Vuelta a España leader Chris Froome (Sky) said he would struggle to make it to the start line if he genuinely believed that one of his rivals was using a hidden motor. But if they were, then they wouldn't get away with it for long.
Froome was asked about 'mechanical doping' and the UCI's detection methods in light of a documentary on French television channel Stade 2 that questioned the veracity of the UCI's tablet tests. The Team Sky rider had not seen the documentary but said that the important thing was that the UCI had been actively checking bikes for motors.
"I've definitely not had time to watch the documentary but I've heard about it. I don't know how much truth there is to it. I don't know if they did have the UCI technology or not," he said. "The most important thing for me is that they have been doing the checks. They have been dismantling the bikes for years now looking for motors, physically looking inside the bikes now. In my opinion, I can't even get onto the start line of a race and believe that someone is using a motor.
ADVERTISEMENT
"It would be too much mentally to get onto the start line and even question my rivals could be racing with a motor in their bike. It's not something that I think about. If there is anyone using a motor, then I imagine that they will get caught pretty quickly."
Froome did not dwell on the subject too long. His primary focus is on closing out his first Vuelta a Espana victory. With two weeks of racing and several mountain stages behind him, Froome leads the overall classification by 1:01 over Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida). There has been some turmoil for the race leader, but physically he hasn't looked in serious trouble just yet, despite having a close-fought Tour de France already in his legs. Froome says things couldn't be much better going into the final week, and changing up his calendar has been a worthwhile endeavour.
"I think given this position that we're in right now after two weeks of racing, it's pretty much the dream scenario after the Tour de France and to still be feeling the way I'm feeling," said Froome. "I think planning the season the way that we did is paying off now. Doing less racing earlier on, to have done a specific training camp between the Tour and the Vuelta has certainly paid dividends. I think that we're in a fantastic position."
Take each day as it comes
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest News http://ift.tt/2eBkpcg
No comments:
Post a Comment