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Chris Froome Expecting Tour De France 'Confrontation'

Chris Froome expects fans to be less welcoming at this year's Tour de France.GETTY IMAGES

Chris Froome said that he is expecting "confrontation out on the road" at this year's Tour de France, "despite his anti-doping case being dropped," according to the BBC. The four-time Tour winner, 33, was under investigation after more than the allowed level of legal asthma drug salbutamol was found in his urine. He said, "We've raced under trying circumstances at the Tour for the last six years. There is always some kind of confrontation out on the road but it's always a minority and it's just something you have to deal with." Tour organizer Amaury Sport Organisation previously said that Froome taking part could "damage" the race, but this week said that the Int'l Cycling Union's (UCI) decision, "reached after working closely" with WADA, means there is "no reason to prevent his participation when the race starts on Saturday" (BBC, 7/2).

SERIOUS IMPLICATIONS: In London, Tom Cary reported WADA was accused of being "lame" and "toothless" on Monday after Froome "apparently exposed its salbutamol test as unreliable, opening the door to potential action from other athletes" convicted of the same offense in the past. Froome "had always vehemently denied breaking any rules" after he triggered an adverse analytical finding at least year’s Vuelta a España. It was an "embarrassing climb down" for ASO, but "not half as embarrassing" as WADA's "climb down, the implications of which could be far more serious." Italians Diego Ulissi and Alessandro Petacchi "were both banned on the strength of having less salbutamol in their systems" than Froome had last September. They "did not have access to the funding or legal representation to which Froome has had access." WADA "did not go into great detail as to how Froome had managed to demonstrate his innocence," beyond saying that his sample result was "not inconsistent with an ingestion of salbutamol within the permitted maximum inhaled dose" (TELEGRAPH, 7/2). In London, Alex Lowe wrote the UCI's decision "caused a storm of protest." Former Tour de France cyclist Michael Rasmussen tweeted, "Time has come to shut down a lame toothless @wada_ama. Sad news that Wada doesn’t appeal to CAS in a case where there are plenty of evidence both for and against Froome + precedence for handing out suspensions in similar cases" (LONDON TIMES, 7/2).

CHASING HISTORY: REUTERS' Shrivathsa Sridhar reported Froome will lead Team Sky’s lineup for the Tour de France, the team announced on Tuesday. Froome "is looking to emulate" Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain as a five-time Tour de France winner. He will be supported by teammates Egan Bernal, Jonathan Castroviejo, Michal Kwiatkowski, Gianni Moscon, Wout Poels, Luke Rowe and Geraint Thomas (REUTERS, 7/3).

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