tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/bradley-wiggins-17508/articlesBradley Wiggins – The Conversation2022-04-25T16:14:07Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1816322022-04-25T16:14:07Z2022-04-25T16:14:07ZBradley Wiggins alleges he was sexually groomed by a coach when he was about 13: expert explains safeguarding in sport and what more needs to be done<p>Former professional cyclist Sir Bradley Wiggins, a Tour de France winner and multiple Olympic gold medallist, has told <a href="https://www.menshealth.com/uk/mental-strength/a39726563/cover-star-bradley-wiggins/">Men’s Health magazine</a> that he was <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/61143244">sexually groomed</a> by a coach when he was around 13 years old. </p>
<p>The allegations made by Wiggins hark back to a time when the possibility of widespread sexual abuse in sport, particularly against boys, was widely dismissed. But although more protection for children is now in place, the sexual abuse of children in sport is certainly not a thing of the past. In fact, it is widespread. </p>
<p>Together with colleagues, I have recently carried out <a href="https://figshare.edgehill.ac.uk/articles/report/CASES_General_Report_The_prevalence_and_characteristics_of_interpersonal_violence_against_children_IVAC_inside_and_outside_sport_in_six_European_countries/17086616/1">a survey</a> of over 10,000 18- to 30-year-olds in six European countries with an average age of 24. It explored their experiences of abuse in sport, from peers or adults, before they turned 18. </p>
<p>The survey found that 35% of the respondents had experienced sexual abuse without physical contact, such as sexual comments or being shown sexual images, before the age of 18. Furthermore, 20% overall – 26% of men and 14% of women – reported at least one experience of sexual abuse that involved physical or bodily contact, such as sexual touching.</p>
<p>The survey findings indicate that there is a serious and shocking amount of forced, unwanted, or inappropriate sexual activity within children’s sport. Our survey found that the majority who experienced abuse (both sexual and non-sexual) did not tell anyone about their most serious experience. Only around 6% asked for support from someone within sport.</p>
<h2>Raising the issue</h2>
<p>The issue of sexual abuse of children in sport was first raised in the 1980s by feminist academic and campaigner <a href="https://www.brunel.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/articles/Obituary-Prof-Celia-Brackenridge-campaigner-against-child-abuse-in-sport?msclkid=807cd6dbc0a911ecbfae91b0217b3ab9">Celia Brackenridge</a>. Brackenridge received a good deal of criticism for suggesting that sport might have a problem with sexually abusive coaches. </p>
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<p>In the 1990s, though, her efforts were accompanied by the disclosures of athletes who had suffered sexual abuse at the hands of their coaches. The conviction of British national swimming coach <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2001/oct/27/athletics.comment">Paul Hickson</a> in 1995 for the sexual assault of teenagers in elite squads was a landmark case. A number of complaints of sexual assault by coaches in <a href="https://www.irishtimes.com/news/long-history-of-sex-abuse-complaints-in-swimming-1.130443">Irish swimming</a> also gained public attention in the same time period.</p>
<p>But people often assumed that child sexual abuse involved a <a href="https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.2105/AJPH.2014.301946">male perpetrator and a female victim</a>. This helped to conceal the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13573320500254869?journalCode=cses20">abuse of boys in sport and silenced victims</a>. The misperception that boys were not victims of sexual abuse often stemmed from traditional attitudes about what it means to be a “real man”, which consider being a victim as a weakness. </p>
<p>In the 80s, 90s and later, these assumptions – which are still present in some male sport settings – provided the perfect context for those who chose to victimise boys. </p>
<h2>Establishing safeguarding</h2>
<p>The impact of the coverage concerning a growing number of cases of sexual abuse in sport could not be ignored, however. Some of the country’s leading governing bodies and national sport agencies collaborated on a national strategy that saw the establishment of the <a href="https://thecpsu.org.uk/">Child Protection in Sport Unit</a> in 2001. This marked the beginning of a sustained and systematic approach to child protection – or “safeguarding” – in UK sport for those sports that received government funding.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, people continued to assume that child abuse happened in isolated incidents rather than being willing to consider that it was widespread and potentially institutionalised. In one research survey in the early 2000s, <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/car.990">a coach described</a> the introduction of child protection policy in Rugby League as a “sledgehammer to crack a nut situation”.</p>
<p>What’s more, the voices of survivors of sexual abuse in sport were still largely absent within approaches to safeguarding. In the 2010s, I worked with colleagues across Europe to develop the Voices for Truth and Dignity in Sport (<a href="https://research.edgehill.ac.uk/en/projects/voices-for-truth-and-dignity-combatting-sexual-violence-in-europe">VOICE</a>) project, which led to survivors coming forward to tell the people who fund and manage sport what had happened to them.</p>
<p>Following the VOICE project, Sport England established the <a href="https://www.sportengland.org/how-we-can-help/safeguarding/safeguarding-advisory-panel">Sport England Safeguarding Advisory Panel</a> in September 2017 to ensure the views of survivors would be included in safeguarding strategy, and the English Football Association set up the <a href="https://www.thefa.com/football-rules-governance/safeguarding/section-9-support-for-survivors">FA Survivor Support and Safeguarding Advisory Group</a>. </p>
<h2>Listening to survivors</h2>
<p>Survivor testimony helped to bring awareness to the abuse of boys. In 2016, footballer Andy Woodward spoke about his <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/nov/16/andy-woodward">abuse as a young player</a> by the convicted child sex offender Barry Bennell. This led to a <a href="https://www.npcc.police.uk/NPCCBusinessAreas/OtherWorkAreas/OpHydrant/FootballAbuseStats.aspx">wider investigation</a> in football which indicated nearly 900 victims, nearly all of them male. </p>
<p>In 2019, the Professional Footballers’ Association established a <a href="https://www.thepfa.com/players/wellbeing/survivor-support-advocate">survivor support advocate service</a>.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">A 2016 report on Andy Woodward’s testimony from 5 News.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Safeguarding policies and procedures in British sport have continued to develop over the past 20 years, alongside a community of safeguarding officers tasked with implementing policy and a number of independent organisations that provide resources for the sport sector, such as the <a href="https://stop-ce.org/tackling-cse-in-sports/#">NWG Network</a>. Nevertheless, safeguarding policies can also act as a comfort blanket for sport organisations, providing the impression of change while internal cultures remain the same.</p>
<p>Assuming that policy will prevent abuse, that it will enable children and young people to report their own abuse or ensure that adults will both recognise and report child abuse in their midst, is simply to repeat the errors of the past. </p>
