Giro d'Italia: Team Sky accused of deceiving race organisers over Chris Froome's adverse test

Team Sky have been paid a reported £1.2million to bring Froome to Israel

Team Sky have been paid a reported £1.2million to bring Froome to Israel (AFP)

The director of the Giro d'Italia has accused Team Sky of deceiving him during the negotiations over the British outfit's appearance fee for the race, which starts in Jerusalem on Friday.

Team Sky have been paid a reported £1.2million to bring Chris Froome to Israel, as the 32-year-old tries to become only the third rider in history to hold all three grand tour titles at same time, following his fourth Tour de France victory last summer and his win at the Vuelta a Espana in September.

That win in Spain, however, is now the subject of considerable controversy as Froome returned a sample during the race's final week that contained twice the permitted amount of the asthma drug salbutamol.

The test took place on September 7 and the race finished three days later. Froome and Team Sky's boss Sir Dave Brailsford were informed of the adverse finding on September 20, the day the rider claimed a bronze medal in the time trial at the road world championships.

The Giro kicks off in Jerusalem on Friday (Getty Images)

Froome announced his intention to ride the Giro in a video shown during the route presentation on November 29, just over a fortnight before his problematic test at the Vuelta.

The world, including the Giro's owners RCS Sport, first learned of that test on December 14, when it was reported by The Guardian and Le Monde newspapers.

Because cycling's world governing body the UCI has not decided whether it will charge Froome, he remains free to compete, much to the frustration of some of his rivals.

Until now, RCS Sport has only made diplomatic remarks about being disappointed that the case has not yet been resolved - that changed on the eve of the race.

When asked if he felt deceived by Team Sky's failure to mention Froome's adverse test, Giro director Mauro Vegni said: "Definitely yes, definitely yes.

"The negotiations with Team Sky took place before the Giro presentation so, within a correct relationship, I would have expected to be informed - so I really didn't like this."

Froome will line up for this year's race (AFP)

Vegni explained that he phoned Brailsford to complain and the former British Cycling performance director "came immediately to Italy" to tell him that he was also "not pleased" and had only found out about the Vuelta test himself "at the end of September".

Brailsford, Vegni said, also told him he was confident that Froome would not face any anti-doping charge - a stance both Brailsford and Froome have maintained publicly.

Vegni said he felt "bad" about how long this process has already taken and "something needs to change" to prevent this from happening again.

RCS Sport could be forgiven for feeling aggrieved by the uncertainty surrounding Froome's status in this race as it went through a similar situation in 2011, when Alberto Contador continued to race while he appealed against his conviction for a positive test at the 2010 Tour de France.

The Spaniard eventually lost that appeal and was stripped of his win at the 2011 Giro.

Froome maintains his innocence (AFP)

Vegni has repeatedly claimed Froome will not be stripped of the title, if he wins, as any sanction he receives will not be backdated to the Vuelta.

That, however, did not stop Vegni suggesting it would be better if that uncertainty was removed by somebody else winning the race - defending champion Tom Dumoulin, for example.

"Look, as an organiser I don't really support any rider but Tom is a nice character," Vegni said. "He's young, he's handsome, he is good for cycling as a whole. Also as an athlete he is a good performer. Let's say it would be a really good outcome for the Giro."

In a statement, a Team Sky spokesperson said: "The UCI process regarding Chris would normally have remained confidential. The Team wanted to fully respect this but since it became public we have stayed in regular touch with the Giro organisers about it.

"We received and agreed the final race contract within the last three weeks - obviously some time after the issue had became public.

"In all our conversations with the organisers they have been supportive of Chris' participation in the race. We love the Giro. We are honoured to be competing at it and we can't wait for it to start."