Cyclingroad cycling

cycling: Degenkolb on the Froome case: "It can't be that difficult"

by

Rapier butt Froome

Cycling: We wait and wait and wait. In the case of Chris Froome (Sky), nothing has changed since the conspicuous test on September 7th. For months, Sky and Froome have been working with their lawyers to develop a strategy against a possible ban. The waiting is getting on the nerves of almost everyone involved. John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo) has now commented on the Chris Froome case to the German Press Agency on the sidelines of the Mallorca Challenge.

Degenkolb wants an official decision

The Salbutamol affair surrounding Chris Froome has shaken cycling. Much more than the conspicuous test, however, the waiting time causes a lack of understanding. Fans, teams and riders are all unhappy with the current state of affairs, as is the UCI around President David Lappartient. The Frenchman recently revealed the Froome case could drag on for over a year. Any victories the Brit achieves during this period would be retrospectively revoked if he were suspended. Lappartient urged Team Sky to suspend Froome. But even then nothing happened. Little by little, more and more drivers are expressing themselves on the subject, like Wout poels (Sky), Romain Bardet (AG2R) and now also John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo).

“It is not conclusive to me why there is still no official decision. Whether he's going to be banned or not, it just has to be clear. It can't be that difficult."

How long can Chris Foome take his time?

The whole issue surrounding the Froome case only seems to exist because there don't seem to be any deadlines. Almost five months have passed since Chris Froome was tested at the Vuelta a Espana with abnormal values. Nothing has happened since then, except that the driver and his team were informed and the media got wind of it more or less involuntarily. Officials say the Brit is working on a strategy to explain the high values. But if it takes you more than five months to bend an explanation, hardly anyone will really believe it. As long as Froome has not explained himself, the UCI does not appear to be allowed to act. And Froome? He drives and drives and drives...

Tags:sword buttdopingFroomeNewsSky

More than Michael Behringer

Cycling with all its tactics, stage analyses, placements and forecasts are Michael Behringer's great passion. In 1996 he tracked his first Tour de France. Since then he has observed almost every race. His passion for cycling has been with him for over two decades. There is no end in sight.