<p>There is <a href="https://mandatenow.org.uk/why-we-exist/">no legal requirement</a> for anyone working with minors in England to report child sexual abuse. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0145213416300655">Research has found</a> that when mandatory reporting was introduced in Western Australia, the number of substantiated investigations into child sexual abuse doubled.</p>
<p>Efforts to prevent abuse must include listening to and acting on the testimonies of victims. The voices and perspectives of those affected by abuse, sexual violence and unwanted sexual attention are vital for a strong safeguarding system. Their public disclosures will undoubtedly provide support for victims. Hopefully, they will reach the ears of children who are currently being groomed or abused and the adults entrusted with their care.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/181632/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mike Hartill is a trustee of the Male Survivors Partnership (MSP) and he has provided research and consultancy services, through Edge Hill University, for a range of organisations in relation to abuse in sport, including Sport England, the Football Association, NWG Network. </span></em></p>In a recent survey, 20% of respondents said that when they were under 18 years old they had experienced sexual abuse from adults or peers that involved physical or bodily contact.Mike Hartill, Professor in Sociology and Sport, Edge Hill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/931062018-03-12T10:58:09Z2018-03-12T10:58:09ZThree radical steps to derail doping in elite sport<p>Elite British cycling outfit Team Sky “crossed an ethical line” by giving medicines to squad members which could be used to enhance performance, according to the <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmcumeds/366/366.pdf">new UK parliamentary committee report</a> into doping in British cycling and athletics. </p>
<p>Though the report makes clear that the drug use was within <a href="https://www.usada.org/about/world-anti-doping-code/">global anti-doping rules</a>, it devotes much attention to eight-times cycling medallist Bradley Wiggins and several occasions on which he took medicines before major races – he and Team Sky strenuously deny any wrongdoing. </p>
<p>Champion distance runner Mo Farah is also named. The report heavily criticises his doctor, Robin Chakraverty, for not recording the dose size of a restricted substance he injected into the athlete before the London Marathon in 2014 – Farah and Chakraverty insist they were within the rules. The report refers to “acute failures” in both British cycling and athletics around medicine procedures that urgently need addressed. </p>
<p>It amounts to one more doping controversy for elite international sport – barely two weeks after several Russian athletes were <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/winter-olympics/43186278">caught cheating</a> at the Winter Olympics. It threatens to drag cycling even further through the mud, all the worse because British cycling’s apparent anti-doping respectability always seemed central to Team Sky’s success. </p>
<p>The global system for preventing doping is not working properly and needs reform. For defenders and critics alike, here are three radical options:</p>
<h2>1. More of the same, but better</h2>
<p>Currently <a href="https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1048181/anti-doping-claimed-to-cost-sport-300-million-each-year">there are</a> around 300,000 drug tests a year, <a href="https://www.asada.gov.au/about-asada/finance/fees">costing</a> approximately £700-£1,000 each. They <a href="https://www.wada-ama.org/sites/default/files/resources/files/2016_anti-doping_testing_figures.pdf">catch less than</a> 2% of doping, much of it either recreational or innocuous. </p>
<p>It is <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-017-0792-1">possible that</a> up to 50% of athletes have doped. We need substantially more funding for more frequent tests to make participants really fear being caught. Obviously this would only address detectable drugs and not substances which tests cannot yet find, but this would be an improvement. </p>
<p>To achieve this, you could pay athletes less money. Rewards vary hugely of course, but for instance the winner of the Tour de France receives €500,000 in prize money – never mind the sponsorship opportunities. Cutting incomes would reduce the incentive to dope and free up cash for more testing. It would also address the problem in cycling, where the richest riders can afford the best doping doctors. </p>
<p>Second, reduce the list of banned substances to priority substances that either have the highest health risk or most potently enhance performance. Keep steroids on the list, for example, but take off cannabis. Third, raise money from sponsors and major event organisers and governments to pay for more testing.</p>
<h2>2. Monitor suppliers</h2>
<p>Despite the limited testing, one paradox with the current system is that it takes an extreme approach to keeping athletes under surveillance. Those on the registered testing pool must tell the authorities where they will be for at least an hour every day. </p>
<p>All athletes can be tested randomly at events, training facilities, their house or on holiday. When they are approached for a test, a drug control officer needs to chaperone them until they are ready to urinate. At that moment, the officer accompanies them to the bathroom to ensure the urine leaves the body and is not swapped for a prepared sample. </p>
<p>This unethical intrusion clearly does not work. Too much time and money is wasted on locating and observing athletes with little or no risk of doping. It makes clean athletes nervous that they have inadvertently used a doping substance, or that there might be a problem with the handling or laboratory processes. </p>
<p>One alternative option might be to spend less time on athletes and more on doctors and coaches. After all, it is very likely that they will be the conduit to doping. The recent history of cycling shows a small coterie of <a href="http://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/latest-news/lance-armstrong-doping-doctor-given-18-month-prison-sentence-323284">doctors</a> whose doping practices could have been stopped if the right systems had been in place. </p>
<p>In a more rigorous system, these personnel would be regularly checked, compelled to undertake anti-doping education, and face career-threatening sanctions if an athlete reported them to the authorities. </p>
<h2>3. Independent scrutiny</h2>
<p>Global anti-doping practices are overseen by the <a href="https://www.wada-ama.org">World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)</a>, but there is no watchdog or auditor to ensure policies are fair, just and properly implemented. Governments could collectively fund such an agency. A key role would be to review anti-doping in all countries and sports to detect and prevent corruption of the testing system. </p>
<p>Perhaps each sport would even have its own agency. If that had been in place for cycling, some of the evidence released by the new UK parliamentary committee report would have been collected and WADA might have had a more hands-on role than it has had. </p>
<p>The new watchdog would also become a forum for whistleblowers and critics with new ideas for anti-doping. It would be independent enough to prevent the sorts of organisational and political conflicts of interest that <a href="http://www.sportsintegrityinitiative.com/tackling-doping-sport-removal-conflicts-interest-central/">have plagued</a> the Olympics, cycling, football and other sports. </p>
