Froome: ‘Rules not broken’
British cyclist insisting ‘the truth will be told’ over excessive drug levels in his urine test
Chris Froome denies breaking any rules after a urine test he gave during the Tour of Spain in September showed excessive levels of an asthma medication.
Froome, who became the first British rider to win the Vuelta, had double the allowed level of the legal asthma drug salbutamol in his urine, cycling’s governing body, the UCI, said yesterday.
“I understand this comes as a big shock to people,” Froome told the BBC in an interview. “I certainly haven’t broken any rules here. I haven’t taken more than the permissible amount and I am sure at the end of the day the truth will be told.”
Team Sky rider Froome, 32, risks missing next year’s Tour de France and could lose his Vuelta crown unless he can provide a satisfactory explanation for the failed test.
“I can understand a lot of people’s reactions, especially given the history of the sport. But this is a very different case. This is not a positive test,” Froome said.
Asked whether he felt his legacy had been permanently tainted, Froome said: “No.”
He added that he had shared “everything he had” regarding his use of the drug with cycling’s governing body.
“I have been a professional cyclist now, treating my symptoms and racing with asthma, for 10 years,” Froome said. “I know what those rules are, I know what those limits are and I have never been over those limits.
“I have got a very clear routine when I use my inhaler and how many times. I have given all that information to the UCI to help get to the bottom of it.”
Froome’s urine sample showed a concentration of salbutamol at 2000 nanograms per millilitre; twice the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (Wada) permitted levels.
Wada permits salbutamol to be taken through inhalation only, in limited amounts. Through an inhaler, athletes with asthma can take up to 1600 micrograms every 24 hours but cannot exceed 800 micrograms within 12 hours. The permitted concentration of salbutamol allowed in a urine sample cannot exceed 1000 nanograms per millilitre. Classified as a beta-2 agonist and often sold as Ventolin, salbutamol helps to relieve the symptoms of asthma by expanding lung capacity.
According to Swiss physiologist Raphael Faiss, a non-asthmatic who takes the equivalent of 800 micrograms would see their performance improved by around two per cent. It can be used in a performanceenhancing capacity to increase endurance, especially if taken intravenously or in tablet form which is banned by Wada.
According to Faiss, intense effort, fatigue and dehydration can affect urine concentrations of salbutamol in doping tests. Everyone excretes and metabolises salbutamol in different ways.
“Some individuals may have a greater metabolism and excretion rate that may cause the salbutamol concentration to be increased,” said Dr John Dickinson, an expert in respiratory problems in athletes, based in Britain’s University of Kent. “The World Anti-Doping Agency are aware of this and they will ask any athlete with adverse levels to provide evidence to explain why.”
Froome’s backup “B” sample has confirmed the results of the initial test, according to the UCI.
Froome has not been suspended, but now he has to explain why his sample contained excessive amounts of salbutamol when the other 20 samples he provided on the Spanish tour did not.