he said that a man had thrown him a cup of urine shouting "spike".
With the latest edition starting Saturday, five days after the International Cycling Union finally ruled, Froome had won the Spanish Vuelta last year. the four-time winner of the Tour offered an alternative to skeptical fans to show their distrust.
"Support the race in a positive way, do not bring negativity," he said Wednesday in western France. "In terms of safety, I would obviously encourage sports fans to come see the race, and if you're not necessarily a fan of Chris Froome or a Sky fan, come on and put on a jersey." on another team that you support.This would be my advice. "
A cloud fell on Froome after a urine sample taken at the Vuelta in September showed a concentration of 30%. asthma twice as high as salbutamol.
After months of silence, the UCI Froome's result did not represent an unfavorable result, which could have deprived him of his victory over the Vuelta and a suspension.
The decision of the UCI allowed him to participate in the Tour after the organizer of the ASO race had informed him. Prohibit Froome to enter until the doping case is decided.
His use of asthma medications has been well documented and he often uses inhalers during races. According to the rules of the World Anti-Doping Agency, an athlete may be allowed to consume an excess of salbutamol if it proves that it is due to an appropriate therapeutic dosage.
Froome said that he understands that it can take time for fans to believe that he is not cheating. 19659014] "But these data are available, and I would like to think that the more people understand this, the more they will understand my decision to keep running knowing that I have certainly done nothing wrong," Froome said. "Of course, it was damaging, and right now I'm happy to draw a line in the sand and focus on bike racing."
UCI President David Lappartient also issued a call for calm
"(Froome) has the right to operate in a safe environment.I have heard calls, sometimes completely irrational, to violence on the Tour de France", declared it belongs. "I can not accept this and I call on all spectators to protect all athletes and to respect the court ruling so that Chris Froome can compete in a safe and serene environment."
His teammate Geraint Thomas said that Froome "
" I've always been impressed by his way of riding, Thomas said. "But the last nine months have been the most impressive, really, how he was still able to perform and train and engage in all this while everything else was going on."
Thomas, however, said that "It's not like football – it's not just in a closed stadium where you can see everyone," he said. -he declares. "Froome aims to join Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain as the only riders to have won the Tour five times."
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More coverage of the Tour de France: https: // apnews. com / tag / TourdeFrance
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AP Sports writer Andrew Dampf contributed to this report
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