CerveloJoe

I'm sure I read somewhere that the amount found in his system would be difficult to achieve or impossible to achieve with an inhaler. I don't know if it can be injected or taken in another way, but if you have do do it by an unorthodox means to achieve those levels, that sounds fishy. I don't dislike Froome. Seems like a good person, but if the governing body is serious about eliminating performance enhancing substances, they need to get serious about it and that includes the director's who prohibit or demand this conduct. The only other alternative is to allow the riders to do whatever they want and that would be ridiculous. It can't continue to be somewhere in the middle imo.

I'm not a pessimistic person, but I honestly believe doping was going on before Armstrong. That doesn't make me feel any better about the person he is, but had testing been more advanced prior to his time, I believe there would be more titles stripped. I saw a funny quote from a rider (not sure who it was) when he was told of Froome's epic stage win in this years Giro that earned him the Maglia Rosa. The rider was on a stationary bike, probably after that days race, when he asked how much time Froome picked up. The interviewer told him that Froome took the lead. The rider dropped his head and paused for a few seconds and then (I'm paraphrasing) made a comparison to Landis' remarkable turn around from one day to the next the year he won.

Trakhak

The rider later clarified that he simply meant that it was a similarly ballsy, epic move and didn't meant to imply anything else.

CerveloJoe

That's good to know. I didn't see that part. Thank you for clarifying that. As I said, I have nothing against Froome and I hate to see him penalized if he is in fact innocent. As a matter of fact, I like the fact that he will attack in the mountains to gain time or the lead. I didn't mind Indurain either, but he never attacked in the mountains. He simply stayed on the wheels of the climbers and kicked everyone's butts in the time trials.

Wildwood 

In terms of performance boost - immediate recovery from bodily distress. TUE overload is doping, Sky is guilty of this evasion for many riders since inception.

Other cyclists have served bans for being above the limit for this same drug. Allesandro Petacchi immediately comes to mind. And NONE of the other previously banned cyclists had TWICE the authorized level. Why is Armstrong .... errrr, I mean .... Froome treated differently**********?? ..... Let the walls come tumbling down (from the Sky).

canklecat

The problem with athletes overloading on albuterol/salbutamol isn't asthma relief. Beyond a certain point, a clear airway by itself won't offer any advantages. Clear is clear.

And, frankly, it's a crap rescue inhaler anyway. I'm a longtime user of albuterol for asthma. It's most effective as a preventive inhaler. And it's not really even effective at that. Most of it is ingested, not inhaled. Primatene Mist with epinephrine was the last true emergency rescue inhaler, and it's mostly unavailable now other than to professional emergency medical crews. I've been off albuterol for a couple of months awaiting re-evaluation of a thyroid and trachea condition and possible surgery (recently a surgeon and anesthesiologist discovered my trachea is distorted and constricted so badly even a baby's airway tube wouldn't fit). So far I don't notice any significant, consistent decline in my breathing. Same good and bad days. It really wasn't doing much good. Oral tablets with ephedrine work better for me.

The main problem with albuterol/salbutamol for athletes is that large doses can enhance lean muscle mass and minimal body fat without the usual consequences. Theoretically a nearly skeletal athlete using albuterol (ingested far beyond therapeutic use for asthma) could hold an advantage in endurance events by minimizing excess weight without penalty to lean muscle mass.

Sound familiar?

That's why there's so much suspicion about Froome.

When he weighed closer to what would be a more natural lean weight for an athlete his height (6'1") and frame size -- closer to 165 lbs -- he wasn't particularly impressive and even dropped out of some stages or races. Dropping as much as 20 lbs made him more competitive but without any apparent consequences to his health. That's unusual enough to warrant scrutiny.

The theory is that Froome was ingesting enough albuterol in training to enhance lean muscle mass, while continuing to make a public display of huffing on the inhaler to have a plausible reason for any albuterol/salbutamol showing up in tests. They were counting on the body flushing the excess and the unreliability of the tests to cover for him. Presumably this had worked before. That's the theory by some observers, anyway.

And maybe it was a fluke and the test really was faulty. Reportedly albuterol tests are not reliable and probably wouldn't pass legal muster if this were a criminal case. Maybe Froome's ultra-lean, minimal body fat body could produce an anomaly. Reportedly Sky were trying for months to replicate the false positive. At first I heard rumors they were trying to recruit cyclists to use as lab rats, then had to settle for actual lab animals. That's a lot of trouble and expense. Makes you wonder whether there's enough money in pro cycling to make it worthwhile, considering what pro basketball, baseball and football players can make.

