WADA weighs in on the TUE Controversy!

Subscribe to BobkeTV

Follow me
WADA weighs in on the TUE Controversy!

[RichardDurishin]

I am an allergy sufferer from age 8. I am educated as a physiologist and spent neatly 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry. At one point, I was one of America's top salesmen of triamcinolone acetonide - inhaled - for asthma. Triamcinolone acetonide is a cortico steroid. They are used because of their anti-inflammatory properties and have some nasty potential side effects including enlarging the heart, causing liver cancer, testicular cancer, osteopenia (bone wasting), high cholesterol, depression, mood swings... They also trigger more aggressive behaviour and can improve physical endurance.

To reduce the potential for side effects, cortico-steroids are generally administered at the side of inflammation...joint injection for inflamed joints (arthritis), systemically for dermatitis like poison ivy...and they are inhaled for asthma to reduce inflammation of the airways and minimize the potential for side effects. Cortico-steroid inhalation for asthma is a practice decades old and one that was, in many ways, pioneered in the U.K.

triamcinolone for asthma? Me-thinks Wiggo should be classified with Lance: a cheat.

[luisfelipetrigo]

Not only listen long enough. I listen to ALL you say, even when I do not agree. I consider you add value to the world of cycling.

[tomtye]

Great commentary and explanation of the TUE program Bob. Didn't even know it existed. Don't vanish!!

[jganun]

This whole thing stinks. If athletes are using medications that can enhance their performance, they have no right to privacy; get it out in the open and let's hear their cases. It's absurd to think that so many of the supposedly most physically fit human beings can't get along without medication. If they're so sick they can't perform without drugs, tell them to stay home.

[easyxmm]

Here is the bottom line, it looks like Wiggins won his major races after corticosteroid injections. Everyone blames arrogant Lance, but they r all still doing that shit! Double standard is unbelievable!!!

[chrisheimerl]

There's always a way to bend a rule by crooked athletes and their docs/trainers/directors/etc. Pressure has to come from the people/fans. Thanks for this one Bobke!

[albertoparedes]

as I said before, UCI & WADA need to address the loop-holes in the TUE system to eliminate any chances of abuse by any rider, I also think it should be as transparent as possible (so there are no surprises)

[flippinchoons]

a really want a bobke tv t-shirt, but live in the UK. went on the site but cant see anything about delivery or postage too the UK. Heeelp!

[ChrisCapoccia]

UCI/WADA don't really want to catch cheaters in an effective way. Otherwise they would be properly funded, properly researching new tests, properly testing every athlete before and after each stage of each race, etc. Instead top racers get preferential treatment and very long delays before practical appeals like pharmacokinetic studies to prove innocence. Also the whole process must be transparent. Athletes must be able to trust UCI/WADA that other athletes are not cheating; that they have a fair chance if they race clean

[alantaylorfarnes]

What I'm about to write is really harsh and I don't know if I agree with it myself but let's let people who suffer from illnesses or whatever that require a TUE either compete with the illness or don't compete. Let them compete in the Special Olympics in the section for people with Asthma. Why are we so concerned with leveling the playing field? If I don't have legs then I don't become a swimmer. If I have bad lungs then I probably shouldn't be a cyclist. We don't give a TUE and a leg to people who don't have legs to help them compete in cycling. There is no TUE for special needs cyclists so their playing field can be level. The playing field isn't level. If you have an illness then, I'm sorry, you can't compete unless you want to compete with the illness or without the drugs. Trying to level the playing field invites corruption.

[tommymoore]

All pro cyclists should apply for TUEs. This would force WADA to take a look in the mirror.

[Montoyaever]

...famous asthma or allergies, well ... I agree with MPCC on this as to if you need a TUE then dont compete and mostly if it is a powerful one. Wiggins said it was for him to compete on the same level field (sounds familiar?) but how did he know? how can he garantee he was not getting above the field through TUEs. WADA always lacking the edge on this... Keep it up Bob!!

[wojtek]

Just about every Scandinavian cross country skier has TUE for asthma medication . Poor souls, air quality must be terrible over there ;)

[kevina]

a world champion and olympic pursuiter....the absolute pure form of aerobic / anaerobic achievement, half way through his career becomes a seriously ill asthmatic who can't breathe properly, yet, at the same time his performance suddenly massively improves ( and his weight drops in a bizarre fashion ) in range of new aspects and he even wins bunch sprints and the tour de france...feats he could never have contemplated when he was healthy and without the strangely timed medication !

[troruaz]

While I agree there's dangerous precedent for publicly disclosing the various conditions of athletes, how about they meet the public in the middle. Disclose the accepted drugs/substances for various conditions so that the efficacy of treatments can be weighed, otherwise we'll continue to have people with "asthma" as long as corticosteroids are subscribed carte-blanche.

[markmiller]

Nowhere in professional sport is there fair play. If you believe that fair play exists in professional sport, its because you are happier with the fiction than the facts. Cheating isn't a new phenomenon either. Cheating has always been a part of high stakes competitive sport. Whether its a pitcher putting vaseline on a baseball, a sprinter anticipating the gun, a quarterback using deflated footballs or a cyclist getting a lengthy pull from a motorist, cheaters and their conspiritors come in all forms. The more money and fame at stake, the more cheating is involved. And, agencies charged with policing of sport are often managed by the very people who used to compete and cheat. They are easily corrupted and ultimately become just another part of a cheater's arsenal. Whats the solution? Fans need to stop!! Stop buying into the fiction. Stop taking it all so seriously!! Stop worshiping professional athelets as heros. Stop buying tickets. Stop watching. Lets all get off our couches and go for a nice long ride. Better yet, if its on a TUEsday, why not go out and set a PR in a time trial ;)

[JimBrown-nc]

TUE's have been abused in the past. Lance back dating prescriptions. So how do we know they still are not. If you have asthma then why compete if you need medicine. Then maybe you should not compete. Maybe I'm gun shy with all the dropping that has gone on in the past.

[luisfelipetrigo]

Everything WADA does is self-serving.
Level playing field is not realistic, there are way to many factor that are different from one rider to the next and/or one team to the next.

[urby]

Wiggins, Froome, are on the juice!!!! Look at Wiggins tour run, in the mountain stages he wasn't even breathing hard. But that's fine to me. I still enjoy watching it because they still have to do the work. Problem I have is the hypocrites. Pointing their fingers at one person (Armstrong), like he's responsible for the doping that was there well before and after him. Funny how so many bash pro cycling, then sit their fat asses on the couch and watch their (heroes) play in the NFL like drugs have nothing to do with their performance. LMAO!!