Lance Armstrong says Chris Froome will be 'tarnished forever' over the Salbutamol saga even if he is exonerated

Speaking on his podcast, the disgraced Armstrong criticised the media furore around Froome and Team Sky and said he was frustrated that the test result was leaked

Lance Armstrong was speaking about Chris Froome on his podcast (Getty)

Lance Armstrong has given his reaction to Chris Froome‘s adverse drugs test, saying the Briton’s reputation will be “tarnished forever” by the controversy.

Speaking on his podcast, the disgraced Armstrong criticised the media furore around Froome and Team Sky and said he was frustrated that the test result was leaked to the media earlier this month.

“I’m the last person that should be opining on this situation,” he began at the start of a 45-minute episode opining on the situation. ”But something’s not right about the way this unfolded, the way it was leaked, something about it just doesn’t feel legitimate – and I’m not trying to pass judgment, good or bad.”

Of Froome, the 46-year-old said: “He should be allowed due process to explain what happened here. He could be completely exonerated, but he is tarnished forever. Damage is done.”

Armstrong was stripped of all seven of his Tour de France titles after he was exposed as the lead protagonist in a series of dedicated doping programmes throughout his career. He said: “Cycling is the sporting world’s doormat and by the way, I’m gonna say this: I have to take a lot of blame for that.

“But the article the day after [the test result was made public] in the New York Times was the biggest bunch of bull**** I have ever read. If you are fan of baseball that gets the New York Times every day and you read that story, it is so harsh on Froome and our sport and our sport’s history.

“And yes I am responsible for a lot of that, I am trying to accept some responsibility here because I have tainted the whole equation, obviously. But you don’t get an accurate depiction of this situation by reading that article. You’d have thought Froome had a gallon of EPO for breakfast and that is not accurate, and not fair to him.”

The 46-year-old, who was recently controversially chosen as a guest rider at the 2018 Tour of Flanders, added that a drawn out tribunal process would be a disaster for both Froome and the sport. “This investigation could go on for months. Come next July, riding around France, it’s going to be a nightmare. And I know what that’s like.”