Reports from Spain claim Chris Froome has been declared winner of the 2011 Vuelta a España, to give the 34-year-old his second Tour of Spain grand tour victory. Froome was awarded the win after suspended Spaniard cyclist Juan José Cobo has been disqualified for doping.
The former Geox-TMC Transformers (PCT) rider was found guilty of an anti-doping rule violation “based on abnormalities from 2009 and 2011 detected in his Biological Passport” and has been stripped of his title.
Although no official announcement has been issued, the UCI has already amended its results to list Froome as the race winner.
Froome, who bested 2010 winner Vincenzo Nibali in 2017, placed second to Cobo on the final general classification just ahead of then-Sky team-mate Bradley Wiggins, who now moves into the runner-up slot with Dutchman Bauke Mollema in third.
Mollema, who was riding for Rabobank at the time, is currently riding the Tour de France with Trek-Segafredo, while Wiggins has since retired (2016).
Interestingly enough, the Vuelta victory in 2011 now predates Wiggins's 2012 Tour win, thus making Froome the first Brit to win a grand tour.
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Meanwhile, last year's Giro d'Italia winner is still recovering from a set of serious injuries sustained last month during a recon ride at the Critérium du Dauphiné in which he suffered a broken leg, hip, elbow, sternum and vertebra. Froome lost four pints of blood and spent time in intensive care, and is expected to miss six months from racing.
Froome had intended to vie for a record-tying fifth Tour victory as co-leader of Team Ineos with team-mate and last year's winner Geraint Thomas.
