UCI helped Froome with illegal(?) TUE at Romandie

[Rollthedice]

Froome:

“I gave everything I had in the Romandie prologue but I was coughing so much that we decided to ask for a TUE that evening. It was just an oral [corticosteroid], there was no injection.”

And they received it that evening? That works fast.

 

[Benotti69]

Froome:



And they received it that evening? That works fast.

Oli has his dad on speed dial

 

[sniper]

That's a very good question.
Here's an interesting article on Cookson, Zorzoli etc. (in Spanish)

excellent piece indeed. thanks for linking it.
spot on.

No me gusta, de entrada, que al frente de la UCI esté el que fue el responsable de la federación británica durante la lluvia de medallas en la pista propiciada por los marginal gains y el “método científico”

cookson replaces hubschmid but sticks to zorzoli.

lo que si es cierto es que lo primero que hizo, no pasando 24 horas desde su elección, fue viajar a Aigle y destituir al anterior director general, Christophe Hubschmid.

Tal cual hizo eso podía haber hecho lo propio con Mario Zorzoli, auténtica piedra de toque de la edad de oro del dopaje consentido por el órgano de gobierno del ciclismo, acusado por Tyler Hamilton y Floyd Landis, e incluso por el propio sentido común: tan renovador que es Cookson, tan investigador del pasado, y ya lleva cinco meses en el cargo y Mario Zorzoli sigue en su puesto, que es el mismo desde hace 20 años: jefe de la comisión médica de la UCI. El que reparte los TUE. El que interpreta el pasaporte biológico. El que dice lo que da positivo y lo que no. El que facilita su número de teléfono personal a Eufemiano Fuentes.

 

[MatParker117]

UCI actually did nothing wrong according to it's rules:

Upon the UCI’s receipt of a TUE application, the Chair of the TUEC shall appoint one or more members of the TUEC (which may include the Chair) to consider such application and render a decision promptly.

 

[the sceptic]

Brian Cookson OBE ‏@BrianCooksonUCI · 9m
I recognise the legacy I have inherited is an atmosphere of distrust around our sport. You should (and you will) judge me on my actions. 1/2

Brian Cookson OBE ‏@BrianCooksonUCI · 7m
But smears and innuendoes are one thing, and facts are another. UCI and I will be commenting more on this matter over the next few days.

Its pretty funny that the sky miracle starts to fall apart right after they get Cookson as president. Please dont sue me Cookie!

 

[Benotti69]

UCI actually did nothing wrong according to it's rules:

The UCI rules are set up so the UCI can do no wrong.

also when a sky staff member has his dad, president of UCI on speed dial, no one will be making mistakes.

 

[Will Carter]

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/emphysema/basics/treatment/con-20014218

I didn't say it couldn't be used for emphysema but that it is also used for asthma. Your posts state / imply that its is only given for emphysema, thereby seeking to create an impression that he didn't have a valid need for the TUE.

 

[frenchfry]

UCI rule #1:

The UCI rules are set up so the UCI can do no wrong.

 

[keeponrollin]

Seems like an odd bit to add to such a dry and formal statement:

And WTF does that even mean, exactly?

It sounds suspiciously like a threat of legal action. But a UCI head would never use his office to threaten legal action against journalists would he ..... ?

 

[proffate]

Sounds reasonable enough to me.

I agree, but then you have to admit it's WADA's fault that this is allowed in competition at all. Why not ban it in competition?

 

[proffate]

The cycling news article says



In the UCI statement it says



So did WADA know or not?

I think this means WADA was previously informed of the TUE, but only just now received the "dossier" which describes Froome's ailments and justifies any TUE.

 

[Catwhoorg]

I agree, but then you have to admit it's WADA's fault that this is allowed in competition at all. Why not ban it in competition?

It is

A TUE allows you to use a drug or method otherwise banned for its therapeutic benefits.

 

[The Hitch]

Some people here posted that Froome has said that he has never had a TUE.

Is there a link for that? I don't remember it. IIRC he said he didn't have it for the most recent tour, not ever.

 

[martinvickers]

Some people here posted that Froome has said that he has never had a TUE.

Is there a link for that? I don't remember it. IIRC he said he didn't have it for the most recent tour, not ever.

I vaguely remember him saying something like it last year but nothing this year.

 

[proffate]

It is

A TUE allows you to use a drug or method otherwise banned for its therapeutic benefits.

You can't get a TUE for every drug, e.g. EPO is banned in and out of competition, no TUE possible. They could easily ban prednisone in-competition TUEs.

 

[BroDeal]

Somewhere, lurking in the background, BroDeal must have his finger on the key.

