Froome tests positive

[Pitar]

Originally Posted by Gasworker

It's likely time we accepted the fact that elite athletes cheat. For those that don't cheat just make a separate league for them. This nonesense of having to spend millions policing doping and clean sport all the while the other side spends millions avoiding detection is stupid at best.

Knocking heros off pedestals they should have never been on is not good.

Agreed. While I'm not much interested in any competitive sport I agree that champions considered cheats until proven otherwise has tanked the entire spirit of competitive sport. What's next? Geneva Convention restrictions against the use of PEDs by soldiers? Reality cannot be denied. PEDs are here and have been developed to a fine (medical) art. I say use them and let the world see the distinctions between athletes with and without their consumption. There are no losers in that scenario other than yeasterday's purists who routinely take meds for headaches, colds, infections, injuries and seasonal viruses.

[H165]

It's likely time we accepted the fact that elite athletes cheat. For those that don't cheat just make a separate league for them.

IIRC this happened decades ago on the body building circuit. Separate competitions for dope / no dope.

[magirus]

Originally Posted by Dirk Hofman

Another Tour de France winner bites the dust. Chris Froome recently tested positive for the banned drug Salbutamol, registering twice the allowed amount. Riders with "asthma" are given some leeway but his test would have meant he took 32 puffs before the ride during the 2017 Vuelta.

Unsurprisingly it came on a day when he recovered really well after a bad day in the mountains.

Salbutamol is said to enhance and magnify increase in the transport of oxygen 3 to 5 times when used in combination with EPO.

Not a shock given this rider's incredible history, transforming from a guy without a contract or any notable results into one of history's best riders almost overnight in the 2011 Vuelta.

It's not banned, it's permissible up to a certain level. Froome's results were double the allowed amount, in his urine sample. There's no real performance benefit from taking this substance, it's a very common relief for asthma, it merely opens up the restricted airways towards a normal level, any extra is secreted. In the past , ie 10 years ago, riders have been banned and had titles stripped for taking it, or in the case of Miguel Indurain no action taken. The best of all cheats must have been Greg Lemond as they never caught him out. I've cycled for over 40 years, and have used the exact same inhaler as Froome for several years, and the last time I rode up Alpe d'Huez it still felt very, very hard (mind I was 52!)