'We're once again debating the validity of a Tour victory,' says Sky leader
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Chris Froome finished second at the Vuelta after winning a third Tour title in July(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Team Sky's Dave Brailsford talks with members of the media
On the podium in Paris at the end of the 2012 Tour de France
Chris Froome (Team Sky) after finishing stage 15(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
A happy Chris Froome only needs to finish Sunday in Paris to win his third Tour de France.(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Chris Froome has told Cyclingnews that it "is impossible to say if Bradley Wiggins was operating in a grey area" after the revelations surrounding Wiggins' use of the powerful corticosteroid triamcinolone acetonide before the 2011 and 2012 Tours de France, and the 2013 Giro d'Italia. Wiggins won the Tour in 2012, becoming the first British rider to do so. According to the rider, he was prescribed the substance to treat allergies, and the UCI signed off on his TUE requests. No rules were broken, but Team Sky and Wiggins have faced questions over why such a powerful drug was needed and the timing of the administration.
Answering questions via email, Froome told Cyclingnews that, 'Yes I was surprised, it was the first that I had heard of them. Without knowing the exact details of his medical condition, it's impossible to say if he was operating in a grey area.
"With regards to Wiggins' TUE's, questions remain over his symptoms, the choice of treatment and the related performance benefits from that treatment."
In light of the revelations, Froome added, however, that the rules surrounding TUEs needed to be tightened and urged WADA and the UCI to work together over the matter. When asked if Team Sky should join the MPCC, he wrote that it would not solve the wider issue of equality.
Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
