DMC707

Youd think that guy could have sand bagged a bit and made it look close--- Im used to seeing a pot gut or two in the sprint disciplines, but to see that in the points race was mind bottling

clubman 

Well he managed to only win by a point but he did have it sealed by the second last sprint. The way he rode away on the first sprint was telling. A locomotive.

Still, it's pretty amazing to see the old guys doing 60 kph in the matched sprints.

CliffordK

Of course Froome's prescription to the asthma drug Salbutamol was perfectly legal. He just allegedly had taken too much of it (or it wasn't being excreted quickly enough).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salbutamol#Doping

I have wondered about that. I find that I wheeze at around 25 MPH effort, or on hard hills. Otherwise, no wheezing during normal ordinary activities.

It may be that many cyclists have discovered benefits of taking bronchio dilators when they ordinarily would not have had clinical asthma, except under extraordinary effort.

old's'cool

Here's how I look at it... doping is only a symptom; big money (and at the bottom, for-profit entertainment of the masses) is the problem... I can think of parallels in other walks of life...

canklecat

Pppbbbttt... overblown. I use the same stuff for asthma. Doesn't make me superman. All it does is help me breathe on days when my airway is constricted and I'm choking on phlegm. There are days when I don't need it. I can't see any consistent difference.

Due to lifelong chronic respiratory problems I'm lucky to average 16 mph over distances of 20 miles or longer, and that's on a good day. On bad days I'm gasping for air climbing modest hills and trying not to stop at the top to catch my breath. If albuterol or similar asthma inhalers really made a difference I'd have seen it by now in myself.

I get more benefit from strong coffee with sugar than I do from albuterol. And coffee is a good adjunct to the usual OTC asthma and allergy meds, as well as enhancing the efficacy of NSAIDs.

For that matter I get way more benefit from Sudafed and ephedrine than from albuterol. But those stress my already wonky thyroid and elevate my blood pressure, so I take ephedrine only when I actually have to stop before I pass out due to wheezing and gasping for air.

If albuterol is cheating, might as well bring on the EPO and make it really count for something.

I'm still more curious about whether Froome really does have hidden motors. Something about his cadence, gearing and speed just doesn't seem to add up, although it's difficult to tell with his awkward, gangly body type. Just looks like he's flailing away wasting more energy, with a less aero position (with those elbows out like wings) than other comparably fast riders.

kcblair

I have half a container of that stuff, left over from a small issue, maybe I'll try it next year, on a climb....KB

canklecat

Don't expect to notice much, if any, difference. It helps a bit with airway constriction and wheezing. That's all. It won't enhance oxygenation in the blood. All it can do for most of us is open the airway to reach our existing potential -- which in my case is pretty low. My VO2 max is around 30-35 at best in my best condition a couple of months ago.

For me the only difference albuterol and ephedrine makes is I can finish a hill climb, albeit slowly and usually dead last in a moderately fast group ride. Without it I'd be walking up hills and not participating in group rides at all.

kcblair

Thanks for the feedback. Guess I don't need that stuff. At 70, I only take a small dosage of statin drug, that's it. Trying to stay prescription drug free, as much as possible. KB.

Vieux chnoque

I fear CF was tired and so out of it that he lost count of the numbers of puffs he took. Like when he went running up the mountain when he had a mechanical.
He should have just admitted it straight away, should have taken a voluntary suspension and might have gotten away with an official sanction of maybe a couple of months, season 2018 would have been saved.
Now he is going to spend fortunes trying to proove the unprovable, will be in the eye of the media for months, with a very uncertain outcome.

79pmooney

I read that it only has those benefits if taken internally; that inhaling it has none of that effect. I also read that it is very difficult to get big numbers from inhaling in your urine.

I've pulled up a seat and am going to watch how this plays out.

Ben