British cyclist Chris Froome has said that he would "never shame the yellow jersey" after he was cleared of a doping violation just days before the start of this year's Tour de France.
"I was completely honest when I said ... that I would never shame the yellow jersey and that my results would stand the test of time," Froome wrote in French newspaper Le Monde on Friday.
The yellow jersey is worn by the winner of the Tour de France and four-time winner Froome says he has always earned it honestly.
"To win a race through lies would be a personal defeat for me," Froome wrote.
Monday's decision by the UCI, cycling's governing body, to clear Froome of a doping violation on the advice of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) - and in the nick of time for the Tour - was met with widespread incredulity.
An excessive amount of the asthma drug salbutamol was recorded in a urine sample given by Froome at last year's Spanish Vuelta.
German cycling great Tony Martin criticised the UCI for its handling of the Froome case.
"It's a disgrace to the sport in general," Martin, a four-time time-trial world champion, said.
"It's absolutely baffling that something like that is possible. In such cases, why is there no provisional ban for the athlete in question and a period in which he has to explain himself?" the 33-year-old said.
