If you went on any cycling-related forum around August 2013, you'd a raging controversy: Did Chris Froome dope to win the 2013 Tour de France?

The arguments on both sides echo those that we’ve heard for all doping cases. Also pretty common is how the conversation tends to be argumentative in unproductive ways: “He didn’t dope because X,” “Yes he did because Y,” “This is ridiculous, you’re an idiot,” and so on until the whole conversation becomes an exercise in name calling with little substance about the original case.

To sidestep this—and for my own understanding of both sides’ arguments—I thought we might apply our little methodology to this case. Below is the latest version of the hypothesis map that captures evidence on whether Chris Froome doped to win the 2013 Tour de France.

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Did Chris Froome dope? An issue tree / issue map can help us summarize the various reasons behind him winning the 2013 TdF

Please note that I have not reached a final conclusion yet, and I intend to be as impartial as I can during the analysis.

Here is the initial breakdown of the hypothesis.

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A hypothesis map helps you structure your thinking vis-à-vis a hypothesis

Below is the latest version of the full analysis. Again, this is work in progress. I will add evidence as it surfaces and update the map accordingly. If you find any errors, please let me know.

The latest version of the map is here (updated 25/7/2013): Case – TdF Diagnostic hypotheses 2013-07-27-2123.

Image credit: pixabay.com