Greg LeMond has spoken out on Chris Froome's salbutamol case, arguing that the Tour de France and Vuelta a España winner is solely accountable for what's in his system, and labelling his predicted defence as "ridiculous".
Speaking to The Times, the three-time Tour de France winner went on to criticise Team Sky, suggesting the winners of five of the last six Tours are "too good to be true".
Froome returned an adverse analytical finding (AAF) for salbutamol at the Vuelta in September, when twice the permitted level of the asthma medication was found in his urine.
ADVERTISEMENT
As salbutamol is a 'specified' substance on WADA's prohibited list, Froome has not been provisionally suspended but will face a ban unless he can convince the anti-doping authorities that he did not exceed permitted dosage and his sample was skewed by other factors.
"The fallacy that salbutamol does not improve performance is only true if you use it as prescribed. Taken orally or by injection it acts as an anabolic steroid, similar to clenbuterol, the drug that Alberto Contador was positive for," said LeMond.
"It's the athlete's responsibility for following the rules. As for the use of salbutamol, it's up to Chris Froome to be responsible for what he puts into his body. He alone is responsible. The peloton relies on the equal application of the rules. If these are not followed, it undermines the sport."
Froome and Team Sky have denied exceeding the permitted dosages, and their defense is likely to center on the variables in the metabolism of salbutamol, which can differ from person to person and according to environmental factors such as dehydration. It has been suggested that Froome will argue that he took three puffs of his inhaler just before providing his sample to anti-doping after stage 18 of the Vuelta.
"Give me a break," LeMond said in blunt riposte.
"That is the most ridiculous excuse I have ever heard. If this is what he claims, then it's simple, he broke the rules and should be punished accordingly."
- A lot of explaining to do: The questions raised by the Chris Froome salbutamol case
- Chris Froome in 'horrible situation' after salbutamol test
- Will Chris Froome's salbutamol result sink Team Sky?
- Timeline of Chris Froome's adverse analytical finding for salbutamol
'Brailsford is secretive'
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest News http://ift.tt/2CC5tsl
No comments:
Post a Comment