The handling of Chris Froome’s salbutamol case is “another shard that has damaged the credibility” of the World Anti-Doping Agency, the head of the US Anti-Doping Agency has warned.
Travis Tygart, who led the fight to bring the US cyclist Lance Armstrong to justice, also criticised the lack of transparency over Wada’s decision to clear Froome this month.
“The question is whether justice was truly served or did a star get an undeserved break,” Tygart said. “Unfortunately it’s another blow to the perceived credibility of the global anti-doping movement.”
Wada and cycling’s governing body, the UCI, have only released some details about why Froome was given the all‑clear, after he was tested for double the permitted limit of salbutamol at the Vuelta a España last September.
In an interview with the BBC Tygart insisted that was unfair to Froome, who he said faced the “worst-case scenario” where he was “caught” between being seen as having benefited from his high profile yet could also have been “unfairly tarnished”.
“Athletes should not be accused or it be inferred that they’re not clean until proven through the established process and that didn’t happen here and he deserves the benefit of that presumption of innocence.”
Tygart also claimed that in nearly 75,000 drug tests conducted by Usada since the salbutamol rule was updated in 2011, the organisation did not find “a single athlete” in any sport that exceeded the maximum permitted amount.
In response, a Wada spokesperson told BBC Sport: “Mr Tygart’s assessment appears uninformed, is unconstructive, and quite frankly is surprising given that Usada has itself previously taken the decision to close a salbutamol case where the athlete exceeded the threshold without a controlled pharmacokinetic study being conducted.
“In leading the fight against doping in sport, Wada is sometimes forced to make difficult decisions. This is one of those occasions. Wada is convinced that, in view of the complex and unique circumstances of Mr Froome’s case, the UCI reached a correct and fair outcome.”
