Champion cyclist tests positive for Salbutamol during Vuelta a Espana
London: Four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome could potentially be stripped of his Vuelta a Espana title after a urine test he gave during the race in September showed excessive levels of an asthma medication according to a release issued by the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale)
The 32-year-old Briton, who rides for Team Sky, however, said he had done nothing wrong and would provide ‘whatever information’ UCI requires.
Froome became the first British rider to win the Vuelta and the first man to claim a Tour de France/Vuelta double in the same season since the Spanish race was moved to after the Tour.
Regarded as one of the greatest cyclists of all time, Froome has been on a shortlist of favourites to win this month’s ‘BBC Sports Personality of the Year’ award for the first time. His spectacular year is now under a cloud, however, and he and his Sky team will need to convince the UCI that there was nothing sinister about the amount of Salbutamol that showed up in his urine sample after Stage 18 on September 7.
Salbutamol is permitted as a legal asthma drug by the world anti-doping agency (WADA), and the UCI said Froome’s failed urine test did not necessitate a mandatory provisional suspension.
But riders have been banned for excessive use of it in the past, notably Italian Alessandro Petacchi who was given a 12-month ban and stripped of his five stage victories in the 2007 Giro d‘Italia.
The UCI said it had notified Froome, September 20 of an ‘adverse analytical finding’ from his sample, which had double the permissible limit of Salbutamol.
Team Sky issued a statement in which Froome said he had followed medical advice and taken an increased dosage of his medication after his asthma, a condition he has suffered with throughout his career, became worse during the race.
“As always, I took the greatest care to ensure that I did not use more than the permissible dose,” Froome said. “I take my leadership position in my sport very seriously. The UCI is absolutely right to examine test results and, together with the team, I will provide whatever information it requires.”
Sky said analysis of Froome’s sample showed the presence of the treatment at a concentration of 2,000 nanograms per millilitre (ng/ml), compared with the WADA threshold of 1,000ng/ml.
“We’re committed to establishing the facts and understanding exactly what happened,” Sky team principal Dave Brailsford said. “I have the utmost confidence that Chris followed the medical guidance in managing his asthma symptoms, staying within the permissible dose for Salbutamol. Of course, we will do whatever we can to help address these questions.”
The team also said Froome had declared his use of the medication, adding: “The notification of the test finding does not mean that any rule has been broken.”