<p>Another progressive step would be to support athletes <a href="https://www.balls.ie/newsnow/new-documentary-shines-light-irish-sprinters-controversial-doping-conviction-382087">who appeal</a> against high or unjust sanctions. Currently, it’s a long and expensive process in which they are very unlikely to succeed. This would give them more trust in the system, and make them more likely to proactively support it. </p>
<p>Which of these three options would I choose? I lean towards less surveillance of and more protection for athletes – shifting more of the testing burden to doctors and other support staff. </p>
<p>The risk is that less testing of athletes could lead to more doping, so there may be a balance to be struck. Meanwhile, a global doping watchdog enforcing the kind of standards that British procedures have failed to meet might have meant that athletes like Wiggins and Farah would not have found themselves under suspicion. </p>
<p>We might never be able to achieve “clean sport”. But if we can put core values at the heart of change and accept that incremental progress is better than nothing, options like the ones I’ve laid down might mitigate the current failings.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/93106/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Dimeo has previously had funding from the British Academy, Wellcome Trust, Fulbright Commission and WADA, but not related to this article.</span></em></p>Doping controversy around British cycling and athletics is the latest sign that sports authorities need to do something drastic.Paul Dimeo, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Health Sciences and Sport, University of StirlingLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/892522017-12-18T16:30:49Z2017-12-18T16:30:49ZElite sport: time to scrap the therapeutic exemption system of banned medicines<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199714/original/file-20171218-27547-1jwnmk3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.paimages.co.uk/image-details/2.23232631">PA</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Four-time Tour de France winner <a href="https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/gbcyclingteam/new/bio/Chris_Froome">Chris Froome’s</a> positive test for high levels of the asthma drug <a href="https://beta.nhs.uk/medicines/salbutamol-inhaler/">salbutamol</a> in September during the Vuelta a Espana race has prompted much debate on the rules surrounding medicines in sport.</p>
<p>In essence, some drugs are not allowed, and others are allowed up to a threshold level under a <a href="https://ukad.org.uk/medications-and-substances/about-TUE/">Therapeutic Use Exemption</a> (TUE). This creates problems in establishing the threshold level and around accidental over-use, but also opens the door to unethical behaviour.</p>
<p>Team Sky cyclist Froome, who did not have a TUE for salbutamol, but was using it under normal guidelines that the <a href="https://www.wada-ama.org/">World Anti-Doping Agency</a> (WADA) <a href="http://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/latest-news/everything-you-need-to-know-about-chris-froomes-salbutamol-case-362848">allows</a>, defended his use of the drug for treating his asthma and said he <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/cycling/2017/12/14/chris-froome-have-not-broken-rules-sure-truth-will-told/">hadn’t broken any rules</a>. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199715/original/file-20171218-27541-1xy0gsc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199715/original/file-20171218-27541-1xy0gsc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=675&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199715/original/file-20171218-27541-1xy0gsc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=675&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199715/original/file-20171218-27541-1xy0gsc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=675&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199715/original/file-20171218-27541-1xy0gsc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199715/original/file-20171218-27541-1xy0gsc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199715/original/file-20171218-27541-1xy0gsc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=848&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Salbutamol is a drug used to treat asthma.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.paimages.co.uk/image-details/2.34035233">PA</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>This case and others throw up broader questions about how to regulate medical drug use in elite cycling.</p>
<p>If an athlete has evidence from a doctor, they can be allowed to take a medical drug that is on the <a href="https://www.wada-ama.org/en/what-we-do/the-prohibited-list">prohibited list</a> via the TUE system. The idea, as Froome’s teammate <a href="http://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/latest-news/sir-bradley-wiggins-rider-profile-72520">Bradley Wiggins</a> said in defence of his own TUE for pollen allergies, is to level the playing field by removing the disadvantage of an illness. However, taken in large doses, there are some medicines which also have stimulating effects – which is why they are banned.</p>
<p>Given the potential for exploiting this loophole, and the lack of consistency, it might be fairer if the TUE system was completely scrapped. This would also be in the interests of athletes’ short and long-term health.</p>
<h2>Taking advantage of the system</h2>
<p>There are many ways in which an unscrupulous and determined athlete can exploit the TUE process. An obvious strategy is to find a doctor willing to bend the rules and write prescriptions for unnecessary medicines. Another might be to fake an illness or manipulate the results of diagnostic tests. </p>
<p>There is some research to show this may happening in practice. For example, in a large Danish <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0955395913000364">study</a>, 51% of respondents believed that athletes in their sport where being allowed unnecessary TUEs.</p>
<p>In November, <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/othersports/article-5025457/Ex-British-Cycling-coach-Shane-Sutton-hired-China.html">Shane Sutton</a>, the former Team Sky coach <a href="http://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/latest-news/we-used-tues-to-get-marginal-gains-says-former-team-sky-and-british-cycling-coach-shane-sutton-359307">said</a> that TUEs were part of their “marginal gains” performance strategy. The leading athletics coach, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/41811637">Alberto Salazar</a>, who was until recently British distance runner <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/athletics/7914182/Mo-Farah-profile.html">Mo Farah’s</a> coach, obtained TUEs for his group of elite athletes, and upon investigation it was <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/records-in-nike-oregon-alberto-salazar-doping-investigation-do-not-match">revealed</a> that some of their medical records were altered. </p>
<p>There is a clear difference between the letter of the law and the spirit of the law, but in a highly competitive context like sport, managers will follow the letter of the law to avoid punishment while trying to gain as much advantage as possible.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199716/original/file-20171218-27538-wi4vff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199716/original/file-20171218-27538-wi4vff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199716/original/file-20171218-27538-wi4vff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199716/original/file-20171218-27538-wi4vff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199716/original/file-20171218-27538-wi4vff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199716/original/file-20171218-27538-wi4vff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199716/original/file-20171218-27538-wi4vff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">British cyclist Chris Froome celebrates winning the Tour de France in 2015.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.paimages.co.uk/image-details/2.23660981">PA</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<h2>Inconsistencies</h2>
