Lay-off Chris Froome, he’s done nothing wrong, says Hoy

Olympic great feels sorry for innocent rider, who has had to endure continual questions about doping on the Tour
Glenn Copus
Callum Keown17 July 2013

Sir Chris Hoy today defended Chris Froome against doping speculation, claiming the Tour de France leader has been put in a no-win situation.

Froome has been asked repeated questions about doping since taking the yellow jersey a week and a half ago, and his patience began to crack as Monday’s rest-day press conference was again dominated by the subject.

But Hoy argues the Briton’s performances in this Tour have been nothing less than predicted from the favourite.

“It is infuriating,” said the six-time Olympic gold medallist. “If he wasn’t performing they’d be asking why he was not performing and criticising him for not succeeding. And if he does succeed, well, there’s a reason for it and it’s something suspicious.”

Hoy believes the Team Sky rider is unfairly paying the price for cycling’s drugs past.

He said: “It is all because of the people before him who have cheated, the Lance Armstrongs, the Alberto Contadors, people who have tested positive or been involved in a drugs scandal.

“The frustration may immediately be with the people asking the questions but the frustration really is with the athletes who have caused this situation to happen in the past.”

Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour titles last year after the widespread scale of his drug-taking was finally exposed. Hoy said: “It’s going to take a number of generations of clean winners to show you can do it to stop questions being asked. It annoyed me when, very rarely, the finger was pointed at me many years ago”

The Scot won two golds at last year’s Olympics — in the team keirin and the sprint — and was also Team GB’s flag bearer at the opening ceremony for the London Games. Hoy was back at the Olympic Stadium today to promote The National Lottery Anniversary Run, which will see more than 15,000 people race on a five-mile course around the Olympic Park.

Hoy, who will start Sunday’s race, said: “It’ll be great for the crowd, the runners, for everybody who’s going to feel a part of it again and it’ll hopefully bring back memories of last year. It’s a privilege to be starting the race. It’s an iconic venue and its fantastic to be back.”

More than £4billion has been invested in both grassroots and elite sport from money raised by the National Lottery since 1994.

Hoy added: “For me, it couldn’t have come at a better time. I left university just as the Lottery funding was coming on board, so I could go from being a full-time student to a full-time athlete. Otherwise, I would have had to get a job, couldn’t have trained full time and wouldn’t have got to the level I did.”

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