Chris Froome could miss world road race championship if drug case drags on

The Great Britain cycling performance director, Stephen Parks, is concerned that if Chris Froome’s salbutamol case drags on without a resolution he may end up with a dilemma over whether to select the rider for Great Britain in the world road race championships at Innsbruck in September.

Asked whether there was a part of him that was afraid this may arise, Parks replied: “Yes, I’m sure there is but the worlds are a long way off, so it’s not something we are worried about at the moment. There’s a lot of water to go under the bridge between now and then.

“We’ve then got to look at making sure we’ve got the right make-up of the team before we start to decide who the people are we’d like to see in there, and whether they are eligible or not. But hopefully it will all be done and dusted well before then.”

Regarding his personal thoughts on the case, Parks echoed the British Cycling chief executive, Julie Harrington, and said he felt it was regrettable that the rules of confidentiality had not been adhered to.

Froome’s adverse analytical finding for salbutamol dates back to early September; he remains adamant that it stemmed from natural causes but there is no sign the case will be settled soon.

It is possible that even when a decision finally comes, it will be challenged by one of the parties in the court of arbitration for sport, hence the fear that the saga could last beyond this year’s Tour de France.

The Team Sky leader raced in a Great Britain jersey the day the finding was confirmed, finishing in the bronze medal position in the world time trial championship in Bergen. Froome remains eligible to race, as the anti-asthma drug salbutamol is a prescribed substance rather than a banned one, hence there is no immediate suspension.

In spite of calls for him to stand down voluntarily in the interests of the sport, he returned to racing last week in Spain, where he finished 10th in the Ruta del Sol. He is expected to start the Tirreno-Adriatico stage race in March as part of his buildup to the Giro d’Italia.