The cyclist investigated for doping, went from fourth to first place in the Italian event

Froome, cyclist from another planet

This May 25 will be remembered by many spectators and lovers of cycling as the day of the supernatural feat performed by a single man on his bicycle. We refer to the British cyclist Chris Froome of the Sky team, who did something unprecedented in the nineteenth stage of the Giro d'Italia. The British managed an attack to 80 km of the finish line, leaving behind the rest of his rivals, including the unbeatable Simon Yates.

Leer en español: Giro de Italia: Chris Froome, el domador de la Cima Coppi

In the last seven kilometers, Froome attacked on the ascent to Colle delle Finestre, followed by Tom Dumoulin and Domenico Pozzovivo. By then, Yates was 20 minutes away from Froome and 55 kilometers from the finish line. The final fight was marked between the British and the Dutchman Dimoulin, the latter achieving a final closeness of 40 seconds; the third position was obtained by the French Thibaut Pinot for a little over 4 minutes.

The feat not only culminates with the distance of the attack made, but the location where he made it. The Cima Coppi is the most difficult climb of the Giro d'Italia for being the highest; therefore, who wins it gets the most points awarded for the classification of the mountain. There are 40 points awarded to those who first pass through said top, practically securing the "Maglia Rosa" or the pink shirt that is the hallmark of the seed. The British secured the shirt on stage nineteen, going from fourth to first after the legendary attack.

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Froome has managed to enter the history books of world cycling as one of the most distant attackers in the three most important races on the planet. One of the best that has stood out for this characteristic is the legendary Spanish cyclist, Alberto Contador.

Not everything is joy

While the celebration continues and the worldwide amazement for the successful feat of the British cyclist, we must remember that Chris Froome has a pending legal debt to be determined before the Court of Arbitration for Sport, due to the positive result of doping shown in the recent edition of the Vuelta a España. The test showed a high content of the substance Salbutamol, to be more specific, the dose found was twice the permitted limit of Slabutamol, according to the List of Prohibited Substances by the World Anti-Doping Agency.

The four-time champion of the Tour de France could see not made a fifth victory with the possible veto to his participation in the most famous event of the three races of cycling in the World. The organizing company of the Tour has made it quite clear to the International Cycling Union (UCI) that, until it is clarified before the highest sports court the case of its positive, could prevent the cyclist's registration to the competition.

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The president of the UCI, David Lappartient, has expressed his concern for the times to dictate the verdict regarding the case and the possibility that it will not arrive before the Tour de France. However, the organizing company and the UCI are joining forces to try to pressure the court, in order to take care of the already weakened image of the Tour due to the various doping scandals already known. The most prominent is the case of Lance Armstrong and the great network that operated behind the American cyclist. Still that wound has not healed and the result was the loss of sponsors and the distrust of the spectators and own cyclists who train and trust in the policy of "fair play".

Latin American Post | Gabriel Moros
Translated from “Giro de Italia: Chris Froome, el domador de la Cima Coppi”