WADA says it cannot validate Froome's performance data

Image 1 of 4

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has told Team Sky that it cannot help in its attempts to prove that Chris Froome is competing clean at the Tour de France, saying it does not have a mandate to accept specific team or individual requests.

Team Sky manager Dave Brailsford suggested that WADA could help remove doubts and simmering suspicion about Froome's dominant performance by appointing an expert to study Froome's power data, blood values and physiological data. Brailsford said he wrote to WADA.

They made their position public via the AFP news agency.

"It is not specifically in WADA's mandate to accept specific team or individual requests, however, and we undertake at-event observation programs only if invited to do so by an International Federation," AFP reported WADA as saying in a reply to questioning.

"UCI is the organisation responsible for the sharing of relevant information with Team Sky. UKAD, as the (UK's) national anti-doping agency, would also be well placed to discuss further with Team Sky."

Suspicions about Froome enflamed after he dominated the stage to the summit of Mont Ventoux with several searing attacks that distanced his rivals. Froome and Brailsford then faced a barrage of doping question on a tense press conference on the Monday, the second rest day of this year's Tour de France. Froome has consistently stated that he rides clean, something Brailsford has also put forward with the team implementing a zero tolerance policy towards doping.

UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) welcomed Brailsford offer but has indicated to the Guardian newspaper that it too cannot give Froome any kind of kite mark of cleanliness, with a source telling the Guardian "It's not what we're there to do."