Timeline of Chris Froome's adverse analytical finding for salbutamol

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Sky's Chris Froome on the final stage of the 2017 Vuelta a Espana(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)

The UCI confirmed on Wednesday, December 13, that Chris Froome (Team Sky) was notified of an adverse analytical finding (AAF) for salbutamol in excess of 1,000 nanograms per millilitre (ng/ml) in a sample collected during the Vuelta a España this September 7, an event where he went on to win the overall title.

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Froome has said previously that he suffered from asthma since he was a child and has used inhalers during his career. He explained that his symptoms worsened during the Vuelta, and he sought medical advice from the team doctor in order to increase his salbutamol dosage. Team Sky principal David Brailsford said the team will co-operate with the UCI to establish the cause of Froome's elevated concentration.

The medication is strictly prohibited in oral and injectable forms. When used to treat asthmatic symptoms via an inhaler, however, WADA's prohibited list provides that "the presence in urine of salbutamol in excess of 1000 ng/mL or formoterol in excess of 40 ng/mL is presumed not to be an intended therapeutic use of the substance and will be considered as an Adverse Analytical Finding (AAF) unless the Athlete proves, through a controlled pharmacokinetic study, that the abnormal result was the consequence of the use of the therapeutic dose (by inhalation) up to the maximum dose indicated above."

Team Sky have been surrounded by controversy this year. It was announced on November 15, 2017, that the UKAD investigation into an 'allegation of wrongdoing' involving Bradley Wiggins, Team Sky, British Cycling and a mystery medical package had closed and no charges would be brought against any of the parties involved, but there was no definitive conclusion. During the investigation, Froome managed to keep clear and separated from the key issues despite being the team's outright leader. Follow that timeline here.

September 7, 2017: Vuelta a España, stage 18. Froome distances Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) on the short final climb to Alto de Santo Toribio de Liébana to extend his lead atop the overall standings to 1:37. After the stage, Froome undergoes an anti-doping control carried out by the Cycling Anti-Doping Foundation (CADF), the independent body mandated by the UCI to take charge of defining and implementing the anti-doping strategy in cycling.