BS: UCI President Brian Cookson was under the spotlight recently with the whole Froome TUE backlash... What are your thoughts on this?
GL: I think Brian Cookson should be given the benefit of doubt on this one. Looking at it critically, if you can take a step back you can see that there was probably legitimate reason to do it [grant the TUE]. It's kind of a good lesson for the UCI to see how this poses a potential problem in the future and so let's address it now so there's no more backlash. I'd say it was a good experience for the UCI, but one they don't want to repeat. I didn't ever think that Brian Cookson was trying to favour anybody over anybody. If anything it was probably a push from the team [Sky].
BS: But should riders who need a therapeutic use exemption be racing in the first place?
GL: It's all about defining the rules. If the rules say you can get a TUE if you go through this process then it shouldn't be controversial and there should be a process in place to ensure that the TUEs are legitimate. But doctors shouldn't be giving someone a cortisone shot for an infection. If you have a hyper-allergic reaction or a knee swelling - that's when you have good reason for a TUE. But bacterial infections - you don't treat with cortisone. I don't know what Froome had. I assumed it was an allergic reaction. But a good medical doctor can make a determination on what merits a TUE. If you are sick, you're prescribed antibiotics; if you're too sick, you just go home.
The delicate thing is this: I suffered from allergies throughout my career and I've realised, post career, that I was drastically hindered by allergies during the month of May. But you can test for that - to see which pollens bring it on; these are legitimate back up tests for a TUE. Now the medication for things like this is cortisone, but it's obviously not the best thing to do to take cortisone throughout a three-week race. There's a delicate line. There are legitimate people who take asthma medication. It's fairly common. The physical demands of cycling is that it actually lowers your immune system and you expose yourself to a tremendous amount of elements - so certain people might get a chronic overload and develop, say, bad asthma. So, what's the right way to go? If you're a professional racer and it's not bothered you for ten years, then suddenly you're hit by an allergy - that's probably when you decide to apply for a TUE.
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