Originally Posted by canklecat

Eh, who knows. Froome got a pass because it was revealed the tests for salbutamol are so unreliable they're useless for establishing whether a threshold has been crossed. The test is basically a go/no-go test to reveal the presence of salbutamol/albuterol, but not reliable enough to determine how much was used or whether complicating conditions distorted the results.

I use albuterol and it's no wonder drug in ordinary usage for asthma. It's moderately effective as a rescue inhaler, but not as effective as the now-scarce epinephrine inhalers which worked within seconds.

Reportedly salbutamol/albuteral in large doses during training can enhance lean muscle mass. The amounts would be far more than most asthmatics would use in an inhaler. So the implication is ingesting or injecting it as a performance enhancer rather than medical necessity. I suppose Froome was an easy target for that accusation because he's unnaturally thin at 6'1" and 145 lbs, while still performing at world class level. When he weighed closer to a natural but still very thin 160 lbs, he wasn't competitive at the highest level.

But so was boxer Tommy Hearns, way before albuterol was known or used by athletes. In the 1970s Hearns was 6'1" and fought from 132 lbs as an amateur to 147 lbs as a pro when he won his first world title. Nobody ever accused Hearns of doping. Back then doping was associated with testosterone enhancers to build muscle mass.

So perhaps Froome is just one of those exceptional body types who can perform at world class level as tall stringbeans. It's uncommon but I've seen examples among pro boxers, including Hearns, Bernard Hopkins and Bob Foster, all exceptionally strong and agile for their height, weight and slender physiques.