<p>The purpose of allowing access to medicines ostensibly seems to be a supportive, athlete-centred policy. But if an athlete sprains their ankle they have no choice but to rest until it is healed. They are treated unfairly compared to an athlete who has an illness for which there is a short-term cure. </p>
<p>Another problem is that some athletes have medical support staff who know how to use the TUE system to their advantage. Someone in a less well-resourced environment might find it much harder to get good advice. In such a case, they might simply accept their fate and stop competing until they have recovered, or risk a sanction by inadvertently taking a banned drug without having applied for a TUE.</p>
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<p><em><strong>Read more: <a href="https://theconversation.com/world-cycling-is-broken-its-time-to-lift-the-ban-on-doping-38609">World cycling is broken: it’s time to lift the ban on doping</a></strong></em> </p>
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<p>One might also imagine there are athletes who believe in the spirit of the law and the values of sport, and so refrain from over-medicalising even if they have the opportunity. They might wish to demonstrate their success is due to hard work, fitness and skill, not supported by artificial stimulants. </p>
<p>The current policy is a compromise between not allowing too much drug use, and the hard line of a blanket no-drugs policy that would discriminate against athletes with treatable health issues. Yet, there is a range of unforeseen consequences if the drugs in question are not available to all athletes, and if there are opportunities to bend the rules. </p>
<h2>Effects on athletes</h2>
<p>While the TUE system appears to be concerned about athletes’ health by allowing them to use medicines, there are some ways in which the use of such medicines is detrimental to their health. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199717/original/file-20171218-27557-1fmh82b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199717/original/file-20171218-27557-1fmh82b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199717/original/file-20171218-27557-1fmh82b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=718&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199717/original/file-20171218-27557-1fmh82b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=718&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199717/original/file-20171218-27557-1fmh82b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=718&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199717/original/file-20171218-27557-1fmh82b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=903&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199717/original/file-20171218-27557-1fmh82b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=903&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199717/original/file-20171218-27557-1fmh82b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=903&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sir Bradley Wiggins has benefited from TUEs to help him deal with a pollen allergy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.paimages.co.uk/image-details/2.28334225">PA</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If an athlete is ill or in pain, they should rest. Drugs which mask a health problem in order to allow athletes to push themselves for the sake of sport could have an impact in the short and longer term. The over-use of painkillers can lead to addiction, as <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2017/03/12/health/nfl-painkiller-lawsuit/index.html">found</a> recently in American football. Painkillers also lead to neglecting the underlying medical problem, causing long-term health issues and shortening athletes’ careers.</p>
<p>If a new policy saw the scrapping of TUEs, athletes might still be allowed to use a selection of over-the-counter medicines in low doses. A list of such medicines could be compiled, ensuring there was no confusion about which drugs could be taken. This would help athletes of integrity trust the system to protect them from unscrupulous athletes, doctors and coaches. </p>
<p>And if WADA aims to ensure a level playing field, promote the health of athletes and foster a consistent, coherent and transparent approach, then perhaps the only way forward is to prevent the abuse of TUEs is by removing them completely.</p>
<p>The global sports community needs to be serious about clean sport, and such a drastic solution might be necessary. Those who suffer illness might not get to compete to the same extent, but athletes would have to accept that fairness and health are good principles to follow, and accept their fate much like athletes who miss out due to broken bones or concussion.</p>
<p>This might sound brutal and inhumane, and WADA might look for ways to soften the blow for those athletes in genuine need, but at the very least, we need to recognise the complex and sometimes hidden problems in the current approach, and seek ways to solve them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/89252/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Therapeutic Use Exemption system of banned medicines in sport creates more problems than it solves, is open to abuse and is simply unfair.Paul Dimeo, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Health Sciences and Sport, University of StirlingVerner Møller, Professor of Sports Science, Aarhus UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/703652016-12-16T16:55:52Z2016-12-16T16:55:52ZFive questions for cycling chief Dave Brailsford<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/150317/original/image-20161215-26027-15vbt5v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=73%2C202%2C1664%2C1045&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/cfeatherstone/8640434092/in/photolist-eawu2A-bxCkGb-AYRkj6-A1YKpK-AjUtud-AXSiCP-AjUb6K-AVz7DG-A1QDfY-8vAsxM-ffj5zP-ffj5yT-iFQYiv-iFSHDA-aqLt3U-8PVXWa-8PZ9yJ-8PZ5xf-bxCohf-bLwYxv-bLwXQH-bxCnbh-bxChEJ-bxCmL9-bLwZsX-bLx69Z-bxCkVE-bLwYiF-bxCnpb-bLx4ui-bxChrs-bxCjEw-bLx1en-bLwXbR-bxCg5U-bLx6nk-bxCmjA-bxCnNU-bxCkhY-bLwZV4-bLx32r-bxCi7N-bLwYMp-bxCitd-bLx5ac-bxCjr7-bxCjS9-bxCk3S-bLx3FZ-ADzbkT">@ruby_roubaix/Flickr</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In his role as boss of professional cycling team Team Sky and former performance director for British Cycling, Dave Brailsford has enjoyed extraordinary success. His oversight started the ball rolling on an impressive haul of Olympic medals for Team GB over three tournaments, while Chris Froome and Bradley Wiggins <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/36879128">have delivered four victories since 2012</a> in the pro-sport’s prestige event, the Tour de France.</p>
<p>Brailsford, who was knighted in 2013, <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/culture-media-and-sport-committee/">will give evidence</a> on Dec 19 before a British parliamentary select committee looking at doping in sport. His appearance involves no accusation that he ever allowed doping in his teams. However, he will face scrutiny over the fact that some highly successful riders have used medical products that could enhance their performance under the Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) system. </p>
