Boom to start Tour de France despite low cortisol levels
ByReuters
Published 04/07/2015 at 09:13 GMT
Dutchman Lars Boom will start Saturday's first stage of the Tour de France despite showing low levels of cortisol in a test on the eve of the race, his Astana team manager said.
Eurosport
Image credit: Eurosport
Low levels of the hormone can be explained by the use of corticoids, anti-inflammatory drugs that are allowed out of competition but forbidden while racing unless a rider is granted a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE).
"Boom will take the start," Alexander Vinokourov told reporters.
Astana, the team of defending Tour champion Vincenzo Nibali, are members of the MPCC (Movement for Credible Cycling) that applies stricter rules than the International Cycling Union (UCI) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
Under MPCC rules, Boom should be rested for eight days, meaning he should not start Saturday's 13.8-km time trial. UCI rules, however, do not forbid Boom from racing.
Astana's bid to replace Boom with Italian Alessandro Vanotti was denied by the UCI, who stated on Friday that the request had been made too late.
"Teams can't change their starting list after the sports directors' meeting has taken place," the governing body said in a statement.
"The UCI is committed to applying its regulations consistently and will therefore not authorise any team to change its starting list now."
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement