Chris Froome returns adverse analytical finding for Salbutamol

[V12man]

70% of UK Olympic swimmers are asthmatic...

 

(8 to 10% of the general population is asthmatic)

100% of Olympic hopefuls have been thoroughly tested in a respiratory unit.

 

Less than 1% of the general population is ever tested...

 

Also it is quite well researched that extended exposure to low levels of chlorine gas exacerbates asthma. And top class swimmers get a ton of exposure to clorine gas relative to the general population.

[Patchelicious]

Dr v12, If Salbutamol inhalers enhanced performance, why don’t all athletes use it within the legal dosages?

[V12man]

Dr v12, If Salbutamol inhalers enhanced performance, why don’t all athletes use it within the legal dosages?

Doesn't do anything to help an athlete who shows no signs of EIA - and does have a downside for those athletes - increased heart rates especially at rest as well as a few changes to how you feel - none are beneficial to athletic performance.

 

So - bottom line - if you have a perfect lung response to exercise - salbutamol has no beneficial effect. if you have EIA or EIB then all it does is reduce the constriction of the airways - doesnt open them more than they are in an unconstricted state.

 

That said - salbutamol is not always good enough as a treatment for EIA and many sufferers still struggle to breath properly even when they use it.

 

There is some science that shows that long term use of high dose oral salbutamol may assist with weight loss - but my feeling is that you would be crazy to use it for that - stick to kenacort... it works better.

 

BTW - kenacort is not generally available in SA - last I checked we found 2 ampules countrywide. There is probably more but it's really hard to find legally.

[SwissVan]

Although it is often called asthma apparently it is not really asthma but rather a related condition called "exercise induced bronchoconstriction". It is caused by dry air and irritants in the air. The chlorine used in the pools is supposed to be especially bad and is why so many swimmers get it.

 

This is very true, learnt from my own experience. Clowns at the sports connection (Now Virgin active) pool in Benoni used to chuck in buckets of chlorine at night just before they turned off the lights and the pool pump.... Then at 5am they open up and turn on the pool pump and shortly afterwards we started our swim squad training...eventually had to stop training there because i developed a constant irritating cough. 

 

At the time i was only swimming about 60 - 90 minutes 3 times a week, nowhere near as much as an Olympic swim athlete.

 

As for the winter Olympic athletes.... i bet many other countries are doing the same thing.

The air these athletes are breathing in is very dry and constant exposure to excessive dry air while doing exercise does irritate your bronchial tubes. Both my wife and I have had this happen to us on different occasions and been given an inhaler (Symbicort) by our local Dr for when this happens. And again, we don't train outdoors as much as these Olympic athletes do.

 

Both of us have never suffered from Asthma, so yes IMO its a feasible explanation.

 

IMO, athletes at this level are pushing the limits and actually damaging themselves (their airways) by the amount of training and the environments they train in and that's partly why we see so much so much of these substances being used.

[Velouria]

100% of Olympic hopefuls have been thoroughly tested in a respiratory unit.

 

 

99.9% of Olympic athletes have been thoroughly tested in a respiratory unit.

 

Here is a swimmer who wasn't tested, and probably didn't have asthma either. He won his heat and broke his national record!

 

[Cav']

Lol..I get what you are saying

 

I don't know..

 

I am not a big sky or Froome fan..Froome.grew on me last few years because he showed balls..so I don't dislike him the way I used to.

 

But you keep on saying people should treat everyone the same..that will never happen..it's human nature to like and dislike people..I don't like GVA not because he has a history with a very dodgy Dr but for the way he races and is Sagan's rival.. yet I like Gilbert who also has a history with a dodge dr.. Same with Valverde and Bert I like the way they race and both have served suspensions.. go figure hey..

 

The bigger story however should be is that Quinatana lost the GC yesterday because he followed the wrong wheel

 

 

 

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

 

Absolutely, I couldn't agree more. I have no issue with people disliking some people and liking others. Its ok to do this, whats not ok is claiming otherwise.

 

Watching the the two of you respond to one another is hilarious.

[Eldron]

Firstly, I’m not on trial here, the burden of proof doesn’t lie with me. But to answer your question on the Impey comparison. It’s not about IF he gets cleared or not, but rather how. Not all clearings deserve the same treatment, just as all sanctions deserve the same treatment, these things are not binary. If Froome is credibly cleared by being able to replicate the stuff he needs to replicate and it’s done so credibly, then probably not. But if he is cleared with a questionable excuse, like he got Salbutamol into his system because his inhaler leaked onto his Preparation H, then of course he will get mocked. But it will be stupid on me to take a position on the outcome before we see the outcome.

 

When I make comments about Impey, I’m not mocking him, I’m having a dig at people who are willing at accept questionable excuses because they have bias for the athlete. Hence me previously saying that Froome should just claim he got Salbutamol into his system by taking contaminated gelatin capsules, not because it’s plausible, but because people accepted that when Impey said it.

 

Look cycling is inherently dirty, sports will always be, if Froome cheated then he must get what he deserves. No problem with that, that’s never been my problem. My problem is people who pretend to be impartial and to try and use flimsy arguments to justify an existing bias (positive or negative bias) for an athlete.

 

Froome and SKY deserve to be under the microscope, but why can’t people just admit that much of it has got to do with a simple dislike for the guy or team.

I love this guy - when other people have digs it's because they're biased and don't know they're biased. When Patch digs in it's for the sake of science and humanity.

 

But he isn't on trial so it's a moot point anyway.

 

Face it Patches - you suffer from the same emotions and biases that the rest of us mortals do. Welcome to humanity.

