...

[benb]

Yes... reading comprehension. I definitely WAS not saying I wanted to have asthma or wished it on anyone.

More that I am highly skeptical that there seems to be a correlation between having serious asthma problems and making it to the top of the sport.

If you believe these guys then the sport seems to self-select asthma patients as top performers.

Of course it seemed to self select cancer patients who needed EPO for a long time too!

[FlashUNC]

Originally Posted by PQJ

This comes as a surprise because why? Froome's entire career circa grand tour killer is one big "not normal."

You mean a marginal racer from a cycling backwater with middling results in minor races suddenly doesn't become the most dominant grand tour rider in a generation through hard work, marginal gains, and solving a mysterious African savannah virus?

I am shocked, shocked there is gambling going on in this establishment.

[Clean39T]

https://fat.gfycat.com/DefinitiveGleamingChickadee.mp4

Puffin at the 2014 Dauphine...

Link is safe for work, etc.

[wc1934]

Originally Posted by oldguy00

Always find it hypocritical when someone like Nibali criticizes another pro......yeah like Nibali is clean...

What do you know about Nibali that we don't?
He seems balanced in his opinions - critical of Froome one this occasion, but in the past he defended Wiggins etc.

[bikingshearer]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

I am shocked, shocked there is gambling going on in this establishment.

Your winnings, mon Colonel . . . .

[Anarchist]

Originally Posted by oldguy00

Always find it hypocritical when someone like Nibali criticizes another pro......yeah like Nibali is clean...

Never tested positive ..........

[shovelhd]

Originally Posted by benb

Yes... reading comprehension. I definitely WAS not saying I wanted to have asthma or wished it on anyone.

More that I am highly skeptical that there seems to be a correlation between having serious asthma problems and making it to the top of the sport.

If you believe these guys then the sport seems to self-select asthma patients as top performers.

Of course it seemed to self select cancer patients who needed EPO for a long time too!

No you didn't, and I didn't accuse you of that. What you did was accuse all of us that competed at the top of our sport, whether amateur or pro, of cheating.

Originally Posted by benb

I wish I could have come down with EIA in my twenties, it would have been so nice to have that performance boost EIA seems to give.

[cribbit]

Originally Posted by echelon_john

According to this BBC article, 35-40% of the British Olympic cycling team has asthma, as compared to 9% of the general population. Does anyone actually buy that "breathing a larger volume of air" is the cause of this? So these individuals, who are genetically gifted in just about every way you could think of, somehow all have the same predisposition for asthma? What a crock. TUEs are just another way the institution sweeps artificial performance enhancement under the rug.

How 'bout if you have asthma maybe you shouldn't be a professional cyclist unless you agree that by using your inhaler in an emergency you immediately withdraw from the competition?



http://www.bbc.com/sport/cycling/42335916

(RELEVANT SECTION)
Why do so many elite athletes have asthma?

Analysis - Philippa Roxby, BBC health reporter

Top athletes are more likely to have asthma than the general population.

This is down to the large volumes of air they breathe in through their mouths when exercising at high intensity over long periods of time.

When the air is cold and dry, this can trigger asthma-related symptoms such as wheezing, shortness of breath and tightness in the chest, also known as exercise-induced asthma. Cyclists are particularly at risk because of the high aerobic element of the sport. Air pollution getting into the airways out on the road can also be a trigger.

Research suggests that around 35-40% of British Olympic cyclists use an inhaler, compared with 21% of the Olympic team as a whole and 9% of the general population.

If asthma is already diagnosed in elite athletes, then intensive exercise can make it worse - but if it is properly treated, the condition should not prove a disadvantage.

If you put the entire population of Britain on bikes and made them ride 50 miles I bet 90% of them would think they had asthma with how they were breathing.

It's not that 9% has asthma, it's that 9% are diagnosed with it. Professional athletes are far more attuned to any health issues they have, especially regarding breathing. Many asthma symptoms don't come up except when exercising and I bet the majority of the population doesn't exercise hard enough to ever majorly trigger anything.

