Steve Cummings's medical data published by Russian hackers

Russian hacking group Fancy Bears publishes its latest round of therapeutic use exemption (TUE) certificates, hacked from WADA

Steve Cummings is the latest British rider to have their therapeutic use exemption (TUE) certificate published online by Russian hacking group, the so-called Fancy Bears.

As with many other athletes, Cummings' TUE relates to the use of an anti-asthma drug, in this case salbutamol, administered by inhaler.

The certificate dates back to December 10 2008 and was for 12 months' use. Cummings has only this single TUE published by Fancy Bears.

Fancy Bears illegally hacked into the database of the World Anti-Doping Agency using an account set up for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. They accessed and downloaded stored TUE certificates and have been publishing them online in batches throughout September.

>>> Bradley Wiggins to explain TUE medication on BBC this weekend

Cummings represented GB in the men's cycling road race. This season he won the Tour of Britain overall, a stage of the Tour de France and stages of Tirreno–Adriatico, the Tour of The Basque Country and Critérium Dauphiné.

Along with Cummings, time trial gold medallist Fabian Cancellara of Switzerland, Danish rider Jakob Fuglsang and Swiss mountain bike gold medallist Nino Schurter have also had their TUEs published. Numerous other athletes from other sports also had their data published.

Cancellara has two TUE certificates on file, one for methylprednisolone, a corticosteroid, for one dose on August 17 2011 and a second for methylprednisolone and prednisolone, also a corticosteroid used as an anti-inflammatory, on May 18 2013.

>>> David Millar calls for Bradley Wiggins’s TUE medication to be banned

Fuglsang's single TUE is for a dose of triamcinolone at a mountain bike world championships, but no date is specified. This is the same substance that Wiggins also had a TUE for.

Previously, British riders Chris Froome, Bradley Wiggins, Laura Trott and Callum Skinner have been among the TUEs published by Fancy Bears.

TUEs are issued when a substance on WADA's banned list is administered for a medical reason. Their publication is not proof of any wrong-doing.

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Nigel Wynn
Former Associate Editor

Nigel Wynn worked as associate editor on CyclingWeekly.com, he worked almost single-handedly on the Cycling Weekly website in its early days. His passion for cycling, his writing and his creativity, as well as his hard work and dedication, were the original driving force behind the website’s success. Without him, CyclingWeekly.com would certainly not exist on the size and scale that it enjoys today. Nigel sadly passed away, following a brave battle with a cancer-related illness, in 2018. He was a highly valued colleague, and more importantly, an exceptional person to work with - his presence is sorely missed.