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news
Chris Froome (CC Licence Petit Brun:flickr)Chris Froome: ban drug cheats for life
On his way to winning the Tour de France this summer, Team Sky’s Chris Froome faced almost-constant questions about the validity of his performance. Now he has told the Mail On Sunday that he thinks riders who use certain types of illegal performance enhancement should be thrown out of cycling forever.
“I definitely think there need to be harsher penalties for people who break the rules,” Froome told the paper. “I’m not so sure they should be allowed back into the sport at all.
Froome thinks cycling has cleaned up its act and the use of drugs and other methods to enhance performance has been reduced by systems such as the biological passport, but the sanctions could go further in clear-cut cases.
“Maybe I would implement lifetime bans for people who did blood bags or EPO, or something that you know is 100 per cent cheating,” he said. “I think in this day and age, if there are new cases, I would like to see those guys out of the sport.
“I have got faith in the testing procedures. We have had a few positives this year already and that goes to show those guys aren’t getting away with it anymore.
“Cases from 10 years ago, that doesn't concern me anymore. It was almost a different sport back then. It was so different to the sport we have today.
“I'm not going to try and justify why they did it then, but it was certainly more accepted than it is now, this day and age it's just not acceptable.'
Former World Anti-Doping Agency chief Dick Pound has said he still can’t watch the Tour de France until the UCI, which he alleges failed to tackle cycling’s drug problem, is reformed. But Froome says times have changed.
“In Dick Pound's time there wasn't the biological passport in play in the way it is today. That naturally lifts up a red flag when people do go outside natural levels.”
Froome is far from the first cyclist to call for lifetime bans for drug cheats. Those who remain sceptical of Froome's achievements will point out that Jan Ullrich, who was subsequently unmasked as a drugs cheat, made similar statements.
That Wiggins-Froome rivalry
Froome said that he feels the alleged rivalry between him and his team-mate, 2012 Tour de France winner Sir Bradley Wiggins is a bit of a media beat-up. He insists he was not attacking Wiggins in last year’s race.
“Possibly for one or two minutes out of the whole Tour de France, which is over 100 hours long, very temporarily, people may have perceived that, yes, but that wasn't the case at all,” he said
Froome portrays himself as a team player and said he will ride in support of Wiggins if it’s in the best interests of the team, and if the race has a course that favours Wiggins’ ability in the time trial over Froome’s climbing prowess.
“It is a good thing for the team, a privileged position for the team, having two Tour winners and having the possibility of being able to play those different cards,” he said.
“At the end of the day, people will need to remember, whatever race we go to, we will go there with a clear plan and, as professionals, we will stick to that plan, regardless of if we are mates or not.
“I would love to be given the opportunity again to try to go for it and I think that would depend very much on how the route is and who it suits.
“It is only right that if it is a flat time trial every second day, it suits Bradley and we ride for him, 100 per cent.”
John has been writing about bikes and cycling for over 30 years since discovering that people were mug enough to pay him for it rather than expecting him to do an honest day's work.
He was heavily involved in the mountain bike boom of the late 1980s as a racer, team manager and race promoter, and that led to writing for Mountain Biking UK magazine shortly after its inception. He got the gig by phoning up the editor and telling him the magazine was rubbish and he could do better. Rather than telling him to get lost, MBUK editor Tym Manley called John’s bluff and the rest is history.
Since then he has worked on MTB Pro magazine and was editor of Maximum Mountain Bike and Australian Mountain Bike magazines, before switching to the web in 2000 to work for CyclingNews.com. Along with road.cc founder Tony Farrelly, John was on the launch team for BikeRadar.com and subsequently became editor in chief of Future Publishing’s group of cycling magazines and websites, including Cycling Plus, MBUK, What Mountain Bike and Procycling.
John has also written for Cyclist magazine, edited the BikeMagic website and was founding editor of TotalWomensCycling.com before handing over to someone far more representative of the site's main audience.
He joined road.cc in 2013. He lives in Cambridge where the lack of hills is more than made up for by the headwinds.
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26 comments
Good for him for coming out with that (although completely unsurprising) - there is nothing wrong with being outspoken against cheating.
Froome comes across as a genuinely sound rider and a true cyclist with passion for what he does, will we always be plagued with speculation towards recognising hard work as the product of doping?