<p>This issue of TUEs was brought to the fore after athletes’ private medical records, kept by anti-doping agencies, were <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/sep/21/fancy-bears-leaks-athletes-doping-russia-cyber-hackers">hacked by a group called the Fancy Bears and publicised</a>, a move that prompted some athletes to justify their <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/2016/09/13/us-superstars-serena-and-venus-williams-and-simone-biles-given-d/">use of medical products</a> as well as raising questions about the <a href="http://www.sportsintegrityinitiative.com/fancy-bears-target-nados/">motivation behind the hack</a>. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.damiancollins.com/">Damian Collins</a>, chair of the Culture Media and Sport Select Committee, said <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/cycling/2016/10/27/mps-want-answers-about-sir-bradley-wigginss-mystery-medical-parc/">MPs would focus attention</a> on “the ethics of the use of TUEs and the way this is policed by British Cycling”.</p>
<h2>Grey area</h2>
<p>Obtaining a TUE is far from unusual. Many elite athletes require medications that are banned under the <a href="https://www.wada-ama.org/en/what-we-do/the-code">World Anti-Doping Code</a>. If a doctor prescribes the drug for an identifiable condition, then it is perfectly acceptable. In that sense, there is no accusation that elite British riders and their doctors broke any rules, as confirmed by the <a href="http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/no-rules-broken-and-no-action-to-follow-in-wiggins-tue-case-says-cookson/">head of the sport’s governing body, Brian Cookson</a>.</p>
<p>However, the TUE application process could be <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/37382825">open to abuse</a> if an unscrupulous doctor and coach decide, for example, that an athlete might benefit from “inventing” an illness to obtain medical drugs. These might include painkillers designed to alleviate the stress on the body during competition, stimulants that give a short-term boost to the central nervous system, and asthma inhalers that improve air flow. There is no suggestion that this has happened at British Cycling or at Team Sky, but it is clearly a grey area for anti-doping. </p>
<p>Brailsford has been a high-profile campaigner against doping – he instituted a policy that no-one with a doping record be allowed in his organisations. However, he <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/sportsnews/article-3841622/Sir-Dave-Brailsford-admits-errors-Team-Sky-package-questions-denies-allegations-wrongdoing.html">drew criticism</a> for his less than forthcoming response to controversy surrounding a mystery package allegedly delivered to Team Sky in June 2011, which is currently the subject of a UK Anti-Doping investigation.</p>
<h2>Key questions</h2>
<p>Ahead of Brailsford’s select committee appearance, I propose five key questions that MPs should put to him:</p>
<p><strong>1.</strong> A great deal of attention has been focused on Wiggins’ use of drugs for allergies and asthma under a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE). There is nothing illegal in this. But banned drug triamcinolone (Kenalog), a synthetic corticosteroid used to treat allergies, was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/sep/30/bradley-wiggins-full-story-asthma-allergies-tues">used by Wiggins</a> under a TUE prior to his Tour de France campaigns in 2011 and 2012, and his Giro d’Italia ride in 2013.</p>
<p>If there was no breaking of any rules, why wasn’t this a matter of public record much earlier? And did his use of this medicine so close to competition have an effect?</p>
<p><strong>2.</strong> Brailsford has often spoken about the philosophy of marginal gains, whether <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-34247629">those be achieved</a> through diet, technology, training methods, pre-emptive healthcare or even sleeping arrangements. Does the legal use of medicines that have a performance-enhancing effect also count towards marginal gains and would such an approach fit with WADA’s idea of the “<a href="https://www.wada-ama.org/en/media/news/2013-02/the-spirit-of-sport-and-anti-doping-policy-an-ideal-worth-fighting-for">spirit of sport</a>”?</p>
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<p><strong>3.</strong> British cycling coach Simon Cope has said that he delivered a package in June 2011 ahead of the Criterium du Dauphiné stage race, flying in to hand this over to the team doctor. The circumstances surrounding this have been the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/oct/12/british-cycling-coach-pacackge-team-sky">subject of some debate</a> and Brailsford has admitted he could have handled the story better. The subject is under investigation by UK Anti-Doping and Team Sky said it is “confident” <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/oct/08/cycling-team-sky-bradley-wiggins">there was no wrongdoing</a>. Can Brailsford reveal what was in the package and why the contents have not already been explained?</p>
<p><strong>4.</strong> <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/37589241">Claims were made</a> in October that at the 2012 road world championships, Team GB riders used the legal but controversial painkiller tramadol. The cyclist Jonathan Tiernan-Locke alleged that the drug was “<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/cycling/2016/10/10/sir-bradley-wiggins-tues-ethically-wrong-according-to-team-sky-t/">freely offered</a>”. Tramadol is not banned in sport but it can cause <a href="http://drugabuse.com/library/the-effects-of-tramadol-use/">nausea, dizziness and drowsiness</a> – and it has been suggested that the latter might be a factor in crashes. </p>
<p>While tramadol is legal, it is a highly powerful drug and is the subject of an an investigation by the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/cycling/2016/10/19/olympic-chiefs-to-examine-painkiller-in-team-sky-controversy/">International Olympic Committee</a>. Does Tiernan-Locke’s claim have any substance? </p>
<p><strong>5.</strong> Brailsford has a reputation for promoting an anti-doping culture. However, Team Sky has refused to join the pro-active <a href="https://www.mpcc.fr/index.php/en/mpcc-uk">Movement for Credible Cycling (MPCC)</a> whose requirements are more rigorous than WADA’s and which has campaigned to have tramadol banned. Can he explain why they took this position towards an organisation which, on the face of it, is aligned with a strong anti-doping stance?</p>
<p>These questions can be answered. It could well be said that no rules have been broken, however, trust is gained through transparency and honesty – and it is far from clear why important aspects of this business have not been publicly resolved. The select committee has an opportunity to seek that transparency; to find out all the drugs that team doctors have ordered, match them to TUEs, and match them to specific races. The outcomes of this research might bring a more definitive outcome to a sorry saga.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/70365/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Paul Dimeo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Team Sky boss is due to give evidence to MP’s at parliament. Here’s what they should ask him.Paul Dimeo, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Health Sciences and Sport, University of StirlingLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/446392015-07-24T09:24:26Z2015-07-24T09:24:26ZHow cycling’s rising popularity built a lucrative tribe of MAMILs<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88381/original/image-20150714-21738-1p1evd1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C160%2C1564%2C917&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some MAMILs, in their natural habitat.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/camera_phone_lomo/15582695602/in/photolist-pJZovy-nYtskd-oQjkXj-fr6gda-enEzz5-n8Wodz-9KVqk3-frkyEu-fr6fPV-frkxLU-cLiVaJ-fr6h9D-n8WwMt-duiY4e-8AkuW4-pawc8p-bsFqCq-foWsUZ-rKHDCU-uV9btb-n2hp5M-dmxNb1-nY6Zq6-ou6mFi-egPJtn">camera_phone_lomo</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088707/">American Flyers was a 1985 movie</a> depicting the strategy and tactics of road cycle racing. In addition to an early appearance by Kevin Costner, the film was notable, among other things, for its portrayal of European cycling.</p>
