A third of Team Sky riders have asthma to some degree according to a study by Kent University.
The University found that the national asthma rate is about 8-10% of the population but the rate is higher in top level sport including cycling and swimming.
A third of Team Sky riders were found to have some form of asthma including Tour De France 2013 winner Chris Froome who was quoted as saying: “I have had an inhaler since childhood. I have exercise induced asthma. It is ok. I didn't need a TUE. I don’t use (the inhaler) every time I race, normally only when I have a big effort coming up.”.
Speaking about Exercise Induced Asthma, John Dickinson of Kent University said: “It depends which respiratory consultant you talk to on whether you put these athletes on a spectrum of asthma, or whether you think that’s purely down to them exercising really hard in a certain environment, and if you take them out of that environment they’re fine. It’s a grey zone. But my argument is it’s a form of asthma.”