Wiggins - could this be a Similar issue as Lance A ?
Discussion
If a TUE can only be granted to treat an acute or chronic medical condition then Bradley Wiggins must have been diagnosed as having acute and/or a chronic medical condition.
That medical condition is Asthma.
1. I can't believe someone suffering from chronic asthma can win the TDF
2. Wiggins is a smoker. if he has chronic asthma then that can't help.
I'm sensing an element here of R P McMurphy in "One flew over the cuckoos nest" You fooled em all :-)
That medical condition is Asthma.
1. I can't believe someone suffering from chronic asthma can win the TDF
2. Wiggins is a smoker. if he has chronic asthma then that can't help.
I'm sensing an element here of R P McMurphy in "One flew over the cuckoos nest" You fooled em all :-)
This is how I see it as someone who has followed the sport for 16 years now (and is well aware of things like the Festina affair).
In terms of legalities, they did nothing wrong. The drug use was under exemption and was cleared by multiple tiers.
In terms of the spirit of Team Sky and their stance on everything performance enhancing related, they did take advantage of the system. TUE's exist, and they exploited this. I guess it's like F1 teams pushing the boundaries of rules on things like moveable aero devices, mass dampeners in the nose of the car etc. The best people always push the boundaries of the rules, and sometimes fall over the edge. Hence why new rules come into existence.
I haven't read Brad's autobiography so I can't comment on the no needle thoughts. However, he always came across (to me) as someone who hated the dark part of the sport. Someone who you could see became quite angry when questioned about doping, the history of doping in the sport etc.
I find the asthma thing odd. I'm not a doctor, so I can't say how bad someone would need to be to take a drug for acute illness. However, I do find the timing of these TUE's advantageous for Brad in what he was going to pursue over the following weeks.
We really need to see the data from all of the pro teams. This is confidential, so I doubt we'll see it, but just seeing a snapshot from a few select riders will always cause controversy. We can't compare anything until we see what everyone is up to.
If the data is released and we see heavy usage of TUE's, we know that there is a system here being played. Legally, it isn't wrong. However, in the true spirit of fair competition, it's gaining a performance advantage.
As I mentioned above, performance advantages will always be pursued. (Money, sadly, drives a lot of sport now. When money is involved, people fall over themselves to claim it). Pursual of these advantages can come in the form of legal stuff (caffeine, sugars, altitude training, better equipment, more aero kit and equipment etc), and illegal stuff. However, there is a whole lot more going on at top teams to gain an advantage other than TUE's.
Sky utilise wind tunnels and a whole host of cutting-edge, modern equipment. They also bleat on about marginal gains. A good case in point this year was at the Vuelta. The eventual winner, Nairo Quintana, was questioning the use of power meters by Team Sky etc. This is much more than a drug exemption.
Again, I'm no engineer, so I can't say if a more aero bike is worth more to a rider than a steroid. However, we musn't forget that pursual of advantages come in many more forms than an injection.
I feel this is a problem with the system rather than the rider. The teams asked if the drug use was ok, everyone in control of the sport said yes. You can't blame them for playing this advantage. The system will need to evolve to combat this if it is being abused. I know that historically, the UCI etc. have dragged their heals on things like this. I hope that if the TUE system is proven as being played, they do something to sort it. Failing that, open it up to everyone and just let them do what they want. But, be honest. Tell us the athletes are on this and that etc.
In summary, nothing illegal or against the rules has taken place. The system has been played, successfully. Morally, I think Sky etc. have overstepped the mark, especially when considering their ethical attitude. They should feel a bit ashamed that this information has come to light. However, it was classed as confidential.
I think we need to see the full picture before we can comment. Let's see the TUE data for all of the teams and make a judgement based on that. If the system needs fixing, fix it. If only the odd teams like Sky have been proven to be playing it, the fallout from this will hurt them more than any sanctioning.
In terms of legalities, they did nothing wrong. The drug use was under exemption and was cleared by multiple tiers.
In terms of the spirit of Team Sky and their stance on everything performance enhancing related, they did take advantage of the system. TUE's exist, and they exploited this. I guess it's like F1 teams pushing the boundaries of rules on things like moveable aero devices, mass dampeners in the nose of the car etc. The best people always push the boundaries of the rules, and sometimes fall over the edge. Hence why new rules come into existence.
I haven't read Brad's autobiography so I can't comment on the no needle thoughts. However, he always came across (to me) as someone who hated the dark part of the sport. Someone who you could see became quite angry when questioned about doping, the history of doping in the sport etc.
