The United Kingdom’s most successful road cyclist, Chris Froome, is battling to save his reputation after a failed drug test following his win at the cycling competition, Vuelta a España, in September.
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A joint investigation by the Guardian and Le Monde revealed that Froome had double the permitted levels of the asthma medication, salbutamol, at the time.
The cyclist has admitted as much, but has insisted he hasn’t broken any rules.
“It is well known that I have asthma and I know exactly what the rules are,” he said, reported the Guardian. “I use an inhaler to manage my symptoms (always within the permissible limits) and I know for sure that I will be tested every day I wear the race leader’s jersey.”
“My asthma got worse at the Vuelta so I followed the team doctor’s advice to increase my salbutamol dosage,” he continued. “As always, I took the greatest care to ensure that I did not use more than the permissible dose.”
The athlete faces being stripped of his Vuelta title by the cycling’s governing body, the UCI, and could be banned from the sport for up to 12 months.