Tour de France: Chris Froome hits back at French critics
Team Sky rider discredits Laurent Jalabert and Cedric Vasseur
Thursday 16 July 2015 20:30, UK
Chris Froome has hit back at two former French riders who questioned the legitimacy of his solo victory on stage 10 of the Tour de France.
After Froome destroyed all of his rivals to extend his overall lead to 2min 52sec on Tuesday, Laurent Jalabert said the performance was "uncomfortable" to watch, while Cedric Vasseur suggested the Briton's bike seemed to be "pedalling itself".
Both men have previously been linked with doping. Jalabert gave a blood sample at the 1998 Tour that was found to include traces of the banned blood-booster EPO when retrospectively tested in 2004, while Vasseur is a former team-mate of Lance Armstrong who was investigated for doping in 2004 but later cleared.
Speaking in a press conference after defending his lead on stage 12, Froome said: "It's quite rich coming from cyclists like Jalabert and Vasseur to be commenting on my racing in such a way. I think it's really disappointing.
"Those are the guys that a lot of people look up to. And here they are casting doubt on current cycling and a clean cyclist and a clean team.
"These guys are setting the tone for the public, for the fans, and in my opinion that is not correct."
Froome also countered suggestions that Team Sky use the controversial - but legal - ketones, which are said to have benefits for endurance athletes, such as preserving energy.
Froome added: "There had been a lot of talk about Team Sky and myself specifically using some kind of ketone drink or something, which is crazy.
"I had to Google it to find out what it was. One hundred per cent the team does not use ketones."
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