Chris Froome has said that he backs Sir Dave Brailsford as team principal and that Team Sky’s practices have “evolved” since its early days.
A Commons Select Committee this week said that an “ethical line” had been crossed by Team Sky in using drugs not just for medical need but also to enhance riders’ performance.
The committee’s report said Brailsford must “take responsibility for these failures,” but speaking to the BBC at Tirreno-Adriatico, Froome expressed his support. Asked whether he completely backs Brailsford remaining in his role, he replied: “Yes I do.”
Without going into specifics, Froome went on to suggest that practices had ‘evolved’ and that the team now went about its business in a slightly different way.
“From the conception of the team back in 2010, there have been a lot of things that have changed, a lot of procedures and checks that have been put in place since then.”
UCI president David Lappartient has said that the governing body should open an investigation into Team Sky to address the allegations contained in the select committee report. He has also said that Froome should voluntarily suspend himself from racing until his own ongoing salbutamol case is resolved.
Froome was also asked about recent comments made by former Sky coach Shane Sutton, who has called for Sir Bradley Wiggins and Dr Richard Freeman to explain the former’s use of therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs).
Froome claimed not to have been following that aspect of the story, saying only: “I haven’t seen Shane in years.”
8 thoughts on “Froome backs Brailsford, says Team Sky has ‘evolved’ from early days”
Sounds like a stable door is
Sounds like a stable door is closing at Team Sky
Difficult to take Froome’s
Difficult to take Froome’s comments about improved checks and procedures seriously given his adverse finding for salbutamol last year.
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They sure have. I seem to recall back then they had a policy of not employing anyone who failed a drug test.
handlebarcam wrote:
They sure have. I seem to recall back then they had a policy of not employing anyone who failed a drug test.
But those riders are fast …
Difficult to take Froome’s
Difficult to take Froome’s comments about improved checks and procedures seriously given his adverse finding for salbutamol last year.
Not really. He wasn’t hiding the fact that he uses an inhaler, it was known. Either you believe him when he says he only took the permitted amount, or you think he is lying. It doesn’t really have anything to do with checks and procedures.
HarrogateSpa wrote:
My point is that if the right checks and procedures were in place, we wouldn’t need to make a judgement on whther he is lying, or not. The records would be there in black&white along with the necessary sign offs.
”Difficult to take Froome’s
”Difficult to take Froome’s comments about improved checks and procedures seriously given his adverse finding for salbutamol last year.”
It would be a very very brave person to bet that Sky are ethical in their use of TUE’s with all the evidence and poor record keeping and doctors who won’t be interviewed. There was an interview with Landis I watched once, and he kept saying he ”didn’t cheat”, not saying that ”he didnt take drugs”. There seems to be a mentality in cycling that if you pass the test, then clearly you’re not cheaing. That micro-dosing EPO and HGH at your high altitude training camp are not cheating, as you didnt fail a test.
Let us all just hope that when statutes of limitiation are over (10 years for Tdf results? Like Riijs?) that people will come forward with the truth. Like Hamilton, Landis, Rassmussen etc (Thinking of that, I should check if Hincappie has done a book. I’d like to read his persepective, especially as he spent his final years at BMC).
Until team doctors are no longer team employees, but instead independed doctors who work for the UCI, I just can’t see how things will change.
I’d highly recommend people watch Icarus (on netflix already), the doco that won an oscar this year. It starts out looking at one thing, but then finds itself kneedeep into the whole Russia thing. It is absolutely crazy that governing bodies say how they are striving to stop drug cheats, yet the tests can be passed and even when programs are exposed, we don’t see punishments.
There was an interview with
There was an interview with Landis I watched once…There seems to be a mentality in cycling that if you pass the test, then clearly you’re not cheaing
That’s the daftest thing I’ve ever heard. Whatever Sky have or haven’t done, the fact that Landis once lied in an interview is completely irrelevant to the issue. ‘Floyd Landis lied once, therefore all cycling teams are cheating and lying about it’ is a ridiculous proposition.