Every time someone wins, people are going to immediately climb on the "he won, must be a cheat" bandwagon - the lack of faith is annoying but what's more annoying is it's come to this.
I can't wait for the day that we don't have to put up with that trolling crap and we can all just enjoy natural sporting talent. Thankfully with riders like Cav, Kennaugh, Froom et al - that generation is finally starting to shine through.
Here's to the future. If you can't accept it, address your jealousy before shunning people that work VERY hard to do what they do.
(This is directed at no one particular, I'm just permanently annoyed at cheats and trolls)
The threat of lifetime bans do nothing to help break the Omertà.
Chris should just keep his head down and do what he does best
Agree totally.
Possibly because that's all they seem to end up as, threats. Maybe the cycle (ho hum) could be broken if strict justice was enforced properly.
Possibly because that's all they seem to end up as, threats. Maybe the cycle (ho hum) could be broken if strict justice was enforced properly.
Stemstemstemstem <3
I think it would just ensure the dirt stayed under the carpet. Did lifetime bans stop British Olympians doping?
I couldn't comment on British Olympians - I don't actually know anything about any other sport other than cycling (and a bit of football but that's reserved for Sunday banter).
But surely going forward, cleaning out the sport from the top (getting rid of Pat being a wonderful example) would ensure a continuing example towards everyone filtering down?
I.e. if we can continue to test, and provide justice where testing proves positive - and the people doing the testing, and providing the justice aren't corrupt themselves, then the natural progression is an eventually clean sport. Which is why outspoken peers are important, the faces of cycling SHOULD be making comments like this, if only to ruffle feathers that well and truly need a good ruffling.
You can't keep things under a carpet that isn't there. Obviously what's happened in the past is unfortunate, but it's the past - we should move on, because there's really nothing anyone can do about it.
I think a reduced sanction for people who give assistance to anti-doping agencies is a valuable tool in cleaning up the sport. Life bans remove the incentive to provide such assistance.
Ah true. I'm not sure where I sit with that one tbh, I'm just not sure if that's too much of a get out of jail free card for people who I [personally] view as the scourge of cycling and the scum of the earth. If it were up to me I'd ban them for life, no incentives or sanctions.. Purely because with every life ban for a cheat, a space opens for a young talent.
..But then if it helps to create a cleaner sport then... that speaks volumes too.
Proofs in the pudding I guess.
Now I'm confused.
I see he's been working on his backhanded compliments!
Absolutely right attitude, I've said it for a long time, it is the ONLY way for the future of the sport imo ..
The differences in molecular structure between artificial and naturally produced EPO can be detected.
aviator glasses are very trendy.
I don't believe froome is a cheat, never have, the only way I can see the end of cheating is athletes are told lifetime bans for any means of cheating accidental or purposely anything at all suspicious and your out. by creating oh you might of accidentally git that substance in your system by taking some medicine for a cold our whatever opens up the opportunity for it to be abused its an open door for cheating, shut the door firmly, get real strict, get athletes to go out of their way to ensure they don't fall outside of the rules, mistakes well be made innocent people will lose out but I see no other way.
"Blood Passport"..."Ten years ago"...is Chris after the UCI Presidency? It's not too late for a Kenyan nomination if Pat's goalpost shifting goes through.
Dont knock his glasses ! those of us old enough will remember "Chips" on tv and they were all the rage.
"Those who remain sceptical of Froome's achievements will point out that Jan Ullrich, who was subsequently unmasked as a drugs cheat, made similar statements."
Could Road.CC reference this - when and where Fat Jan made this statement?
Eh: "something you know is 100% cheating"? That seems an odd statement. Does that mean he knows of things that are "not 100% cheating"?
He means stuff that carries a lighter ban, like Xipamide - what Frank Schleck got just a year for, as the judgement wasn't that he hadn't ingested it 'intentionally'.
Whereas EPO - it's impossible to get that into your body unintentionally. No room for doubt as to intentions, with EPO.
Remember Nandrolone, everyone who took that pleaded not guilty and got off, yes you Greg Rudedski, because it was 'naturally' in the human body. Nandrolone yes, steroids, no. This could just kick off a race to use 'natural' human stimulants.
You guys do know that EPO is also naturally produced by the body, don't you?
At least he's got rid of those awful sunglasses.
Didn't see a comment like that coming ^
And so quickly as well!
It is only a matter of time before Froome is banned for life.
Grow up.
I agree with him completely.