Chris Froome salbutamol case ‘to be resolved before Tour de France’

The saga surrounding Froome’s adverse analytical finding at La Vuelta has rumbled on for months, leaving cycling in limbo ahead of the Giro d’Italia in May.

The Team Sky rider will race in that season-opening Grand Tour – with the UCI’s independent anti-doping tribunal set to rule on his case after the Giro concludes, although no date has been set for an announcement.

There are fears that a verdict will stretch on until the Tour, which starts on July 7, but Prudhomme believes it will not take that long.

The Tour begins on July 7.

“I have said since December that we need a rapid solution. The statements of the president of the UCI indicate that there will certainly be an answer before the Tour de France,” Prudhomme said before the start of Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

“I have absolute confidence in the UCI to do that. The president of the UCI has said there certainly won’t be one before the Giro [d’Italia] but there certainly will be one before the Tour de France. We must have that answer.”

Froome was found to have double the permitted limit of asthma medication salbutamol on Stage 18 of last year’s Vuelta, which he won. He has repeatedly protested his innocence.

The 32-year-old is targeting a maiden Giro crown to hold all three Grand Tour jerseys at the same time and – case result permitting – will target a fifth Tour de France title in July.