Despite calls for Team Sky to withdraw Chris Froome from racing under his salbutamol dope test result is resolved, they have said in a statement he is starting his 2018 season next week.
Team Sky statement on Chris Froome plans to race next week
Currently under a cloud after being found with twice the allowed level of Salbutamol in his system late last year, Chris Froome will race next week.
He will get his 2018 campaign underway at the Ruta del Sol.
There had been calls for Team Sky to pull him from racing until his adverse dope test result is resolved either way.
However, the team and Froome have decided to press on and begin racing in 2018.
They are currently trying to find an explanation for the level of asthma inhaler medication in his system during a dope test on stage 18 of the Vuelta.
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Froome won the race overall but news of his test result soon leaked out.
Because salbutamol is permitted to a set dosage, Froome and his team must be given an opportunity, under anti doping rules, to try and explain why his levels were outside the permitted range.
Team Sky issued a statement on Froome’s 2018 racing debut which we are carrying in full just below.
Team Sky statement on Chris Froome returning to racing
Chris Froome will begin his 2018 season at the Ruta del Sol.
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Froome will be part of Team Sky’s line-up for the five-day stage race in Andalucía (February 14th-18th).
He last raced the Ruta del Sol in 2015, when he took overall victory and picked up a stage win along the way.
Froome will line up in Spain after spending the early part of the year training in South Africa.
Froome said: “I have put in a hard training block in January. It’s been good to be out on my bike and to get the miles under my belt.
“It’s been a couple of years now since I was last at Ruta del Sol. It’s a race I’ve enjoyed in the past and so I’m looking forward to going back there.
“I’m confident that we will be able to get to the bottom of what has happened and I’m working hard with the team to do that.
“No one is keener than me to move things forward as quickly as possible."
Team Sky confirmed in December that Chris and the team were providing information to the UCI regarding Chris’s use of his asthma medication at last year’s Vuelta a Espana. The UCI process is ongoing.
Froome said: “I’m confident that we will be able to get to the bottom of what has happened and I’m working hard with the team to do that.
“Obviously I understand that this situation has created a lot of uncertainty. I completely get why there has been so much interest and speculation.
“I hope that people will appreciate there are limits to what I can say whilst the process is still ongoing but no one is keener than me to move things forward as quickly as possible."
Team Principal Sir Dave Brailsford added: “We all recognise that these are difficult circumstances but it’s important for all sides that this process is conducted fairly before a final conclusion is reached.
“It is a complex situation but we’re working as hard as we can with Chris to resolve things as soon as possible."
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