I find the asthma thing odd. I'm not a doctor, so I can't say how bad someone would need to be to take a drug for acute illness. However, I do find the timing of these TUE's advantageous for Brad in what he was going to pursue over the following weeks.
We really need to see the data from all of the pro teams. This is confidential, so I doubt we'll see it, but just seeing a snapshot from a few select riders will always cause controversy. We can't compare anything until we see what everyone is up to.
If the data is released and we see heavy usage of TUE's, we know that there is a system here being played. Legally, it isn't wrong. However, in the true spirit of fair competition, it's gaining a performance advantage.
As I mentioned above, performance advantages will always be pursued. (Money, sadly, drives a lot of sport now. When money is involved, people fall over themselves to claim it). Pursual of these advantages can come in the form of legal stuff (caffeine, sugars, altitude training, better equipment, more aero kit and equipment etc), and illegal stuff. However, there is a whole lot more going on at top teams to gain an advantage other than TUE's.
Sky utilise wind tunnels and a whole host of cutting-edge, modern equipment. They also bleat on about marginal gains. A good case in point this year was at the Vuelta. The eventual winner, Nairo Quintana, was questioning the use of power meters by Team Sky etc. This is much more than a drug exemption.
Again, I'm no engineer, so I can't say if a more aero bike is worth more to a rider than a steroid. However, we musn't forget that pursual of advantages come in many more forms than an injection.
I feel this is a problem with the system rather than the rider. The teams asked if the drug use was ok, everyone in control of the sport said yes. You can't blame them for playing this advantage. The system will need to evolve to combat this if it is being abused. I know that historically, the UCI etc. have dragged their heals on things like this. I hope that if the TUE system is proven as being played, they do something to sort it. Failing that, open it up to everyone and just let them do what they want. But, be honest. Tell us the athletes are on this and that etc.
In summary, nothing illegal or against the rules has taken place. The system has been played, successfully. Morally, I think Sky etc. have overstepped the mark, especially when considering their ethical attitude. They should feel a bit ashamed that this information has come to light. However, it was classed as confidential.
I think we need to see the full picture before we can comment. Let's see the TUE data for all of the teams and make a judgement based on that. If the system needs fixing, fix it. If only the odd teams like Sky have been proven to be playing it, the fallout from this will hurt them more than any sanctioning.
Thankyou4calling said:
If a TUE can only be granted to treat an acute or chronic medical condition then Bradley Wiggins must have been diagnosed as having acute and/or a chronic medical condition.
That medical condition is Asthma.
1. I can't believe someone suffering from chronic asthma can win the TDF
2. Wiggins is a smoker. if he has chronic asthma then that can't help.
I'm sensing an element here of R P McMurphy in "One flew over the cuckoos nest" You fooled em all :-)
The last two TDF have been won by an asthmatic.That medical condition is Asthma.
1. I can't believe someone suffering from chronic asthma can win the TDF
2. Wiggins is a smoker. if he has chronic asthma then that can't help.
I'm sensing an element here of R P McMurphy in "One flew over the cuckoos nest" You fooled em all :-)
What about Simon Yates?
Is he bending the rules to his advantage as he chooses to use an asthma treatment - terbutaline that is the only one of four common treatments that require a TUE?
What’s the maximum dosage?
With terbutaline, you have to submit a TUE to prove that you have asthma. The controversial part is that once you have your TUE you can use as much as you like. A doctor would normally prescribe a therapeutic dosage, which would not normally be performance-enhancing, but there is nothing from that point to stop the athlete taking larger doses.
Is it performance-enhancing?
There is evidence emerging that large doses of terbutaline in inhaled form may improve sprint and power performance, but there is no strong evidence to suggest they would improve endurance performance. From a performance-enhancement point of view, these drugs don’t improve lung function. They are called beta-2 agonists because they act directly on beta-2 adrenoreceptors in the muscle, which improves the strength and power produced in each muscle contraction. It works in a similar way to adrenaline. Essentially you’re getting better adaptations in sprinting and power performance. From an endurance point of view for a cyclist, there are not many gains to be had.
So Yates has free reign to use as much of this as he likes, what's people's thoughts on that?
Granfondo said:
Sorry but stop trying to blame everybody but the rider trying to gain an unfair advantage!