But Froome's physique isn't rare for an athlete. Gangly stringbeans don't often reach the pinnacle of their sports but it does happen sometimes. Physically Froome is very comparable to boxer Tommy Hearns, who was 6' tall in his teens fighting at 132 lbs, and by the time he was 6'1" tall and fighting as a pro he was still only 147 lbs. At that weight he was among the most devastating punchers in welterweight history. So being a stringbean didn't deter him and didn't result in brittle bones or any of the other dire predictions usually made for unusually tall, skinny athletes with minimal body fat. Hearns later went up to middleweight and light heavyweight, but he wasn't the same devastating one punch KO artist even though he looked natural, muscular and healthy at the 160-175 lb limits.

San Pedro

https://amp.theguardian.com/sport/2018/jul/02/chris-froome-cleared-by-uci-in-anti-doping-investigation

He'll be racing.

GrainBrain

All that drama, then, cleared? Just read the article off the BBC. What took so long?

Lazyass

The 'ol asthma inhaler excuse worked. He was first caught using it in '14 "before hard efforts", and that was the first time anyone had heard of him supposedly having asthma. Contador, of all people was filmed using it in stage 17 last year. But I give them credit, it seems to fool everyone when they do get caught and is easy to hide in a jersey pocket. Safer than having your blood replaced in the hotel room.

hillyman

Hope he's in. If someone else can win the Tour it will be that much better if they beat Froome.

jamesdak 

Ridiculous, who even trust the UCI anymore?

The sport has become a total joke.

Don't even get me going on the timing of this.

dstrong 

I don't suppose the ASO would thumb its nose at the UCI and still not allow Froome to participate in the TdF?

bikecrate

I had some hope he would be banned.

RJM

I don't see how they could allow Froome to start given that he was over the line with the drug and over the line is over the line. It will be a better race to watch without him in it anyway. Maybe they will kick out Sagan for sprinting again this year too. lol

Caretaker

Their stated reason for not allowing him start was the uncertainty about the case in dispute.

As this has now been officially resolved they have no reason to exclude him.

Get over it Froome-haters, he's going to be in the 2018 TdF and will start as favourite.

colombo357

Name one pro sport that isn't seen as a "total joke" from at least one angle.

RJM

I kinda agree with the joke part. Not only has it become a joke from the doping aspect and politics entering into the control/punishment arena, but TdF has also become totally boring to watch. It's just a bad entertainment product all around.

Marcus_Ti

Took that long for the Team UK Postal check to clear the banks. You know, financial agencies track and watch payments over $10,000 USD.

RFEngineer

I had already decided not to watch this year. This just seals the deal. I have better things to do than watch ~100 hours of nothing for the possibility of a few minutes of excitement. I'd rather ride my bike.
Alan

Wildwood 

Not a Froome hater, just want an honest competition.
Other riders banned for this substance at lower levels.
Pro cycling has ZERO credibility.
Cancel my subscription as a fan, i'd rather watch submarine races now.

Bolo Grubb

Froome cleared of doping, free to race Tour de France | VeloNews.com

FLORENCE, Italy (VN) — Just when it appeared Chris Froome may not race the 2018 Tour de France, starting in five days in Vendée, the UCI governing body dropped the asthma drug case against him.

bogydave

Caretaker

Other sports retain a semblance of credibility by simply not testing.

The root of Froome's unpopularity here is he was born in Kenya not Kentucky.

vtchuck

Statement from Froome after the decision:

“I have never doubted that this case would be dismissed for the simple reason that I have known throughout I did nothing wrong. I have suffered with asthma since childhood. I know exactly what the rules are regarding my asthma medication and I only ever use my puffer to manage my symptoms within the permissible limits,”

To me, the whole investigation seemed like a set-up. The "leaking" of the results, the prolonged deliberations. I think the plan was to force Sky to suspend him and when they stood by him, things were dragged
out, with the hope the Giro or the Tour would be the hatchet men.

Knowing how closely Team Sky and Froome manage every detail, I don't see how this kind of "cheating" could have occurred.

Moot point now.

Full disclosure: I'm a big Froome fan

Marcus_Ti

WADA will not appeal UCI decision in Christopher Froome case

TL;DR version: WADA and the UCI don't want to know and Froome is surely a unique snowflake who deserves the benefit of the doubt...LOL.

jamesdak 

Many were big Lance fans to and couldn't understand how he could be doping...... just sayin'