[BobO]

Originally Posted by cribbit

If you put the entire population of Britain on bikes and made them ride 50 miles I bet 90% of them would think they had asthma with how they were breathing.

It's not that 9% has asthma, it's that 9% are diagnosed with it. Professional athletes are far more attuned to any health issues they have, especially regarding breathing. Many asthma symptoms don't come up except when exercising and I bet the majority of the population doesn't exercise hard enough to ever majorly trigger anything.

Would you expect to see up to 40% of the population at large diagnosed when exposed to the same stresses and testing as professional cyclists?

[54ny77]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjvQFtlNQ-M

Originally Posted by Keith A

So how much help does Salbutamol provide?

[marciero]

Originally Posted by cribbit

It's not that 9% has asthma, it's that 9% are diagnosed with it. Professional athletes are far more attuned to any health issues they have, especially regarding breathing. Many asthma symptoms don't come up except when exercising and I bet the majority of the population doesn't exercise hard enough to ever majorly trigger anything.

I'm not sure that asthma in general population is in fact significantly under-diagnosed. My understanding is the name EIA derives from the fact that exercise actually induces; i.e, causes, the asthma in people who would not otherwise have developed it, rather than the exercise triggering an existing condition whose symptoms were not evident.

[rousseau]

Don't know the specifics of the allegations, but with regard to the fact that this has come up at all, all I can say is...phuque.

I'm not even a fan of Froome, but I do quite like having a dominant figure in the pro peloton to cheer for/against and measure other riders and teams against.

He was becoming legendary. Now he's tainted. It's disappointing.

[m4rk540]

Originally Posted by shovelhd

I'll tell you what it's like when I don't take it, Mr. Rolleyes. When I'm riding at 95% or more of my Max HR for more than a minute, fluid builds up in my airway, my throat tightens, I get light headed, and I feel like I'm choking. If I take one puff at that point, it all goes away within 10 seconds. I'm still at 95% of my Max HR. It doesn't magically raise my performance limit.

So please tell me, how does this give me a performance advantage? I wouldn't wish this on anyone.

Besides, if the whole peloton were gaining from it, then there is no advantage.

Don't ride at 95% of your maximum heart rate as 99% of people who ride bicycles. Or to put it another way, why participate in an activity which potentially damages your health. I don't know you and I wouldn't want you to injure yourself, regardless of the availability of an inhaler or other medication.

[simplemind]

Originally Posted by marciero

I'm not sure that asthma in general population is in fact significantly under-diagnosed. My understanding is the name EIA derives from the fact that exercise actually induces; i.e, causes, the asthma in people who would not otherwise have developed it, rather than the exercise triggering an existing condition whose symptoms were not evident.

I grew up with asthma mostly caused by grass dust (playing football). It was debilitating. As a younger adult I rarely had it and never took medication for it.
Fast forward to 5 years ago, I started riding at 10K+ feet with dry air and little oxygen. One particularly difficult trail (Prospect in Telluride), always beat me down and I would basically hyperventilate, start coughing, and had to stop and let it settle down. Doctor diagnosed EIA, and prescribed albuterol prior to riding. He also said, once you have it, one rarely gets rid of it. I still have EIA and just cope with the albuterol inhaler. Even at near sea level, if the air is dry, as in cold front, that's enough to set it off. Does it enhance my performance...I don't notice it if it does, but again, it's just 2 puffs of the inhaler.
That said, at my age, I'm just happy I'm still riding.

[Quilts]

I've seen this thrown around a few times in this thread and just wanted to clear this up, but inhalation of Salbutamol through an inhaler does not require a TUE per UCI regulations (See article 5). So regardless of other feelings on the matter, this was not an abuse of the TUE systems as it stands.

I believe a TUE is required for any amounts above the 1600 micrograms per day limit or taking sulbutamol via injection or orally. I don't believe Froome has a TUE for this, which is where his trouble is coming from.