How big is the performance boost/unfair advantage gained from triamcinolone? It didn't provide much of a boost at the 2013 Giro - Wiggins performance was poor, he was even crap the TT...Edited by jesusbuiltmycar on Wednesday 28th September 11:58
FredClogs said:
mcelliott said:
No-one is accusing them of (I don't think, anyway) outright doping. That may or may not emerge in the future; however I think there is a distinction to be made between doping and non-clean. I would definitely put Wiggins in the latter. Yes he didn't break any rules but his ride was aided with a performance enhancing drug. If we could find out the rationale as to how that drug ended up in his system, things would become a lot clearer.
He's explained the rationale, he suffers arsema and allergies and complained of a flair up so the Doctor prescribed him the most potent and strongest general anti inflamtory they could (which also massively helps with the general inflamtaion caused by a 3 week bike race, weight loss and other hormonal responses to extreme physical stress), the UCI and Wada approved it, so he injected it.If you're tired and sore and have a dehydration headache in the morning then a Nurofen is performance enhancing, the difference between medicine and doping is only really a procedural one.
He clearly took the medicine to aid his peformance, or allow him to compete or enable him to do his job - see it how you will. This is not a moral issue anymore, it's one of semantics and following procedure, they can't ban all medicine they can't test for all PEDs and they wouldn't want to if they could because the performances would be well down, at this stage we just have to assume all sportmen are hypocrites who'd sell there own mother for a little public admiration (governing bodies likewise but replace public with Marketing budgets) and an advantage in the field - yes I'm talking about you Mr Froome - How very dare you.
http://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/paul-...
That South African doctor, Swart, had a totally different opinion.
I'm also curious to see the TUE's of Team GB during the Olympics, they didn't win much in between the last two Olympics but suddenly won almost everything in Rio. "We're good at peaking at the right moment", somebody of Team GB said. Drugs also make you peak at the right moment. Wenn other nations questioned Team GB's performances, Wiggins called those people "sore losers".
Probably just semantics.
Froome meanwhile unravels some of those semantics:
http://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/cycli...
Froome said in a statement released on his Twitter account that he was not prepared to "win at all costs", adding "there are some athletes who not only abide by the rules that are in place, but also those of fair play". Team Sky, too, insist their conscience is clear, with the TUEs recommended by an independent specialist and signed off by the UCI and Wada. Froome, however, hinted that he was not prepared to compromise his ethics with a "win-at-all-costs approach".
"I have never had a 'win-at-all-costs' approach in this regard," he said. "I am not looking to push the boundaries of the rules."
Edited by DeltonaS on Monday 16th January 01:24
jesusbuiltmycar said:
Granfondo said:
Sorry but stop trying to blame everybody but the rider trying to gain an unfair advantage!
How big is the performance boost/unfair advantage gained from triamcinolone? It didn't provide much of a boost at the 2013 Giro - Wiggins performance was poor, he was even crap the TT...Edited by jesusbuiltmycar on Wednesday 28th September 11:58
“As I said in my book [Racing Through The Dark], I took EPO and testosterone patches, and they obviously produce huge differences in your blood and you felt at your top level … Kenacort, though, was the only one you took and three days later you looked different.
“I remember it was one of the reasons I took sleeping pills because Kenacort put you on this weird high. It’s quite scary because it’s catabolic so it’s eating into you. It felt destructive. It felt powerful.”
Millar said there was no doubt in his mind that the drug was performance-enhancing and called on the powers-that-be to ban its use in-competition via TUEs.
el stovey said:
Why the big strop? To me sky have done something perfectly legal. Thousands of athletes have TUEs it's hardly some kind of secret cheating.
Each to their own as ever but this isn't a thread just for people that think sky are cheats is it?
You sound like you think sky and British cycling are all now dopers. I suppose I'd be upset too if I thought that. I don't at all though.
Most of the others didn't have strategic injections of something way OTT for treatment (from what all sources seem to say, inc ex abusers) of a condition that he's never mentioned before!Each to their own as ever but this isn't a thread just for people that think sky are cheats is it?
You sound like you think sky and British cycling are all now dopers. I suppose I'd be upset too if I thought that. I don't at all though.
No, of course not, but you are proving to be monumentally naive in your approach to it IMO. Even Cancellara's are less suspicious and everyone reckons he's been at it years - even Lance! There is simply not a good excuse IMO for getting that drug, for the first time ever according to the leaked docs (never needed it beforehand?), before every major grand tour. And given he famously had to reduce his bodyfat percentage to levels that would be seriously hard to otherwise (as proved by his balloon in weight since) do naturally which was and was literally the only way he could win the tour, by numbers. And obviously there being a huge amount of ITT.