<p>At the time, professional cycling had still to take hold in the United States and Lance Armstrong was only a boy, no doubt pounding the streets of Plano, Texas in anticipation of what lay ahead. Instead, the movie’s glamour boys were the European riders who were all swagger and attitude. </p>
<p>Up to that point, professional cycling had been a distinctly European phenomenon. It was dominated by heroes and icons such as <a href="http://www.cyclinghalloffame.com/riders/rider_bio.asp?rider_id=13">Fausto Coppi</a>, <a href="http://www.cyclinghalloffame.com/riders/rider_bio.asp?rider_id=25">Jacques Anquetil</a> and <a href="http://www.cyclinghalloffame.com/riders/rider_bio.asp?rider_id=1">Eddy Merckx</a>. Another rider, <a href="http://www.cyclinghalloffame.com/riders/rider_bio.asp?rider_id=37">Miguel Indurain</a>, was the quintessential type of European cyclist depicted in the movie. </p>
<p>A five-time Tour de France winner, during his career Indurain was often portrayed as having had an impoverished working-class upbringing – cycling was his route out of farming in rural Navarre, Spain. Even so, for every Indurain, there had been a hundred other French, Italian and Spanish riders of the same ilk.</p>
<h2>Corporate strategies</h2>
<p>If American Flyers portrayed cycling in the way it had always been, its prophetic message was of what cycling would become. Many of the film’s scenes were staged using the actual <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Team-7-Eleven/291669047559438">7-Eleven professional team</a> as actors. In time, 7-Eleven eventually mutated into the Motorola team, which was formed by Jim Ochowicz. Ochowicz went on to become Lance Armstrong’s first professional team director when the rider competed for Motorola between 1992 and 1996.</p>
<p>Both Ochowicz and Armstrong brought a new approach to cycling that was less Spanish farm worker and more square-jawed American executive. Their strategy was more akin to industrial process and commercial enterprise, something which began to revolutionise professional cycling.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88387/original/image-20150714-21743-s1qvqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88387/original/image-20150714-21743-s1qvqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88387/original/image-20150714-21743-s1qvqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88387/original/image-20150714-21743-s1qvqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88387/original/image-20150714-21743-s1qvqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88387/original/image-20150714-21743-s1qvqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88387/original/image-20150714-21743-s1qvqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88387/original/image-20150714-21743-s1qvqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lance Armstrong joins the MAMILs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/goatkarma/3833165315/in/photolist-6QHYva-7wncwE-63UjnF-61c8QQ-9hW61a-q8oPr-33kwj-661a8X-5p91hv-5pdhAw-5pdhcu-5yR7HV-665sBW-7TMi2Q-61t2em-4MNYU9-29bE7S-aEC2i-77RWb5-93Ym6Q-5G99wr-o2vFf-2KfRf-brccL-6QGAU-brcgE-5pdhiw-dMzcmj-3egb67-7wnZXy-77PdKx-33kvq-6R5Rpa-3o8xk-612DxC-6R5QBp-7xWLUr-95VDv3-Y17zt-5p91rD-6qr9u-5ZUmWE-5zH3sT-5zMjp9-5zH3C6-5zH2UX-5zH2CD-5zMjgs-5zMjAj-5zMjU9">Andrew Wilson</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Under the influence of Armstrong, Ochowicz and others, the corporate types being drawn into cycling were soon themselves enticed by participation in the sport. <a href="http://wheelmenthebook.com/">In their book, Wheelmen</a>, Reed Albergotti and Vanessa O’Connell of the Wall Street Journal identified how cycling was embraced by, and became the epitome of, American business culture. It was intensely competitive and combined the importance of strong strategy and tactics with the need for the good health and well-being of executives.</p>
<h2>Olympic effect</h2>
<p>Following developments in the United States, cycling’s <em>nouveau-riche</em> contingent found a new boost from an upsurge in British interest in cycling. First came some success, most notably during the 2004 Athens Olympics, which led to a sharp increase in the sale of bicycles in Britain. Then came <a href="http://www.teamsky.com/teamsky/home#WfL6MI1Dx4e3JaMG.97">the emergence of a new team, Sky</a>, which not only set about revolutionising the sport, but also provided a focus for UK sports fans and bike riders alike.</p>
<p>At the heart of this British new wave was a man who was neither European farmer nor American executive. Rather, he was all Fred Perry, Northern Soul and tattoos. Although he had been around on the professional scene for more than a decade, <a href="https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/gbcyclingteam/bio/Sir_Bradley_Wiggins_CBE">when Bradley Wiggins won the Tour de France</a> and an Olympic Gold Medal in 2012, cycling in Britain went stratospheric. </p>
<p>If Armstrong was the poster boy for corporate America, then Wiggins was more like David Beckham on wheels. With a penchant for 1960s British music, a wardrobe of sharp suits and a loving family to boot, for many British males Wiggins was and still is a 21st-century icon in the way he balances style, rebelliousness, family life and high performance at work.</p>
<p>Of this Anglo-American marriage was born a love-child, the disciples of which now populate the highways of both countries and beyond. Where once, the working-class traditions of cycling witnessed farmer’s sons on bikes, now our roads are adorned with gleaming machines ridden by accountants in synthetic fabric – the MAMILs have arrived and are populating the cycling world.</p>
<p>Middle-Aged Men in Lycra (MAMILs) have rapidly become a cultural phenomenon and a clearly defined market segment. Kitted out in garish sponsor-laden kits of professional teams, they <a href="http://www.evanscycles.com/products/bmc/timemachine-tmr01-ultegra-di2-2015-road-bike-ec053884">pedal away on £4,000 bicycles</a>. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88392/original/image-20150714-21715-1omwij4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88392/original/image-20150714-21715-1omwij4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88392/original/image-20150714-21715-1omwij4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88392/original/image-20150714-21715-1omwij4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88392/original/image-20150714-21715-1omwij4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88392/original/image-20150714-21715-1omwij4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88392/original/image-20150714-21715-1omwij4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/88392/original/image-20150714-21715-1omwij4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Shopping time.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/acme59/6842097649/in/photolist-bqBxfR-74f7j5-4GCfjX-Ej634-7czgcn-finaC1-6Ggjau-cUeHoG-iwuzSH-9pKZMG-doaWLd-v5Tyy-sSp7vA-8t4CsG-9ASosi-bE29vZ-chpbvy-5ZRpSP-9dL4hu-n1QJQE-nv8RSm-poyiZt-qc86Rf-fNH75s-8hunav-a3Qer3-asV1th-6xtJBK-b99yHi-j7Nmj8-ebGLBa-5CY6tQ-dwKJXT-dy9tZj-8trK98-kPRZu-57KzPS-b99uZF-dHFBp5-fCBZBS-agEauC-qCmjU2-gyGjZg-5spNsT-8isD8c-eirJYd-9ndtGo-7tFF1T-9mmgWY-4nBuZL">acme08</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Some cultural commentators have identified cycling as the new golf, as hordes of men flee the fairways and head for the hills. The suspect fashion and competitive edge are still there, but health, welfare and team bravado have replaced the one-upmanship of golf’s club houses. Furthermore, there’s something distinctly 21st century about pushing oneself to the physical limit with the guys on Mount Washington in New Hampshire or in the Yorkshire Dales, rather than indulging in a Sunday afternoon saunter around a pleasant golf course.</p>
