Team Sky's Geraint Thomas calls on UCI to ban Therapeutic Use Exemptions
Friday 5 May 2017 09:01, UK
Team Sky's Geraint Thomas believes the time has come for cycling's governing body, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), to consider scrapping Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs) for riders.
The Welsh star was speaking ahead of the start of the 100th Giro d'Italia in Sardinia, where he is aiming to become the first ever British winner of the year's first Grand Tour.
Team Sky has been mired in controversy since hackers revealed that his former team-mate Sir Bradley Wiggins used a banned corticosteroid for his asthma on three occasions, which is permitted under the so-called TUE system.
The contenders, the route and the key stages for the 100th edition of the race
Wiggins won the Tour de France in 2012 and no longer rides for Team Sky, who have been strongly criticised over the affair, particularly for their poor record-keeping.
"I would be happy for that (to ban TUEs)," Thomas told Sky News.
"It's such a grey area. Everyone is debating whether Brad needed it or not. Get rid of it and you don't have that issue. The main issue is the system and the rules around it. It's not clear cut."
The two-time Olympic champion added that he had never used a TUE in his career and finds it "tiresome" that reporters keep asking him questions about Wiggins.
"I can speak for myself and I do everything the right way," he added.
"That's down to the mentality I have been brought up with. I just know that until the end of time, whatever results I got, they will always stand."
He added: "It does get a bit tiresome when every interview you do harps back to that (Wiggins' use of TUEs). That's quite frustrating.
"The whole story is about him and (Richard) Freeman, the doctor. It would be nice if they answered those questions themselves, instead of people asking me."
Thomas said he had dreamed of reaching a Giro from when he began cycling as a schoolboy in Cardiff.
"I don't think I would ever have believed back then that I would be leading a team here. It's an amazing opportunity and I can't wait to stop talking about it and get racing," he said.
This year's Giro covers a gruelling 2,220 mile route around Italy, starting on Friday with the first of three Sardinian stages and finishing in Milan on May 28.