I don't think they're all dopers, and nobody is saying he is a doper for doing this, but they are saying that he's got hold of this stuff somehow at the perfect time to help in his races and it totally goes against what he said in his book, and in press conferences. I'm sorry, but "I thought injections just meant EPO" as the reason is utter toilet, up there with the most laughable excuses I've ever heard. He came out with the "some teams are still injecting vitamins" line the day before he got approval to inject his asthma stuff. Just stinks.
BC have banged on about this that and the other for years, but this undermines all of that, and brings it all into question, at least.
jesusbuiltmycar said:
How big is the performance boost/unfair advantage gained from triamcinolone? It didn't provide much of a boost at the 2013 Giro - Wiggins performance was poor, he was even crap the TT...
He would have won that stage by a country mile if not for a bike swap. When has dowsett ever come close to wiggins before or since?Edited by jesusbuiltmycar on Wednesday 28th September 11:58
I think there is a lot of hearsay here , armchair expert opinions and not many medical experts , nor do we have any idea of the specifics of Wiggins's condition, just titbits from here and there.
Wiggins and Brailsford cant be held for anything, as they did it all by the book and the use was approved by the governing body
Being an asthma & severe allergy sufferer and keen cyclist I can see why he took the drugs , its gutting being held back from cycling due to the sensation of drowning in your own lungs or allergy symptoms that suddenly come on when you are run down
My asthma is pretty benign, keeping fit stops it in its tracks 99% of the time and I rarely have an attack. Salbutamol works wonders for me and helps immensely.
Having said that this summer I pushed myself a bit harder than usual, 100 mile ride (nothing compared to TDF) through the last 40 miles was racing a few mates up the final hills and some heavy effort for me and felt ok . Later that night felt ok watching tv, suddenly my lungs started to close over, like they were @ 50% capacity , then 30% capacity . I grabbed my inhaler after 5 puffs it still had no effect and I was struggling , after taking it easy for a few hours the symptoms disappeared . Raising it at my asthma clinic, they were quite concerned and offered me stronger (steroid based I think) medication , which I didnt take and would see how I went
In relation to allergies, I'm usually OK in my own house and town, but have had odd allergy attacks when travelling abroad and in hotels, skin rashes, wheezing,eye itching, lungs closing over etc. New pollen that my body isn't used to as well can trigger symptoms. If I was off to a grand tour in unfamiliar locations and was pushing my body 110% day in day out I would take every medication I could to control allergies and asthma as an attack could render you bloody useless
As for Wiggins not mentioning Allergies or Asthma, I don't to anyone, when you suffer all your life most people just MTFU and get on with it, managing it the best you can. Nothing worse than people who endlessly go on about their medical conditions. There are plenty of people out there, including sports starts who have medical conditions or issues that we have no idea about, some people also value their privacy.
Wiggins and Brailsford cant be held for anything, as they did it all by the book and the use was approved by the governing body
Being an asthma & severe allergy sufferer and keen cyclist I can see why he took the drugs , its gutting being held back from cycling due to the sensation of drowning in your own lungs or allergy symptoms that suddenly come on when you are run down
My asthma is pretty benign, keeping fit stops it in its tracks 99% of the time and I rarely have an attack. Salbutamol works wonders for me and helps immensely.
Having said that this summer I pushed myself a bit harder than usual, 100 mile ride (nothing compared to TDF) through the last 40 miles was racing a few mates up the final hills and some heavy effort for me and felt ok . Later that night felt ok watching tv, suddenly my lungs started to close over, like they were @ 50% capacity , then 30% capacity . I grabbed my inhaler after 5 puffs it still had no effect and I was struggling , after taking it easy for a few hours the symptoms disappeared . Raising it at my asthma clinic, they were quite concerned and offered me stronger (steroid based I think) medication , which I didnt take and would see how I went
In relation to allergies, I'm usually OK in my own house and town, but have had odd allergy attacks when travelling abroad and in hotels, skin rashes, wheezing,eye itching, lungs closing over etc. New pollen that my body isn't used to as well can trigger symptoms. If I was off to a grand tour in unfamiliar locations and was pushing my body 110% day in day out I would take every medication I could to control allergies and asthma as an attack could render you bloody useless
As for Wiggins not mentioning Allergies or Asthma, I don't to anyone, when you suffer all your life most people just MTFU and get on with it, managing it the best you can. Nothing worse than people who endlessly go on about their medical conditions. There are plenty of people out there, including sports starts who have medical conditions or issues that we have no idea about, some people also value their privacy.