<p>MAMILs have also become a marketer’s dream, spending sums of money on a bike that most people would ordinarily only spend on a small family car. The preponderance of lycra, carbon fibre helmets and on-board computers has contributed to a cycling industry that is now estimated to be <a href="https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/zuvvi/media/bc_files/corporate/The_British_Cycling_Economy_18Aug.pdf">worth £2.9 billion</a> or more to the British economy alone.</p>
<p>As Britain’s Chris Froome continues to lead the Tour de France, and with US rider Tejay van Garderen challenging strongly until <a href="http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/racing/tour-de-france/it-was-hard-to-look-at-my-teammates-after-abandoning-says-van-garderen-183999">his dramatic exit on Wednesday</a>, this year’s race has been something of a MAMIL fantasy. As such, carbon fibre rim manufacturers and energy bar producers are no doubt already salivating at the prospect of further boosts to their coffers. </p>
<p>Yet for all the cynicism among lonely women and overweight men, MAMIL mania should not be so quickly discounted. Just think of the environmental benefits every time a pushbike replaces the 1970s fuel-guzzling sports car that such men once longed to buy in middle age. At the same time, there are health benefits as well; unlike golf with its 19th-hole celebratory cigars and round of whiskies, the new way among MAMILs is to consume energy drinks and fruit purees in order to keep their bellies in check.</p>
<p>While some people will mourn the passing of cycling’s heritage and traditions, we now have a sport that is exactly what the likes of Jim Ochowicz set-out to create – and then some. Indeed, as we get deeper into the 21st century, with money in sport taking hold and the need for active lifestyles pressing, it is unlikely that we will ever see a return to the rugged, unvarnished type of cycling witnessed during the era of Coppi and Anquetil.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/44639/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Whether through US corporatism or the Wiggo effect in the UK, Middle-Aged Men in Lycra are spending big on bikes and bib-shorts.Simon Chadwick, Professor of Sport Business Strategy, Coventry UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/416552015-06-02T13:45:49Z2015-06-02T13:45:49ZHow Bradley Wiggins can break cycling’s toughest record<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83645/original/image-20150602-6997-ldxuji.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Wiggo is days away from 60 minutes of pain.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Sebastien Nogier/EPA</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="http://www1.skysports.com/cycling/news/15264/9838682/smashing-hour-world-record-inspiring-cyclist-bradley-wiggins">challenge for Bradley Wiggins</a> is beautifully simple: complete the greatest number of laps of a velodrome track in one hour by pedalling as close as possible to the black racing line. However, the simplicity is deceptive, the pain is intense, and cycling’s hour record requires meticulous preparation in terms of equipment, training and strategy in order to have the best chance of success. </p>
<p>The wind can be a friend to the cyclist, but is more often the foe. This is because the power needed to overcome drag rises in proportion to the cube of velocity, so at 50kmph, more than 90% of the rider’s power output is spent fighting the wind. </p>
<p>A skilled road racer can use the wind to their advantage by <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-science-behind-tour-de-frances-hide-and-seek-tactics-29008">slipstreaming to save energy</a> before choosing the prime moment to attack, but when the rider is alone against the clock there is no place to hide. This is why the time-trial is known as the “race of truth” and the <a href="http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/tag/hour-record">hour record</a>, which is held under relatively stable conditions in a velodrome, is possibly the perfect time-trial. </p>
<h2>Marginal gains</h2>
<p>Alex Dowsett is the current holder of the hour record in a year which has seen a glut of attempts after the sport’s governing body <a href="http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/hour-record-rule-change-athletes-hour-scrapped-123397">eased back on the rules</a>. On May 2, <a href="http://movistarteam.com/equipo/alex-dowsett">Dowsett</a> rode to a remarkable distance of 52.937km (Wiggins is targeting <a href="http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/sir-bradley-wiggins-reveals-hour-record-target-distance-174752">55.250km</a>).</p>
<p>I was lucky enough to help <a href="http://www.writtle.ac.uk/pge_PressRelease.cfm?ID=1215">construct the training plan</a> which got Alex there, and the experience offers up some useful insights into just what it takes.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83649/original/image-20150602-6976-n552gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83649/original/image-20150602-6976-n552gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83649/original/image-20150602-6976-n552gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=298&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83649/original/image-20150602-6976-n552gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=298&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83649/original/image-20150602-6976-n552gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=298&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83649/original/image-20150602-6976-n552gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83649/original/image-20150602-6976-n552gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83649/original/image-20150602-6976-n552gu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">And 52.937 km later, you get to celebrate. Alex Dowsett on the Manchester velodrome.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.crankphoto.co.uk">Chris Keller-Jackson</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Since Francesco Moser’s successful attempt in 1984 (51.151 km) when he adopted a special skinsuit, disc wheels and low-profile frame, aerodynamics have featured prominently in the technical preparation. People may remember the intriguing battle between <a href="http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/battle-of-the-brits-hour-record-heroes-27170">Graeme Obree and Chris Boardman</a> as they traded blows over the record and adopted a range of startling on-bike positions in the pursuit of aerodynamic advantage. </p>
<p>Current rules on equipment and riding position are still strict, so any gains come from refinements that take many hours of wind tunnel testing. But they can be found. </p>
