The British cyclist, Chris Froome, four times winner of the Tour de France is facing a doping case. The cause: a positive control due to excessive concentration of salbutamol, an anti-asthma product, during his victory in the Tour of Spain last September. The reactions of personalities of cycling, as well as professional organizations, bloom everywhere.
The International Cycling Union (UCI) has put in the public square on Wednesday the case of Chris Froome that looks complicated. The British rider incurs the loss of his victory in the Vuelta and may be suspended but it is not subject to “mandatory provisional suspension” due to the nature of the offending substance.
The UCI has opened proceedings against the undisputed number 1 of the great towers candidate next year in a double Giro-Tour de France that has not been done for twenty years.Froome, 32, was immediately forbidden to justify the concentration of salbutamol found in his urine.
In a statement, the British ensured to have “followed the team doctor’s advice” Sky to increase its dosage face worsening asthma.
“My asthma has increased during the Vuelta, so I followed the team doctor’s advice to increase my dose of salbutamol. As always, I have taken every precaution to ensure you do not exceed the permissible dose “ , ensures the rider.
Thank you for all the messages of support this morning. I am confident that we will get to the bottom of this. Unfortunately I can’t share any more information than I already have until the enquiry is complete.
— Chris Froome (@chrisfroome) 13 December 2017
According to the regulations of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), salbutamol, name Ventolin is used to treat asthma, must not exceed a concentration of 1000 ng / ml. In addition, the sports to a punishment ranging from a warning to a suspension of two years in order.
The test of Froome on the 7th September, three days before the arrival of the Vuelta, while Briton of Team Sky wore the leader’s jersey. It was notified to the runner on 20 September, the day of his third place in the Championship of the World against the clock in Bergen (Norway). Since then, Froome no longer ran. But he held the news of cycling by announcing particular program for 2018 and its decision to race the Giro to try to win all three Grand Tours (France, Spain, Italy) following and tackle doubled Giro- Tower.
Controversy for
The challenge is challenged. So by the possible loss of his victory in the Vuelta, when it was the subject of a positive test during the race, as incurred suspension, although it is not automatic and that its duration is variable in the salbutamol-related case. Since September 20, the second analysis “confirmed the result of the A sample runner” , the statement from the UCI. So Froome The camp will do everything to justify the concentration found in the urine of four-time winner of the Tour to use the opening left by the regulation.
Beyond 1000 ng / ml, the statement said, the concentration ‘shall be deemed not to be an intended therapeutic use “ , in other words be a disguised doping since the high dose salbutamol has anabolic effects. “Unless the Athlete proves, through a controlled pharmacokinetic study, that the abnormal result was the consequence of the use of a therapeutic dose (inhalation)” , adds the resolution. In his defense, Froome has repeatedly explained that he suffered from asthma. In front of the live cameras, it has already been using inhalants in the race. In the past, he also received a TUE (Therapeutic Use Exemption) whose mode of limitations has also been framed differently afterwards.
But this is the first time the British, who embodies the domination of Team Sky in cycling since the beginning of the decade, is the subject of proceedings for a doping case. The case, which could fuel discussions in the coming months, promises to be as controversial as that of Alberto Contador in the Tour de France 2011. The Spaniard was finally convicted by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after a long process.
