Thursday 21 June 2018 11:24, UK
Team Sky have labelled comments from five-time Tour de France winner Bernard Hinault calling for riders at this year's race to go on strike if Chris Froome competes as “irresponsible and ill-informed”.
Froome recorded an adverse analytical finding for excessive levels of the asthma drug Salbutamol following a urine sample during last year's Vuelta a Espana.
The 33-year-old has denied any wrongdoing and is confident that he will be cleared after the investigation by the sport's governing body Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).
Hinault said Froome should not be allowed to compete at this year's Tour de France while the investigation was ongoing.
"Christopher Froome should not be at the start of the Tour," Hinault said. "The peloton should put its feet to the ground and say, if he is starting the race, we won't start.
"Quite simply because he has tested positive, for me this is not an abnormal test. The people at the UCI should have said, you have been caught, so you should not be racing."
Team Sky have responded to those comments, saying Hinault has his facts wrong and that Froome is entitled to due process.
A Team Sky spokesperson said: "It is disappointing that Bernard Hinault has, once again, repeated factually incorrect comments about a case he clearly does not understand.
"His comments are irresponsible and ill-informed. Chris has not had a positive test, rather an adverse analytical finding for a prescribed asthma medication. As an ex-rider himself, Bernard will appreciate the need for fairness for each and every athlete. And at the current time, Chris is entitled to race.
"This process would normally be confidential to protect the athlete and establish the facts. Unfortunately, it was leaked. However, both Chris and the team are following the process that has been put in place by the UCI.
"It is clearly a difficult situation which no one wants resolved more quickly than Chris and the team.
"Chris and Team Sky are fully-focused on the upcoming Tour de France and won't let these uneducated comments affect our preparation for the greatest race in the world."
