In Yates, questions lead to questions

The narrow questions come first, and broaden with time. What happened, and to whom? How? Finally we ask “Why,” and “What do we do about it?” The last two can be a long time coming.

What we know is that Simon Yates tested positive for Terbutaline following stage 6 of Paris-Nice. We know his Orica – GreenEdge team claims he should have had a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) for the drug, which would allow him to use it legally, but his doctor neglected to fill out the form.

We know that Yates will not be provisionally suspended, thanks to a peculiarity of the UCI rulebook that stipulates certain “specified substances” are exempt from automatic provisional suspension. These are “substances which are more likely to have been consumed by a Rider for a purpose other than the enhancement of sport performance,” according to a comment written into the rulebook beneath the rule in question.

“As per the UCI’s Anti-Doping Rules, such substance does not entail the imposition of a provisional suspension,” the UCI said in a statement.

We know that Terbutaline is an androgen receptor agonist. WADA permits its use when inhaled (as Yates’s team has claimed his dose was administered), provided an athlete has a valid TUE (which he did not).

The drug is often injected or taken orally, and WADA has banned it at all times in these forms. But when used for asthma it is usually inhaled, used as a reliever inhaler and applied after symptoms manifest.

We know that when injected, Terbutaline also delays preterm labor by up to 48 hours in pregnant women. Logic suggests this use is largely irrelevant in Yates’s case.

Orica claims that on the day Yates was tested, his doctor included the drug on the Doping Control Form, which is filled out before a …

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