8 thoughts on Chris Froome getting banned from the Tour de France

1. I feel like banning Froome from the Tour de France was the right call. There are more details to come, of course, but testing for twice the limit of asthma medication — which has been used as a performance enhancer in the past — is not a good look. No, I don’t trust anyone with authority in cycling to competently handle a controversial situation properly — not UCI, cycling’s governing body, and not ASO, the organization that runs the Tour. But then again, I also know that cyclists do cheat, lie about cheating, and that rules are necessary if sometimes frustrating, and so should be followed.

The only reason UCI hasn’t suspended Froome already is because of a small loophole. And UCI deserves a lot of blame for this situation for taking nearly 10 months to conduct an investigation into one failed doping test. ASO exercised a rule stating it can ban riders who might damage the reputation of the event. I get that they’re tired of seeing asterisks in their record books. Its decision to forbid Froome from the Tour is ... fine.

2. I do feel bad for Froome, though. I’ve always liked him, and the way he has evolved as a rider. When he first started winning grand tours, he was criticized for being boring and robotic, for riding to his power meter, and leaning too heavily on having the best, most expensive teammates. His last two Tour wins showed how virtuosic he is as a rider in his own right, however. I’ll never forget 2016, when he literally ran up Mont Ventoux, and cheekily attacked Nairo Quintana on a water break.

If you weren’t in awe of his 80-kilometer solo attack during the Giro d’Italia this year, you don’t have a pulse. So what if he was cheating? Everybody cheats in this sport.

3. This is where I obligatorily mention Lance Armstrong. Chris Froome isn’t Lance Armstrong. The end.

4. OK, I’ll expand. Armstrong was a once-in-a-generation maniacal dickhead who ruined the lives of his friends. Froome, from everything we know, is a nice, quiet dude. He may be winning on a near Armstrong-ian level, but he isn’t a phenomenon the way Armstrong was in America, he isn’t worth the ungodly amount of money that Armstrong was, and we’re in an era now where we can be at least be sensible about PEDs even if we don’t condone them. Armstrong wanted to be a god. Froome, as far as I can tell, is a dude who likes to ride his bike a lot

5. I am someone who grew up liking cycling despite its polemics, so maybe I’m just numb to this. I don’t give a rip about Froome’s legacy. If he only wins four yellow jerseys, and not five or six or seven, it won’t affect my feelings towards him at all. And I wish that he didn’t have these allegations hanging over his head, but I understand that this is inevitable in cycling now. If you win a lot in cycling, you’re going to be accused of cheating, and probably rightly. Even if Froome is somehow innocent, there’s no denying the smoke that has been emanating from Sky for years.

6. I am excited that there will be a new Tour de France champion. And whoever that champion is will be someone who has put in their dues. If it’s Dutchman Tom Dumoulin, that’s great! He is one of the most complete riders I have ever seen. If it’s Australia’s Richie Porte, that’s great! He is one of the greatest domestiques ever, and he deserves the title after so many years of crashes and misfortune in France. If it’s France’s Romain Bardet, that’s great! France has been thirsting for it’s own Tour champion since 1985. If it’s Nairo Quintana ... OK I could go on, but you get it.

7. My biggest regret is that the new winner won’t have the chance to topple Froome. And that possibility was very real. Froome raced the Giro d’Italia just last May. He was going to attempt something superhuman — it is very, very difficult for a rider to race both the Giro and the Tour competitively — and I believe his legs would have been too tired to win, especially on a particularly hard Tour course without a lot of time trial kilometers. Not only was this year’s Tour going to be wildly competitive, the subplot of riders trying to take down the king would have made it even more thrilling.

8. And for that reason alone, I hope that Froome is ultimately allowed to race. I believe the ban is a fair thing to do. I get it. And I’m still excited for what this year’s Tour has in store — especially as a half-French man who believed before Sunday’s news that Bardet was going to take the yellow jersey this year.

But even if Froome did knowingly cheat, I can’t bring myself to care. This is just another day in cycling. Cyclists doing their best to skirt the rules is all I know. I’ve always watched to see those superhuman performances and thrilling finishes, and this year’s race will be worse without one of the best ever lining up to start.