[Patchelicious]

I love this guy - when other people have digs it's because they're biased and don't know they're biased. They do, they just sometimes dont admit it. When Patch digs in it's for the sake of science and humanity. If you say so. But you are not correct.

 

But he isn't on trial so it's a moot point anyway. Im not, but you are making it about me again.

 

Face it Patches - you suffer from the same emotions and biases that the rest of us mortals do. Welcome to humanity. Of course I do, I am not sure where I have ever claimed that I don't. I have always said WE suffer from biases, go look...

I hope that clears it up for you.

 

Either I have a point or I dont. If I dont, you are welcome to counter my argument. But having a go at somebody personally usually means that the other person doesn't.

[VicanZA]

Doesn't do anything to help an athlete who shows no signs of EIA - and does have a downside for those athletes - increased heart rates especially at rest as well as a few changes to how you feel - none are beneficial to athletic performance.

 

So - bottom line - if you have a perfect lung response to exercise - salbutamol has no beneficial effect. if you have EIA or EIB then all it does is reduce the constriction of the airways - doesnt open them more than they are in an unconstricted state.

 

That said - salbutamol is not always good enough as a treatment for EIA and many sufferers still struggle to breath properly even when they use it.

 

There is some science that shows that long term use of high dose oral salbutamol may assist with weight loss - but my feeling is that you would be crazy to use it for that - stick to kenacort... it works better.

 

BTW - kenacort is not generally available in SA - last I checked we found 2 ampules countrywide. There is probably more but it's really hard to find legally.

doc, I just order 10 cases of the stuff are you saying i wasted my money?

[V12man]

doc, I just order 10 cases of the stuff are you saying i wasted my money?

Probably....

[Iceman.]

I don’t know if there’s any proper and credible research that shows that Salbutamol enhances an athlete’s performance.

 

What I do know though is that he has a chance to respond to the finding and to make a case to show otherwise.

 

So let’s just wait and see what happens. To judge him or his team at this stage (without knowing the full details of his case and the arguments to be made) is pretty pointless.

 

Btw, I’m not a fan of him or Sky, but it’s important to keep an open mind.

[SwissVan]

I don’t know if there’s any proper and credible research that shows that Salbutamol enhances an athlete’s performance.

 

What I do know though is that he has a chance to respond to the finding and to make a case to show otherwise.

 

So let’s just wait and see what happens. To judge him or his team at this stage (without knowing the full details of his case and the arguments to be made) is pretty pointless.

 

Btw, I’m not a fan of him or Sky, but it’s important to keep an open mind.

 

 

Sounds like zuma vs CR

[Bonus]

Is the issue still supposed to be confidential or has it been officially released now?

[VicanZA]

Probably....

damit i was just about to go back onto strava..

[ScottCM]

Is the issue still supposed to be confidential or has it been officially released now?

 

In last weeks Velonews podcast http://www.velonews.com/2018/02/podcast/vn-podcast-ep-69-cx-worlds-recap-froome-racing_456600

 

They mention a lot of intriguing facts. 26min into it they refer to an Article by Peter Cousins where since 2015 Wada have had 300 cases of AAF. Of that about 100 cases were dealt with in accordance to the UCI mandate and us the public and the media never ever knew whom they were or which team. So in accordance with the mandate, we are only supposed to be notified once the athlete and team have lost their case. If successful then no one should be the wiser. 

 

So then the real question is, why did the whistleblower leak this out to the press and not allow the process to run its course as per the previous 300 cases? Favouritism against Sky and/or Froome? or Does said Whistleblower not believe that Wada and the UCI are able to do its job effectively? or is it a New UCI president political power play which in the end has backfired and is tarnishing the image of the sport?

 

One thing is for sure, the sport if worse off for the leak and I personally would have preferred due process to be adhered to, if found guilty then and ONLY THEN should everyone in the world have been notified and rider and team crucified. BUT that is my opinion. 

[Velouria]

So then the real question is, why did the whistleblower leak this out to the press and not allow the process to run its course as per the previous 300 cases? Favouritism against Sky and/or Froome? or Does said Whistleblower not believe that Wada and the UCI are able to do its job effectively? or is it a New UCI president political power play which in the end has backfired and is tarnishing the image of the sport?

 

One thing is for sure, the sport if worse off for the leak and I personally would have preferred due process to be adhered to, if found guilty then and ONLY THEN should everyone in the world have been notified and rider and team crucified. BUT that is my opinion. 

Tarnishing the image of the sport?

 

An entire youth team just got popped with a team-wide systematic doping program. THEY ARE DOPING KIDS (who somehow stop doping once they become World Tour pros).

 

And the case where 8 Colombian cyclists got nailed for EPO.

 

That's just this year. 

 

I think cycling is way beyond worrying about the tarnished image. You want to show that you're serious about cleaning up the sport then conduct everything out in the open. Raid cyclists while they sleep. Confiscate team doctors' notes and records. Search team busses. And if you find anything suspicious, let us know!

 

I welcome whistle blowers and hackers that expose the true state of our sport. Not the image that the powers that be try to project to the corporate sponsors and money men. No one should be get special treatment. 

 

It's 20 years since the Festina affair, and while we've been told about the new generation several times, it doesn't feel like all that much has changed. Protect the big names. Throw a few small fish to the lions, and carry on as before. Marginal gains, high cadence, new training techniques blah blah blah...

 

On a related note:

Chris Froome's salbutamol case is reportedly set to be heard by the UCI Anti-Doping Tribunal, with Italian sports newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport suggesting that "from the end of this week or the start of next week, every day could be good for the start of opening of a procedure under the Tribunal."

 

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/chris-froomes-salbutamol-case-reportedly-heading-to-uci-anti-doping-tribunal/