TwistingMyMelon said:
I think there is a lot of hearsay here , armchair expert opinions and not many medical experts , nor do we have any idea of the specifics of Wiggins's condition, just titbits from here and there.
Wiggins and Brailsford cant be held for anything, as they did it all by the book and the use was approved by the governing body
Being an asthma & severe allergy sufferer and keen cyclist I can see why he took the drugs , its gutting being held back from cycling due to the sensation of drowning in your own lungs or allergy symptoms that suddenly come on when you are run down
My asthma is pretty benign, keeping fit stops it in its tracks 99% of the time and I rarely have an attack. Salbutamol works wonders for me and helps immensely.
Having said that this summer I pushed myself a bit harder than usual, 100 mile ride (nothing compared to TDF) through the last 40 miles was racing a few mates up the final hills and some heavy effort for me and felt ok . Later that night felt ok watching tv, suddenly my lungs started to close over, like they were @ 50% capacity , then 30% capacity . I grabbed my inhaler after 5 puffs it still had no effect and I was struggling , after taking it easy for a few hours the symptoms disappeared . Raising it at my asthma clinic, they were quite concerned and offered me stronger (steroid based I think) medication , which I didnt take and would see how I went
In relation to allergies, I'm usually OK in my own house and town, but have had odd allergy attacks when travelling abroad and in hotels, skin rashes, wheezing,eye itching, lungs closing over etc. New pollen that my body isn't used to as well can trigger symptoms. If I was off to a grand tour in unfamiliar locations and was pushing my body 110% day in day out I would take every medication I could to control allergies and asthma as an attack could render you bloody useless
As for Wiggins not mentioning Allergies or Asthma, I don't to anyone, when you suffer all your life most people just MTFU and get on with it, managing it the best you can. Nothing worse than people who endlessly go on about their medical conditions. There are plenty of people out there, including sports starts who have medical conditions or issues that we have no idea about, some people also value their privacy.
It's highly unlikely Brad has asthma. As a genuine sufferer you should be annoyed about this being used as an excuse.Wiggins and Brailsford cant be held for anything, as they did it all by the book and the use was approved by the governing body
Being an asthma & severe allergy sufferer and keen cyclist I can see why he took the drugs , its gutting being held back from cycling due to the sensation of drowning in your own lungs or allergy symptoms that suddenly come on when you are run down
My asthma is pretty benign, keeping fit stops it in its tracks 99% of the time and I rarely have an attack. Salbutamol works wonders for me and helps immensely.
Having said that this summer I pushed myself a bit harder than usual, 100 mile ride (nothing compared to TDF) through the last 40 miles was racing a few mates up the final hills and some heavy effort for me and felt ok . Later that night felt ok watching tv, suddenly my lungs started to close over, like they were @ 50% capacity , then 30% capacity . I grabbed my inhaler after 5 puffs it still had no effect and I was struggling , after taking it easy for a few hours the symptoms disappeared . Raising it at my asthma clinic, they were quite concerned and offered me stronger (steroid based I think) medication , which I didnt take and would see how I went
In relation to allergies, I'm usually OK in my own house and town, but have had odd allergy attacks when travelling abroad and in hotels, skin rashes, wheezing,eye itching, lungs closing over etc. New pollen that my body isn't used to as well can trigger symptoms. If I was off to a grand tour in unfamiliar locations and was pushing my body 110% day in day out I would take every medication I could to control allergies and asthma as an attack could render you bloody useless
As for Wiggins not mentioning Allergies or Asthma, I don't to anyone, when you suffer all your life most people just MTFU and get on with it, managing it the best you can. Nothing worse than people who endlessly go on about their medical conditions. There are plenty of people out there, including sports starts who have medical conditions or issues that we have no idea about, some people also value their privacy.
my Asthma started after a serious crash and it came with allergies that caused severe skin irritation. The Doctors said they would probably never know why it started . The Asthma has all but gone again its been a long time since I needed an inhaler but about 4 or 5 times this year my allergies kicked in and boom it leaves me out for the count for about 3 days. So it comes in all shapes and sizes and affects everyone differently.
MarshPhantom said:
It's highly unlikely Brad has asthma. As a genuine sufferer you should be annoyed about this being used as an excuse.
Why do you think that , it's common in professional cyclists.Just because he doesn't reference it in his books doesn't meAn he doesn't suffer with it
Edited by TwistingMyMelon on Wednesday 28th September 23:42
I'm still on the fence on this.
