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Cycling, Drugs and TUE

11/8/2016

10 Comments

 
TUE Drugs
Cycling has developed a reputation for the abuse of performance enhancing drugs. It’s a sad statement, but one that few will dispute. In recent decades high profile cases, investigations and court hearings have thrust the sport reluctantly into the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Competitive road cycling tours have been the scene for the majority of these cases. In highly competitive, commercial and cut-throat racing circuits, where enormous physical demands are placed on riders, it is conceivable that some athletes would go down this path. Some are caught, some are not, but ultimately it’s the sport that loses

Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) Drugs

Until recently, the term TUEs had no more meaning than the abbreviation for the second day of the week. But following Russian hackings of the Wada database and the leaking of confidential athlete information, a raft of new information has come to light surrounding athletes using banned substances for therapeutic purposes. Two of cycling's biggest names, Sir Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome, were implicated in the leaked documents, which sent the sporting world into a spin in September. Ultimately, this means nothing, they are not drug cheats and they have not broken any rules. The aftertaste is slightly less pleasant though, and many have been left contemplating TUEs within elite level sport. 

Wiggins had injections for allergies prior to the 2011 and 2012 Tour de France and the Giro de Italia in 2013. In 2008 he took salbutamol, medication that opens up airways in the lungs and is used to treat asthma. Froom has taken drugs to combat autoimmune conditions during a competition. All have been approved by the International Cycling Union. So, why the fuss? 

It’s all a matter of perspective. Maria Sharapova was banned from tennis for using a substance that appears on Wada’s prohibited list, although it was not a TUE drug and something she had been using for years. The word ‘leak’ gives sensational appeal to information that would otherwise be fairly routine in nature. Wiggins and Froome's competitors, the sport's top administrators and team bosses all knew about the use of TUEs, but the public didn’t. And this is the source of the storm in a teacup that was the 2016 TUE ‘drug scandal’. 
10 Comments
Farid Martin
11/8/2016 11:00:46 am

It's important that athletes are always aware of what drugs are and are not allowed. Doing so will ensure their future and keep them from losing valuable time they could be competing.

Reply
HannahV
11/8/2016 02:14:03 pm

Sad to hear about this but I can understand why some might turn to performance-enhancing drugs I think it lessens the authenticity of the sport.

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Cordelia
11/10/2016 11:36:14 am

So true. It is a shame that this is what the sport has come to

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Montanna Slight link
11/11/2016 08:00:58 pm

I don't believe in the use of these drugs to perform at your best. If you are a good performer, then you do not need these!

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Caroline Kaugher
11/12/2016 10:43:21 am

Starting to think WikiLeaks is.. well...leaking. For ALL the wrong reasons. In light of this, and things that have come out in the recent US elections, it seems that Russia not only controls WikiLeaks, but it's starting to seem likely that Edward Snowden may very well be guilty of treason. All this makes me so sad. Everyone has to meddle in everyone else's business. Doesn't look like the athletes are abusing the meds year in and year out...so what's the big deal? Ugh!

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Kevin
11/16/2016 02:29:54 pm

In the end I think everyone's entitled to do what they feel like doing, but sports are not meant to be celebrated by taking performance-enhancing drugs.
Winning is the ultimate goal, but doing so by cheating?
I don't think an achievement can feel the same way if you hijack your way up to the podium. That's my two cents.

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bandona Rani
11/19/2016 07:33:48 pm

So sad to hear about this but I can understand why some might turn to performance-enhancing drugs I think it lessens the authenticity of the sport.

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Richard link
11/28/2016 06:30:55 am

I like it so far.

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Blaine Fowler
11/30/2016 04:16:01 pm

I like your article. It stirs a very important topic. Taking drugs to improve your athletic ability it not ok.

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jersey link
12/6/2016 05:03:14 pm

I got more information about this two players Sir Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome from this article and i think there must be some ways to stop this drugs in olympics.

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    Cameron Poetzscher

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    Cameron Poetzscher is a Harvard Business School graduate with extensive M&A, business strategy and operations experience.
    He is the VP of Corporate Development at Uber, and is passionate about sport.

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