He applied for and received a TUE for them both times - so he followed the rules.
I’ve thought about this more, and have decided, that, no, he probably didn’t follow the rules. I’m not the first in this thread (Rappstar, et al) to reach that conclusion, but would just like to counter the repeated claim that he followed the rules. After reading section 4.1 of the International Standard for TUEs I think the it’s probably inappropriate to say he followed the rules. He gamed the rules in order to dope, which would be a clear violation of the WADA code. With some culpability on his part, and some on UKAD/WADA for not calling him on it. So if that’s true I wouldn’t give him credit for “following the rules.”
The combination of these TUEs in combination with the instances of voluntary withdrawal from races due to low cortisol suggest there could be fairly broad abuse of that class of drugs.
I don’t want to “support him” as I 'feel" like he knew exactly what he was doing, but technically speaking “gaming the rules” is what professionals in every field do. They do what they can to legally get away with a competitive advantage; morals be damned. The problem then is not the players doing the “gaming” it’s the system/box that you put them inside to play in. The box is not defined tightly enough, so the players use the full box they are given. He ends up legally doped to the gills to the extent that the system allows him to.
Here is the section 4.1 you mention:
4.1 An Athlete may be granted a TUE if (and only if) he/she can show, by a balance of probability, that each of the following conditions is met:
*a. The Prohibited Substance or Prohibited Method in question is needed to treat an acute or chronic medical condition, such that the Athlete would experience a significant impairment to health if the Prohibited Substance or Prohibited Method were to be withheld. *
*b. The Therapeutic Use of the Prohibited Substance or Prohibited Method is highly unlikely to produce any additional enhancement of performance beyond what might be anticipated by a return to the Athlete’s normal state of health following the treatment of the acute or chronic medical condition. *
c. There is no reasonable Therapeutic alternative to the Use of the Prohibited Substance or Prohibited Method.
d. The necessity for the Use of the Prohibited Substance or Prohibited Method is not a consequence, wholly or in part, of the prior Use (without a TUE) of a substance or method which was prohibited at the time of such Use.
If you read Wiggo’s answers, he insists on “returning to normal” and being on a level playing field. It might be a BS response, but that’s how he’s gaming it.
He fails on both and . Taking into account that he had to see multiple doctors before finding one that would sign off on the Tue, he fails on as well.
The reason the UK papers are bending over backwards to say it was legal under the rules instead of printing the obvious truth is they are afraid of being sued under the ridiculous libel laws over there.
This was doping, pure and simple. It is the same method that has been used throughout the 90s and 00s.
Again, I’m not supporting him, but I am certain Wiggins could get a lawyer to defend that his TUE was completely “legally” fine per the clauses above. Of course we can read into it what we want, but I am making the point that the system and rules and resultant box that the guys play is not tight enough and thus you get this type of gaming going on.