Login, Bro.

Just Do It.

Shhh. I am undercover. Right beneath the nose of Ernst Stavro Brailsford.

I have managed to smuggle out Team Sky's new branding graphics.

I am hearing a lot of chatter between the team and the UCI. Fran and Oli have been advising the UCI about how to handle damage control.

 

[Netserk]

BRODEAL IS BACK!!!!

 

[staubsauger]

You can't get a TUE for every drug, e.g. EPO is banned in and out of competition, no TUE possible. They could easily ban prednisone in-competition TUEs.

If not Ricco maybe would've tried to get some cancer to win the tour with a CERA TUE before just before dying ...

 

[_nm___]

Seems some posters are missing the TUE is for a substance, prednisone, that is given to people suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: e.g. emphysema. Now why would a guy be racing with COPD? Or why would a guy need a TUE for prednisone if he doesn't have COPD?

Why did the UCI grant a TUE for a rider suffering of COPD and instead tell team, rider too ill to race and if not then why let a guy take prednisone if he wasn't ill?

UCI look bad, Froome looks bad and Sky look bad.

prednisolone isn't just given for copd
it's also given for asthma (which is the case with Froome):
https://www.brit-thoracic.org.uk/document-library/clinical-information/asthma/btssign-asthma-guideline-quick-reference-guide/
and for a miriad of other things:
https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/medicine/26657/SPC/Prednisolone+Tablets+BP+5+mg/#INDICATIONS

 

[MarkvW]

If not Ricco maybe would've tried to get some cancer to win the tour with a CERA TUE before just before dying ...

Probably a lot of truth in that.

 

[Race Radio]

prednisolone isn't just given for copd
it's also given for asthma (which is the case with Froome):
https://www.brit-thoracic.org.uk/document-library/clinical-information/asthma/btssign-asthma-guideline-quick-reference-guide/
and for a miriad of other things:
https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/medicine/26657/SPC/Prednisolone+Tablets+BP+5+mg/#INDICATIONS

Yup, There are lots of uses. It is also some strong stuff. If you take it for a few weeks your body becomes addicted to it. Can take a while to ween off.

 

[red_flanders]

prednisolone isn't just given for copd
it's also given for asthma (which is the case with Froome):
https://www.brit-thoracic.org.uk/document-library/clinical-information/asthma/btssign-asthma-guideline-quick-reference-guide/
and for a miriad of other things:
https://www.medicines.org.uk/emc/medicine/26657/SPC/Prednisolone+Tablets+BP+5+mg/#INDICATIONS

Yes, but still missing the point. Why was a rider who was pulled from LBL 3 days previously riding Romandie when in "acute" need of such a drug just to compete? Why not pull him from Romandie? Why the rush TUE? How was he smashing the field if in such respiratory distress?

No one seems to want to answer those questions, and no one in the press seems to want to ask.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

It is good to have BroDeal back.

I don't know how close prednisolone to prednisone, but the latter is basically poison. I had it prescribed once, and I told the doctor to go to hell. I threw the prescription away.

WTF is Froome doing taking this stuff? This is insane.

 

[_nm___]

Some people here posted that Froome has said that he has never had a TUE.

Is there a link for that? I don't remember it. IIRC he said he didn't have it for the most recent tour, not ever.

I vaguely remember him saying something like it last year but nothing this year.

he can't have said "i have never had a TUE". or if he did then something doesn't add up: because as early as this week he said

I’ve used an inhaler since I was a kid – I do have exercise-induced asthma, it’s nothing new to me, it’s something I’ve used throughout my career.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/froome-surprised-at-controversy-over-in-race-inhaler-use

and the thing is: up until 1st january 2010, you had to have a TUE to use this asthma inhaler he is talking about in the quote (salbutamol inhaler)...

so either
1- he is genuinely asthmatic since childhood and he has had a TUE until december 2009,
or
2- he is only asthmatic since recently and indeed he has never had a TUE (because salbutamol dropped off the Prohibited List in 2010)

but not both

 

[Dear Wiggo]

The one and only thing I liked about what Walsh said in his book on Sky (didn't read it, but did see lots of excerpts) is that--despite all his fawning over Froome--he said his impression of him was that he was very fragile, on the cusp of poor health, and that he didn't expect him to have a long run at the top of the GT world.

One secret to Froome's success has surely been his even-by-pro-cycling-standards emaciated body. A very narrow line between losing enough weight to become an elite climber and weakening your immune system to the point where you are vulnerable to a host of maladies. This isn't new to pro peloton riders, of course, but Froome may well have taken it further than most.

Except he has always been unwell, according to that same book.