<p>Even something as simple as the skinsuit and socks underwent numerous redesigns for Alex‘s attempt to ensure the fabric and fit produced minimal drag. In fact every possible trick of engineering and physics was afforded Alex from the use of custom aero equipment like the disc wheels, frame, handlebars and helmet through to the use of low viscosity lubricants and ceramic bearings. </p>
<p>We even estimated that by heating the velodrome to 28-29 degrees celsius, the reduction in air density and subsequent drag would more than compensate for any loss of performance due to dehydration – although he did still take the precaution of precooling with an ice jacket.</p>
<h2>Easing off</h2>
<p>Training for the hour is pretty similar to tuning an engine. The key to effective physical preparation is to ensure the training is correctly sequenced and monitored to optimise gains in fitness whilst avoiding overtraining. By employing mostly high volume endurance riding with regular intense intervals and carefully timed races, Alex’s fitness was systematically developed with the goal of generating greater power output for the same blood lactate concentration and heart rate. </p>
<p>However, improvements are often masked by accumulated fatigue so a taper was employed prior to the event whereby training load, but not intensity, was reduced to help recovery without compromising fitness. In spite of research, tapering is still very much an art with many cyclists under-performing if they feel “too fresh”: sometimes as a coach you really can be too good.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83652/original/image-20150602-6955-kj6bjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83652/original/image-20150602-6955-kj6bjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83652/original/image-20150602-6955-kj6bjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83652/original/image-20150602-6955-kj6bjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83652/original/image-20150602-6955-kj6bjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83652/original/image-20150602-6955-kj6bjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83652/original/image-20150602-6955-kj6bjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83652/original/image-20150602-6955-kj6bjw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Looking for a smart start.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/toasty/914441359/in/photolist-2oNKyk-5mfbt4-hNJJvt-p2CD3J-ieksfj-qyfyBh-nJ8eNA-iNxnMX-4D14F1-pC4RX2-ftsRg4-dYoLEK-9Ejxgc-fAzXdg-fDiP6C-2gP5ix-fwEW4n-pEb6uJ-at6dj7-fxU3Eb-fySWhi-pmpLnE-oFn4Ye-qGMSWp-svdL46-pjbLqw-hNFzwm-qaSraY-thMioR-9sXPMk-pYv2Tf-rdEWQB-qXGor6-7NYfve-8MXhjZ-pPVCZw-95rwVx-8oTvmn-r7Q3z1-sodcbE-mqs6dU-q3WdnY-3q2Q57-oTHvBL-qqyV3d-qZ6qJ7-4V6Yux-9kiucX-qu5NHJ-fBkwit">Kenneth Lu</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The hour record is an aerobic event, in fact the intake of air is pretty crucial you might say. But it also demands a significant contribution from those anaerobic <a href="http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/anatomyandphysiology/a/MuscleFiberType.htm">Type II muscle fibres</a> which don’t get their energy from oxygen and which are engaged at the tortuous start when the rider is trying to churn a massive gear into life.</p>
<p>Theory states that provided the athlete maintains an even pacing strategy at a power output where heart rate, oxygen uptake and blood lactate concentration remain close to a steady state, then the maximum speed should be achieved. Not only is this sweet spot difficult to judge, but the hour record is raced from a standing start that threatens to immediately over-tax the anaerobic systems which tire quickly. The dilemma for Wiggins will be the same as for every hour record racer: go out too slow and valuable speed is lost; too fast and you are plunged into an oxygen deficit that takes dozens of laps to repay.</p>
<p>The precise mechanisms of fatigue are hotly debated in the literature but what we do know is that as time passes any theoretical steady state is lost: fuel is burnt, <a href="http://www.news-medical.net/health/What-are-Metabolites.aspx">chemicals build up which contribute to exhaustion</a>, water is lost and heat accumulates. </p>
<p>The postural muscles throughout the body which maintain the rider’s unnatural aerodynamic position struggle under the strain of high cornering forces and the fixed wheel becomes an instrument of torture with no break from the relentless rhythm of pedalling – there is no freewheeling relief on a track bike. There is some respite as the bike accelerates through each bend, but this is accompanied by an abrupt drop in speed at the start of the following straight. Consequently, the perception of effort rises and the rider’s willpower to continue and ability to hold the line are tested.</p>
<h2>Pace planning</h2>
<p>And so to the biggest deception of all. During the opening 20 minutes the pace is easily manageable with the freshness of the taper, the warm air, the full aero package and low friction components. The speed is “free” and the temptation to ride too fast is great: many have. The previous record holder, Australia’s Rohan Dennis (52.491km), almost paid the price of an ambitious start to slow significantly later on. And it is not hard to pick out Jack Bobridge’s failed attempt from the chart below.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83660/original/image-20150602-6990-fhsylv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83660/original/image-20150602-6990-fhsylv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83660/original/image-20150602-6990-fhsylv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83660/original/image-20150602-6990-fhsylv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83660/original/image-20150602-6990-fhsylv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83660/original/image-20150602-6990-fhsylv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83660/original/image-20150602-6990-fhsylv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83660/original/image-20150602-6990-fhsylv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Comparing the pacing. How the riders have approached this year’s Hour record attempts.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://twitter.com/xavierdisley/status/598394274036744192/photo/1">B Xavier Disley, PhD</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Alex’s hour on the other hand was well-drilled with the pace rehearsed over thousands of training laps. He rode to a strict schedule, never going too deep, never accumulating a debt he could not repay. And in the last third of the race, confident that he had budgeted wisely, he attacked Dennis’s record.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lIKgYg0xN3c?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Highlights of Rohan Dennis’ record ride.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Was his a “perfect hour” as it was dubbed by his sponsors, or was it too respectful? Maybe it was the euphoria of success, but Alex didn’t show the usual signs of exhaustion at the finish, even lifting his bike above his head in celebration. What is for certain is that Wiggins, having openly pledged to set a record that will stand for many years, cannot afford to hold anything back, not even in the first 20 minutes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/41655/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Walker does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Riding a bike for 60 minutes doesn’t sound like the hardest thing in the world, but trying to cover 55km will push the Tour de France winner to the limit.Mark Walker, Deputy Head of the School of Sport, Equine & Animal Sciences, Writtle CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.