Chris Froome under a cloud as he prepares to win a fifth Tour de France amid a long-running doping case

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The head of world cycling has said Chris Froome could well be pursuing a fifth Tour de France victory this summer under the cloud of his long-running doping case.

David Lappartient, the president of the UCI, has warned that Froome's salbutamol case may not be concluded before the Tour because of legal complexities; a situation that what would cause further embarrassment to the sport and more stress for Froome.

The Team Sky rider appears to be struggling to find his best form at the Giro d'Italia against the backdrop of a controversy sparked by a failed drugs test at the Vuelta a Espana last September.

Chris Froome could arrive at Tour de France with his long-running doping case ongoing 

Organisers of Italy's Grand Tour made no secret of their displeasure that Sky negotiated a seven-figure appearance fee for Froome when they knew he had been found with double the permitted level of an asthma drug in his system en route to the winning the Vuelta.

And Lappartient has also highlighted the damage Froome's continued participation in races is doing the sport even though the rules state the Briton is perfectly entitled to keep competing.

Speaking to Cycling News on Wednesday at the start of stage 17 of the Giro, Lappartient said: 'We hope that it will be as soon as possible and I hope and call for a decision before the Tour for everybody, for his team, for the rider, for the UCI, for the fans and for the organiser.

'We don't want to be in the situation where we don't have a decision before the Tour de France. At the beginning, I was expecting a decision before the Giro when we spoke about this in September, unfortunately, this wasn't the case. I don't know if we'll be able to have this before July.'

Froome has struggled for form but did win the 14th stage of the Giro d'Italia earlier this month

Lappartient conceded that under UCI rules Froome will be able to compete at the Tour de France but maintains the four-times winner should voluntarily suspend himself. He also said that Tour organisers ASO could prevent Froome from racing under their own regulations.

'Of course, regarding the UCI rules, if there is no decision before and there is no sanction then he has the opportunity to ride the Tour de France and we always will fully respect his right,' said Lappartient. 

'I made a statement before that I consider the best way for everybody would be for him not to ride. I keep and maintain my position, however, we recognise that he has a right and we don't challenge this. But, on the other hand for the Tour de France, they have specific regulations with the potential way to declare that the rider will not be allowed to take part - but this is not under the UCI rules, this is a specific regulation of the event and image of the race.

'This is not what we want and it's not what the organiser wants. For me, this is better when the institution takes the decision and our jurisdiction bodies take the decision and we don't want the organiser to take the decision.' 

Head of word cycling David Lappartient has had his say over Froome's doping case