Tony Martin has called Chris Froome`s adverse analytical finding (AAF) for salbutamol a `scandal` for the sport. The Katusha-Alpecin rider also suggests the Tour de France and Vuelta a Espaņa champion should not have competed in the World Championships, where he won bronze medals in the individual and team time trials. On Wednesday Le Monde and the Guardian revealed that Froome had returned an AAF at the Vuelta on September 7 for twice the permissible limit of salbutamol, an asthma medication. The news was quickly confirmed by the UCI and Team Sky. Froome won the Vuelta following his fourth Tour de France victory in the summer to make it a historic double. Last month, Froome announced he would ride the Giro d`Italia in a bid to hold all three Grand Tours at the same time. However, Froome is likely to face a suspension if he and Sky cannot provide a satisfactory explanation for the elevated levels of salbutamol found in his system. Should he receive a ban, it is also likely he will lose his Vuelta title and bronze medals from the Worlds. Writing on his personal Facebook account, Martin stated that as a result of Froome`s AAF, `Our credibility is at stake.` `There is definitely a double standard being applied in the Christopher Froome case,` he wrote. `Other athletes are suspended immediately after a positive test. He and his team are given time by the UCI to explain it all. I do not know of any similar case in the recent past. That is a scandal, and he should at least not have been allowed to appear in the World Championships.` Salbutamol is classed as a Specified Substance on WADA`s prohibited list, and thus an AAF for salbutamol does not trigger an automatic suspension like it would for other banned substances, even when - as in Froome`s case - the B-sample confirms the A-sample. The onus is now on Froome to offer an explanation for his abnormally high level of salbutamol, but the rules state he is free to race until the UCI deliver a final verdict. Froo ...
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