Sir Dave Brailsford believes he is still the right man to lead Team Sky despite a recent select committee report strongly criticising his time in charge of cycling’s most successful outfit.

At a tense pre-Giro d’Italia press conference in Jerusalem, the 54-year-old was asked if he had considered his position since the the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) committee published its assessment of the so-called ‘Jiffy bag’ affair.

“I think anybody in this game considers their position every day,” said Brailsford, who was speaking about the report for the first time publicly.

“I’m constantly asking if I’m the right man to lead these guys – it’s not about me.

“I think that regardless of the DCMS or anything else there’s a constant sense of self-questioning about whether I’m appropriately placed or have the right skills to be able to do that.

“Things come and go, the situation and context around you changes, but I’m here because I think I am still in the position where I can help these guys be the best they can be.”

Sitting a few chairs to Brailsford’s right was Chris Froome, his star rider and the favourite to be on the top step of the podium when the Giro reaches Rome on May 27.

But he too faced an uncomfortable half an hour as he was repeatedly asked about the adverse finding he returned while winning the Vuelta a Espana last September. One of his urine samples was found to contain twice the permitted amount of the asthma drug salbutamol.

World cycling’s anti-doping authority has not yet decided whether it will prosecute him, so the British rider has been free to race this season, despite many of his rivals believing he should have suspended himself until the case is resolved.

Froome has always denied any wrongdoing and he repeated that stance here, although he accepted that the uncertainty surrounding his position is the last thing the race or cycling needs.

“I can understand the frustration – this whole process was meant to be confidential and we’re going to respect that,” said Froome, who is trying to become the first man to hold all three of cycling’s grand tours at the same time since Bernard Hinault in the early 1980s.

“We’re in that process now and I need to demonstrate I’ve done nothing wrong and that’s what I intend to do. It’s not something I’m going to give a running commentary on and when there is something new we’ll talk about it. But we’re in the middle of that process, set out by the UCI (International Cycling Union).”

If Froome is found guilty, Team Sky will face an existential choice: follow their zero-tolerance policy and sack a four-time Tour de France champion, or ignore one of their founding principles and risk undermining their credibility even further.

Brailsford refused to comment on what the team might do, saying it was “disrespectful” to the race, while Froome said he was confident “people will see it from my point of view when all the details are out there”.

Shortly before Team Sky faced the press, defending champion Tom Dumoulin had a far gentler question-and-answer session – but he too was asked about Froome’s status.

The 27-year-old Dutchman agreed that Froome “has every right to be at the race” but was speaking for many when he said: “It’s not good for cycling. Nobody wants this to happen, including Chris Froome, I imagine.

“Maybe he wins this Giro and then finds out weeks later that he hasn’t. The situation is not good for anyone.”

On this particular point, the Team Sunweb leader is wrong as any sanction Froome might receive would not be backdated, so he would keep all of his results since the Vuelta.

But Dumoulin was correct when he noted that Team Sky are not members of the Movement for Credible Cycling (MPCC), a voluntary group that have agreed to follow stricter anti-doping rules.

“My team is part of the MPCC, so if it was my team I wouldn’t be here. That’s his decision, it’s not up to me to moan about it,” said Dumoulin.