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The President of the International Cycling Union returns to the case of "abnormal" British control.
Special Envoy to Noirmoutier
The UCI, Monday, whitewashed Christopher Froome, the quadruple winner of the Tour. Epilogue of an endless and opaque soap opera that has poisoned cycling in recent months. Two days before the start of the Tour, the leader takes stock.
LE FIGARO: Did Christopher Froome make you have nightmares?
David LAPPARTIENT : Nightmares, no. I am not afraid of the truth in general and procedures. But, to be very frank, this is not the simplest file I inherited since it arrived the day before my election (last September). When one is elected, it is to manage the happy moments like the difficult moments.
What do you answer to those who advance that the verdict sounds like a failure of the fight against doping?
I can not agree with that. People had tried Froome before the trial. It is often the popular revenge. From the moment that there was this leak in December, abnormal control for people, it means guilty. They do not think that the rider has the opportunity, for a specified substance, to explain why there might possibly be reasons for it not being normal. We made a decision that is totally logical and in line with the decision of the World Anti-Doping Agency. Everyone is fighting the UCI today, but when I receive a letter from WADA on June 28 stating that Mr. Froome's samples do not constitute an anti-doping rule violation, I do not do not see how we could punish Chris Froome in light of that. They want their truth, they want a punishment even if there is no legal basis. Sorry, it does not work like that at the UCI, even if today it does not make the institution popular, even if today it sometimes gives the impression of an agreement between a certain number of people. It is, unfortunately for them and fortunately for the general principles of law, because we still follow principles, that Chris Froome was released. I understand the reaction of the people but they wanted Froome's head at the end of a picket, whether he was guilty or not.
"Chris Froome is a great runner but he may not have the membership Peter Sagan "
Is he welcome on the Tour?
I do not know if this is the exact word. In any case, he is allowed to start. At one point there was a verdict, and if it was not the one you were hoping for, it was the one who fell. You must, respect him, and two, in these conditions, Chris Froome was not sanctioned, all the charges against him having been lifted, you must respect him at first, like the other riders. No more, no less.
Is he today the world leader you dream for your discipline?
Chris Froome is a great runner but he may not have popular support that Peter Sagan can have with his jersey of world champion. Both run differently because they do not run the same style of racing. Chris Froome, I can not blame him, run with a strong team and win the Tour. But we are bored a little bit in the Tour de France. This attracts less sympathy than when Bernard Hinault with the yellow jersey left, even when he was five minutes early. With Peter Sagan – look at his last Paris-Roubaix victorious – we are still in this epic of cycling. This makes it popular. Peter Sagan is a fabulous ambbadador of our sport.
Do you fear the hostility that Christopher Froome could face on the roads of the Tour?
In general, with the bicycle public, one is not in a football stadium where people do not care about the pear. At home, there is respect for all runners. I trust the spectators. But nothing prevents, out of 12 million spectators, that you have two, three stupid alcoholic who can make gestures displaced. But it is an extreme minority.
"It is not on the side of the UCI that it dragged"
What lessons do you draw from this endless series, how to make more clear, more effective, more fast?
I continue to campaign for the suspension as a precautionary measure. It would not have changed the judgment, it was relaxed, but at least it would avoid a period of animosity between the two. And that can only accelerate the procedures. Everyone has an interest, therefore, that it ends as soon as possible. At the WADA level, we also see that there are a few questions to ask about the tests: how do we badyze them, how can we answer them more directly? It is not the UCI that has lost time. Chris Froome filed his findings on June 4, WADA wrote to me on June 28. And we make an answer on July 2nd. To write in four days the entire judgment of the Froome case, our lawyers worked night and day. It is not on the side of the UCI that it hangs …
What do you wish for this Tour?
I wish a beautiful Tour de France, that one has a nice winner and, especially , a nice fight. I do not want a padlocked race. We were sometimes bored in a number of Tours de France. I want an unbridled race and I want to tell all the riders who want to win that you have to agree to lose everything to win everything. If you want to win the Tour, you have to reverse the Tour where you are not expecting, and not to attack two kilometers from the finish. I hope that Nibali, Bardet and all the others will be able to make sure that we have a wonderful race …
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