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by Rob Arnold
Posted
03 July 2018 00:31:50
Chris Froome and Team Sky have always been convinced that they would be able to explain the high levels of Salbutamol that were found in a sample provided by the runner after the 18th stage of the Vuelta 2017 a Espana.
He continued to win this race, becoming the first Briton to do so. But a cloud soon overshadowed his success.
An "abnormal badysis finding" (AAF) was explained to the team and to Froome on September 20th but it was only on December 13th that the news became public after have been disclosed to several media.
In a preemptive publication shortly before the publication of a joint investigation by The Guardian and Le Monde, Team Sky and the UCI confirmed the news on Salbutamol levels twice the allowable level of 1000 nanograms per milliliter (ng / ml).
The history of Salbutamol AAF de Froome has subsequently become the world's talking point for cycling for months.
Other riders, including Diego Ulissi, multiple winner of the Giro, and Alessandro Petacchi, former winner of the green jersey of the Tour de France, were banned from running respectively 1,900ng / ml and 1,352ng / ml.
Froome, however, was erased.
He is theoretically able to keep running when and where his team wants it.
Christian Prudhomme made a comment on France Info shortly after the release of the UCI Monday stating that the runner was welcome but "a pity that, once again, it happened at the last moment".
Only on Sunday, it was reported that the ASO had notified Team Sky that it did not want Froome at the start of this year's Tour.
The timeline is really part of the story as it demonstrates that despite the urgency of a decision on a complicated way, a sufficient period and some Important resources – scientific and legal – have been allocated to ensure a "correct result", as desired by all, and vocalized by the new UCI President, David Lappartient.
Monday the trust of Froome and Sky has proved justified; The governing body of cycling, the UCI, announced that it will "close the proceedings against Mr. Froome".
According to UCI regulations, Froome now has the opportunity to defend his Tour de France title and see if he can add a fifth win to his collection.
He won the race in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017 and, despite his charm and athletic prowess, has become a polarizing subject in the world of sport.
The history of cycling has helped create a toxic atmosphere when the subject of products improving the performance is raised.
Twenty years ago, the Tour was dramatically influenced by the action of the police in a scandal known as the Festina case.
This was a memorable occasion, which can take some of the credit for the creation of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) a few years later.
There have been many scandals and confessions that have made cycling forget, but this remains a popular activity and the growth of the sport has been huge in the years following the Festina affair.
The success of the Tour coincides with periods of growth in the popularity of cycling in some countries where it was previously considered a second-tier sport: the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom have vaunted of the greatest race in the world.
Recent titles are not all recognized. There have been retrospective results and names replaced by asterisks because of doping, so it is natural for the public and the media to question any conclusion that suggests the use of doping.
Floyd Landis and Alberto Contador were stripped of their Tour de France titles in 2006 and 2010, respectively: one for high testosterone, the other for the presence of clenbuterol. Both included complicated calls that had been dragging on for over a year.
Until Monday, it seemed plausible that Froome not only received a penalty, like Ulissi and Petacchi before him, but also be stripped of his titles of Vuelta and Giro d & # 39; Italia that he won in a sensational style in May.
It was an incredible victory that should have been widely celebrated, but the impact of its AAF continued to cast a shadow of doubt on the runner.
Salbutamol is an asthma medication and Froome is asthmatic.
He has never denied using the product, but he is not on the list of bans.
A point in the AMA rules states: The presence in the urine of salbutamol exceeding 1000 ng / mL is not compatible with the therapeutic use of the substance and will be considered an abnormal test result (FAA) unless the athlete proves, by a controlled pharmacokinetic study, that the abnormal result the consequence of a therapeutic dose (by inhalation) until 39 at the maximum dose indicated above. "
Team Sky and Froome, have continued to abide by the rules and, in recent months, have presented their pharmacokinetic study
The UCI has accepted their explanation and there is a chance that the sport is once again the topic of discussion.
He ran knowing that his victories would not stand the test of time, but Monday's news confirms that it is ind eed is officially recognized as the winner of the Vuelta and Giro.
What comes out of the Tour in 2018 is another wider debate, but, based on his performance at the Giro and his success story at the Tour, one can badume that he will be among the protagonists it starts on Saturday.
There was no official communication from ASO as to whether it would continue to press Team Sky for any reason whatsoever. it is not on the original list.
There was a story of animosity between the Public and Team Sky, cases where urine was thrown at Froome and his teammates, and other acts of "sports fans".
Although successful, the team's reputation is a mixture of good and evil in equal parts: believers believe with pbadion … but there is also a good dose of negativity.
It will be interesting to observe the kind of reaction that Froome receives when he arrives in Vendée this week.
This is what is expected. This is, according to today 's decision, what is allowed. The saga of the AAF is behind him, but his impact will be lasting.
Topics:
cycling,
sport,
doping in sport,
the abuse of drugs and substances,
sports organizations,
la France