Initially, I think everything is fine - TUE's and their controls exist to keep it fair. The ruskie hackers are just doing covering fire.
Then, you think of Sky / Braisford / Brad's book. They kept saying they were uber clean. No needles. This is needles. they're lieing. Throw them to the wolves for that.
Then, cynicism kicks in. How come...
No other pro cylcing team
No grand tour podium finisher
No other country
..has chimed in with "you're cheating / rule bending swine"? I've only seen Dumoulain (who is awesome anyway).. I see that it's UCI / WADA approved, but seriously? With the milions at stake in either pro teams or national sport level, IMO the logical reason for total radio silence is that the other players don't dare sling mud because they're in glass houses themselves.
I'd love for a WADA total TUE report. I think Cycling (and all other sports) would be better for it. End the ill-educated speculation (myself included, I'm a chemist not a medic) and be done with it.
Initially, I think everything is fine - TUE's and their controls exist to keep it fair. The ruskie hackers are just doing covering fire.
Then, you think of Sky / Braisford / Brad's book. They kept saying they were uber clean. No needles. This is needles. they're lieing. Throw them to the wolves for that.
Then, cynicism kicks in. How come...
No other pro cylcing team
No grand tour podium finisher
No other country
..has chimed in with "you're cheating / rule bending swine"? I've only seen Dumoulain (who is awesome anyway).. I see that it's UCI / WADA approved, but seriously? With the milions at stake in either pro teams or national sport level, IMO the logical reason for total radio silence is that the other players don't dare sling mud because they're in glass houses themselves.
I'd love for a WADA total TUE report. I think Cycling (and all other sports) would be better for it. End the ill-educated speculation (myself included, I'm a chemist not a medic) and be done with it.
Matt_N said:
What about Froome then? Yates or the countless others that 'have' it?
Reports that around 21% of the British Olympic team use inhalers too!
Maybe being a top cyclist makes you catch asthma, it's the cause!Reports that around 21% of the British Olympic team use inhalers too!
Same as all the footballers and runners who have a puffer on the start line.
The fact is it's a farce, they've got exemptions so no rules broken but come on now.
We all know British cycling is focussed on marginal gains, microscopic improvements that all add up and this is one of them, they have found an angle and are exploiting it.
I think people have limited grasp and preconceptions of Asthma , presuming fit people cant get it, various studies and data proves its common in top level athletes .
A friend of mine was diagnosed asthma recently having just completed an ironman, he was quite gutted. Lots of his friends and family ribbed him for hit, giving him banter that he "was getting old" and "wasn't as fit as he thought", he kept it quiet he had asthma. When he told me about it I was surprised as having suffered all my life never realised people thought about it this way, but recently i've noticed these views are really common
Without knowing the specifics of Wiggin's condition and without medical training and experience, you cant judge whether he needs it or not, nor can you use anecdotal evidence, such as "he never mentioned it before" or "yeah people who use inhalers are milking it"
Its all irrelevant anyway, he was prescribed it by a medical professional, he completed the relevant paperwork and the cycling governing body approved it . Anything else is just uneducated opinions.
The only point I will accept is if he suffers with asthma, let alone is a professional cyclist, to carry on smoking, even if occasionally is idiotic and won't get him any sympathy!
A friend of mine was diagnosed asthma recently having just completed an ironman, he was quite gutted. Lots of his friends and family ribbed him for hit, giving him banter that he "was getting old" and "wasn't as fit as he thought", he kept it quiet he had asthma. When he told me about it I was surprised as having suffered all my life never realised people thought about it this way, but recently i've noticed these views are really common
Without knowing the specifics of Wiggin's condition and without medical training and experience, you cant judge whether he needs it or not, nor can you use anecdotal evidence, such as "he never mentioned it before" or "yeah people who use inhalers are milking it"
Its all irrelevant anyway, he was prescribed it by a medical professional, he completed the relevant paperwork and the cycling governing body approved it . Anything else is just uneducated opinions.
The only point I will accept is if he suffers with asthma, let alone is a professional cyclist, to carry on smoking, even if occasionally is idiotic and won't get him any sympathy!
TwistingMyMelon said:
I think people have limited grasp and preconceptions of Asthma , presuming fit people cant get it, various studies and data proves its common in top level athletes .
Do you think Asthma should be more common in professional sportsmen than the general population ?Gassing Station | Sports | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff