Published May 27, 2014 09:52AM
Chris Froome (Sky) said he rides clean, opting to drink caffeinated beverages laced with sugar during the mountain stages of races, rather than use debatable “finish bottles” that contain caffeine pills or the controversial, but not banned, painkiller Tramadol.
“On mountain stages, I prepare my own bottle that contains two espressos and a lot of sugar or honey, which does me just fine. I usually have it towards the end of a stage,” Froome told The Daily Mail.
Froome gave an exclusive interview to the British newspaper in which he talks about doping in cycling, how he feels the sport is progressing, and his feud with teammate Bradley Wiggins. Froome will release his autobiography soon in which he mentions his “differences” with Wiggins, who won the 2012 Tour de France, one year before Froome earned his own yellow jersey on the Champs-Élysées.
“At some point, people have to realize that the sport is progressing,” Froome said. “Our training techniques are getting better. Nutrition is getting better. Our equipment is getting better. The numbers should therefore be getting better.
“I also think that for anyone who breaks the rules, it’s got to be impossible to slip through the cracks of the anti-doping system — the way it is at the moment. With blood passports, with out-of-competition controls that weren’t around to the same level previously, it’s really difficult. Last year alone, it was over 50 tests for me, which I’m happy to do to show people I’m riding clean. I don’t think there’s any sport testing to the same level.”
On Wiggins, Froome said his book will not contain any revealing passages about the pair.
“Anything that’s in the book is basically already known in one form or another,” Froome said. “Especially with regards to Brad. We have sorted out our differences.”