Chris Froome: We’re still paying for doping era of 15 years ago

Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles in a period defined by systematic doping, and was banned for life by USADA in 2012, but Froome insists the sport now has “nothing to hide” despite the cloud of suspicion rarely straying far from the peloton.

And although he did not mention Armstrong directly, the Brit says that his fellow professionals and being punished for mistakes by their predecessors.

"We’re still having to justify ourselves. It’s 15 years on at least, and we’re still talking about it. It did a lot of damage,” Froome told cricketer Kevin Pietersen on an Instagram Live.

"That era has damaged the sport to a great extent, but I do really believe that the sport has turned the page. I don’t think that I could have won the Tour de France four times if it hadn’t changed. I think the sport is in a great place now.

"Of course it’s challenging with the negativity and always having to answer the same questions year in, year out to the sceptics who won’t believe any performance but at the same time what can we do? We just get on with it and we know that what we’re doing it right. We’ve got nothing to hide."

Froome was cleared in 2018 after being found to have double the permitted limit of asthma medication salbutamol at the 2017 Vuelta a Espana.

He has also faced a toxic atmosphere on the roadside in some races, including a fan throwing urine in his face and yell “doper”.

It is a far cry from the golden boom he was expecting to join after turning professional in 2008.

"I thought that the crazy years were behind us but I got the shock of my life when I was 23 and was put into the Tour de France," Froome continued.

"Since then the authorities introduce the biological passport and that had a huge impact. They’re so tight on the controls now. We literally have to register where we are every day of our lives so we can be tested. I think cycling is in a great place now."

Froome, a seven-time Grand Tour winner, is stepping up his recovery after his freak crash in 2019.

The Brit was off the pace when he returned to racing at the UAE Tour in February and has since continued training at home due to the coronavirus restrictions.