Tour de France champion Froome asked to explain drug test

The UCI has requested information from Vuelta a Espana winner Chris Froome due to an excessive salbutamol reading in a drugs test.

A urine sample supplied by Froome on September 7, following stage 18 of the Vuelta a Espana, showed a concentration of the substance that was double the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) threshold of 1,000 nanograms per millilitre.

Tour de France champion Chris Froome has been asked by the UCI to explain elevated levels of salbutamol in a drugs test at the competition.

A urine sample supplied by Froome on September 7, following stage 18 of the Vuelta a Espana, showed a concentration of the substance that was double the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) threshold of 1,000 nanograms per millilitre.

Asthma medication salbutamol is permitted by WADA rules without the need for a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) when inhaled up to a certain level over 24 hours, and the adverse finding, confirmed through a test of the 32-year-old's sample, does not necessarily constitute a break of the rules and Froome will not be hit with a provisional suspension.

According to Team Sky, the UCI's request for further information is to "ensure that no more than the permissible doses of salbutamol were inhaled".