A third of the way up the ascent of Alpe dHuez – that mythical, spew-inducing “Hollywood climb” thats appeared on the Tour de France route roughly 30 times since its debut in 1952 – you arrive at hairpin 16, and the bar masquerading as a restaurant; Les Gorges de Sarenne.
Its from this vantage that I watched the peloton grind towards the ski resort way above, at the end of the penultimate stage of Le Tour, circa 2015. My abiding memory of that day is of Team Skys domestiques shepherding their leader Christopher Froome, draped in yellow, en route to the summit. The Frenchman Thibaut Pinot claimed the stage; the little Colombian Nairo Quintana (my wife Alys all-time favourite sportsperson) almost thieved the maillot jaune, right off of Froomes back. Almost.
Tough going: Nairo Quintana and Chris Froome in the 2015 Tour de France.
Photo: AP
Yet Froome withstood all attacks that day. And remember, this was the same edition of the Tour where he was showered with a pint of urine. Hurled in his general direction by a spectator believing Froome was just the latest in cyclings long echelon of doping charlatans and fraudsters.
Froomes repeated successes have always seemed deliciously incongruous. Riding his team-issue Pinarello, Froome better resembles a crippled puppet, than he does a cyclist.
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After the stragglers of the gruppetto passed through virage 16, Alys and I and my good mate Vince repaired to the relative tranquillity of Les Gorges de Sarenne. Though “tranquility” is a relative concept, in a bar about as capacious as George Costanzas bedroom – after Frank and Estelle converted it into a billiards den. There couldnt have been more than 25 people inside the bar, though it seemed there was a thousand thirsty souls present.
Inside, it was difficult to gauge the collective mood regarding what wed just witnessed, in that I couldnt quite tell whether that small cohort of cycling fans considered Froome to be on the level, or too good to be true. Hed been in the yellow for two straight weeks by this stage. No mean feat. He claimed his second general classification victory in the Tour that day.
Back and forth: Quintana, wearing the best young rider's white jersey, breaks away from Froome.
Photo: AP
The conundrum of how one should view Froome came into sharp focus again this week in the aftermath of his general classification victory in the Giro dItalia. Froome joined that small pantheon of cyclists whove won each of the three Grand Tours at least once. But ominous clouds of an unanswered doping imbroglio loomed low overhead.
How to classify Froome? Ask Kiwi cyclist George Bennett, interviewed following the Giros 19th stage – the same stage where Froome, riding on gravel roads to the summit of the Colle delle Finestre and an altitude higher than even birds fly, converted an almost four-minute deficit into wearing the maglia rosa. Bennetts reaction, upon learning of Froomes feats … “BULLSHIT?!?! Did a Landis! Jesus!”.
A “Landis” … a pointed reference to Floyd Landis rampant cheating, and rocket-fuelled efforts at the 2006 Tour de France.
Is Froome in the same class as the since disgraced Floyd Landis? Hardly. Put simply, theres no evidence available which demonstrates that Froomes astonishing performance in the Giro can be linked to the use of asthma drug salbutamol (commonly branded as “Ventolin”) and the adverse analytical finding levelled against him in late 2017. Salbutamol DIDNT fuel Froome to victory. If Froome is still using salbutamol at allowed levels, so what?!?!
Salbutamol is permitted without an athlete obtaining a therapeutic use exemption, provided the concentration of the substance in an athletes sample remains below a threshold specified in WADAs prohibited list. The case against Froome is that when he was tested at the Vuelta a Espana last September, his sample contained twice the permitted threshold.
Quite unique to salbutamol though, WADAs prohibited list states that an athlete can rebut the presumption that exceeding the threshold equals doping by proving in a controlled study that the abnormal result was the consequence of a properly prescribed therapeutic dose. Froome is still in the process of attempting to discharge this onus.
Of course, under the rules of cyclings international governing body, none of this should be public knowledge yet. Froomes case remains at a stage where the cloak of confidentiality should have remained in place. That those protections were lost last December is regrettable for Froome if he does prove that his body abnormally metabolises asthma medications prescribed to him. And regrettable for cycling, given the spectre that looms omnipresent.
If Froome doesnt prove hes some sort of medical anomaly, its inevitable that his victory in last years Vuelta will be disqualified. Further, its entirely possible Froomes results achieved at the just-concluded Giro will be scrubbed from the sports annals. Ditto his every result between the 2017 Vuelta and when the UCIs tribunal delivers a decision. All that could happen, even if Froome isnt banned for any period of time.
To a possible ban, theres useful precedent. In 2007 the Italian cyclist Alessandro Petacchi tested positive to salbutamol during that years Giro. Petacchi had obtained a therapeutic use exemption for the asthma drug; he also exceeded the permissible threshold but by two-thirds less than Froome did. The Court of Arbitration for Sport banned Petacchi for a year.
If Froome is outed for that long or even a significantly lesser period, its inconceivable that the terms of the sanction wouldnt include the wiping of his Giro win and whatever result he achieves in the Tour de France.
And if Froome's results are expunged, his utter genius displayed a week ago will be resigned to the rubbish bin; he should never have been in the race in the first place. And if that happens … what exactly was the point of marvelling in his display of brilliance at all?
The optics of all this – let alone the ethics of Froome electing to continue riding while this matter is unresolved – are ugly, and destructive to the reputation of the sport.
On July 19 the peloton will again pass by the front balcony of the Les Gorges de Sarenne en route to the chalets atop Alpe dHuez. The probable collective mood of the gathered patrons is anyones guess.
Darren Kane is a sports columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald.
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