"It's a real scandal. This has to stop." - Bernard Hinault

French retired cyclists Bernard Hinault has aired his thoughts on Chris Froome's win at the Giro d’Italia victory on Tuesday, saying that the Team Sky rider does not belong in the pantheon of cyclist such as himself and Eddy Merckx. In Rome on Sunday, Froome joined those two famous names by winning Grand Tours consecutively, having won last year’s Tour de France and Vuelta a España.

Bernard Hinault completed his wins between the 1982 and 1983 seasons, went as far as saying that Froome should not have even been on the start line  "Froome does not belong on that list," Hinault said, according to Belgian publication Het Laatste Nieuws. "He returned a positive test at the Vuelta and afterwards his B-sample proved positive, so he has used doping and he has to be suspended.

"He should never have been allowed to start in the Giro. Why do we have to wait so long for a verdict? Those two Italians who had the same thing [Alessandro Petacchi and Diego Ulissi -ed.] were suspended much faster. With what right does Froome get so much time to find an explanation? Is it because Sky has so much money?"

Froome is currently under investigation after an anti-doping test during the 2017 Vuelta a España, which he went on to win, showed him to have double the permitted levels of the asthma drug salbutamol in his urine. It remains for the British rider and his legal team must now prove that he did not exceed the allowed dosage in order to avoid a suspension. As salbutamol is a 'specified' substance on WADA's banned list, Froome is allowed to compete while the investigation is going on. Both Petacchi and Ulissi received immediate bans for elevated levels of salbutamol even though it took nine months for a verdict to be reached in Ulissi’s case.

Last week, UCI president David Lappartient told the emdia that he could not guarantee that Froome’s case would be resolved by the time the Tour de France begins in July. Also, could also not confirm whether or not the results that Froome earns during the time of the investigation will be removed if he is handed a suspension.

"This is all very sad," added Hinault. "Froome is not part of the legend of the sport, because what image does he give cycling? He may also start the Tour later."

"It’s a real scandal. This has to stop."

Bernard Hinault Bio

OSMedia @optimum_sports

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Kittel Wins Scheldeprijs in Belgium

Scheldeprijs

Marcel Kittel won the Scheldeprijs race in Belgium for a fourth time after beating Mark Cavendish in a sprint finish.

Cavendish, competing for the Dimension Data team, was also bidding for a fourth victory in the one-day race. The Briton, who won in 2007, 2008 and 2011, was well positioned on the wheel of Kittel entering the finishing straight. Cavendish attempted to round the German but the Etixx-QuickStep rider had enough to hold on and win by little more than a tyre’s-width after a photo finish.

Germany’s André Greipel was third for the Lotto-Soudal team. Kittel’s victory marked his fourth in five attempts at the event, with his run only broken by Alexander Kristoff’s victory in 2015.

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van den Driessche Faces Sanctions

Femke van den Driessche faces a severe punishment by the Union Cycliste Internationale in the first case against a rider for competing on a bike allegedly containing a hidden motor.

On Monday Van den Driessche, 19, opted not to defend herself at Tuesday’s UCI disciplinary hearing in Switzerland into her use of the machine in the women’s under-23 race at the world cyclo-cross championships in Zolder in January.

She had maintained the confiscated bike belonged to an acquaintance and was in the pits because of a mix-up by a mechanic, but on Monday she said would not contest the matter and added that she had retired from cyclo-cross.

In a statement the UCI said: “The Union Cycliste Internationale confirms that the disciplinary commission hearing regarding the Femke van den Driessche case took place today at the UCI World Cycling Centre, headquarters of the international federation in Aigle, Switzerland. A decision will be rendered and announced in due course and, until then, the UCI will not be making any further comment.”

The UCI president, Brian Cookson, said in March that cycling’s world governing body would request the toughest possible sanctions. Regulations, recently strengthened, provide for a minimum suspension of six months and a fine of up to 200,000 Swiss francs (£141,000) for an offence of “technological fraud”, while coaches, mechanics and other officials could also be sanctioned.

Bikes have been scanned by the UCI at major competitions across all disciplines and events, including the Tour de France, in recent years because of speculation regarding motors hidden in bike frames. At the track world championships in London on 2-6 March 274 bikes were scanned.

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