AG2R La Mondiale's Romain Bardet told the French newspaper Lemonde this week that he was "amazed" by Bradley Wiggins' UCI-approved use of a powerful steroid before Grand Tours and called for more stringent regulation of the Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) system.
Wiggins, who won the Tour de France in 2012, recently made headlines when hackers leaked his TUE history. In total, six TUEs were issued during Wiggins’ road racing career. Three intramauscular injections of Triamcinolone acetone were of particular concern, with each usage applied before major Grand Tours, including the 2012 Tour.
In an interview conducted in Italy ahead of Saturday's Il Lombardia, Bardet endorsed the idea that athletes who need such drugs to treat their ailments should be forced to sit out of competition.
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"We think the rules are too permissive and that there are abuses," Bardet told Lemonde. "They are too lax, so there is a flaw in the system. When there is a flaw, some minds see it as a blank check, permission to circumvent the rules.
"Obviously, there are exceptions for some very specific profiles, since there is no rule without exception," Bardet said. "The solutions, I do not have them. Clearly, I would prefer that we know all TUEs that everyone has. But this I do not think is the right solution. The right solution when you are sick is not to compete.
"Scientifically, one must be able to know the effects of treatment and at what point it is no longer critical in the performance of the athlete. The rules should have clear and utterly strict prohibitions."
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