EX-WORLD cycling chief Brian Cookson admitted he DID know Chris Froome had failed a drugs test when he called for Team Sky’s reputation to be restored.
Cookson was ousted as head of the UCI on September 21 — the day after Sky were told of Froome’s test result — and said this week he had no role or influence in the case.
Froome faces being stripped of his Vuelta a Espana title after being double the legal limit for the asthma drug salbutamol after a stage of the race in September.
Cookson, 66, said: “I was informed Chris provided an A sample with an anomalous result for a substance that did not result in an immediate provisional suspension in the last 24 hours of my UCI tenure.
“When I left the UCI the following day, the matter passed to the new president and, rightly, I was no longer informed about the matter.”
Cookson’s comments come after he said this month that Team Sky and Sir Bradley Wiggins should have their reputations restored after the UK Anti-Doping Jiffygate probe.
The investigation ended with no action being taken. It could not be proven what was in the bag delivered to Wiggins in France in 2011.
Brent Copeland, boss of Sky rivals Bahrain-Merida, said of the Froome case: “It’s a cloud over Chris’ head. Most teams’ code of conduct would dictate that the rider be suspended.”
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