Eight years on, Chris Froome has been crowned winner of the 2011 Vuelta a Espana after Spain’s Juan Jose Cobo was stripped of the title following a doping violation.
The now retired Cobo was found to have “abnormalities” in his biological passport between 2009 and 2011, prompting the International Cycling Union (UCI) to hand him a three-year suspension last month.
The 38-year-old did not appeal the decision before the Court of Arbitration for Sport within the stipulated 30 days, paving allowing the UCI to award Froome his seventh Grand Tour title.
The retrospective update made Froome Britain’s first Grand Tour winner, stripping that honour from Bradley Wiggins, who won the 2012 Tour de France.
“The Vuelta in 2011 was in many ways my breakthrough race, so this red jersey is special for me,” Team Ineos rider Froome said in a statement released by the British outfit.
“It’s extra special too, because – even though it’s eight years on – it was Britain’s first Grand Tour win. The Vuelta is a race I love and I’ve always felt a great connection with it and the Spanish fans.”
Team Ineos welcomed the UCI’s decision saying it “underlines their commitment to clean cycling.”
Cobo’s disqualification moved Wiggins up to second in the 2011 Vuelta while Dutch rider Bauke Mollema completed the revised podium.
