Belgian cyclist has commented on a delicate matter, especially after Froome’s adverse analytical discovery and according to him, the use of inhalers is clearly cheating. But the thing that has raised our curiosity the most is the following comment the rider has made regarding the number of riders who are currently using one.
Wellens said that the public would be completely shocked if they knew the real number of cyclists who use inhalers and calls for the end to “grey areas”.
The use of inhalers would shock the public
Tim Wellens, the Belgian rider who is known to have refused to apply for a medical and therapeutic use exemption at the 2017 Tour de France, claimed that the public would be totally shocked by the large number of pro cyclists who routinely use inhalers. He even called for the end to “grey areas” in the cycling world.
Wellends, 26, had to abandon last year’s Tour de France due to an illness, even though he had the option to apply and use corticosteroid via a TUE.
“I’m against inhalers, I have no desire to improve my breathing by 7 per cent in that way,” Wellens commented on Belgian radio station RTBF.
”When you start using inhalers then you can’t live without them. I refuse to be dependent… but a lot of riders use them. If the public knew the number of riders who have an inhaler… it’s huge.”
“Sometimes you have to make decisions in life,” Wellens added. “When I was a young cyclist, I was on a team where five of my seven team-mates used an inhaler. I can accept that a person might need an inhaler, but not five out of seven.
“I would prefer things to be black or white, no grey areas. We all know that cortisone is in a grey area, it provides many benefits in terms of physical performance. When riders use it, it’s obviously annoying. It’s called cheating. Sometimes if you are unwell then you have to use it. But you can always decide to abandon the race instead.”
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