Franck Bouyer is a French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 professional road bicycle racer for who races for Bbox Bouygues Telecom. Bouyer suffers from narcolepsy

Narcolepsy

Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder, or dyssomnia, characterized by excessive sleepiness and sleep attacks at inappropriate times, such as while at work. People with narcolepsy often experience disturbed nocturnal sleep and an abnormal daytime sleep pattern, which often is confused with insomnia...

, resulting in sudden sleep attacks and cataplexy

Cataplexy

Cataplexy is a sudden and transient episode of loss of muscle tone, often triggered by emotions. It is a rare disease , but affects roughly 70% of people who have narcolepsy...

, and was unable to compete or train without Modafinil

Modafinil

Modafinil is an analeptic drug manufactured by Cephalon, and is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of narcolepsy, shift work sleep disorder, and excessive daytime sleepiness associated with obstructive sleep apnea...

. However, the UCI

Union Cycliste Internationale

Union Cycliste Internationale is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland....

 ruled in June 2004 that Bouyer could not be given a therapeutic use exemption to allow him to compete having taken the drug, so Bouyer was unable to race. The Court of Arbitration for Sport

Court of Arbitration for Sport

The Court of Arbitration for Sport is an international arbitration body set up to settle disputes related to sport. Its headquarters are in Lausanne and its courts are located in New York, Sydney and Lausanne, Switzerland...

 (CAS) upheld the decision of the UCI citing that it could not be determined that Modafinil did not provide an extra increase in performance and that the dosage was hard to measure. Despite the rulings by both the UCI and CAS, the World Anti-Doping Agency

World Anti-Doping Agency

The World Anti-Doping Agency , , is an independent foundation created through a collective initiative led by the International Olympic Committee . It was set up on November 10, 1999 in Lausanne, Switzerland, as a result of what was called the "Declaration of Lausanne", to promote, coordinate and...

 (WADA) gave Bouyer permission to return to racing in August 2005. Yet, following an appeal to CAS by the UCI, Bouyer was once again banned. In January 2007, Bouyer's contract with Bouygues Télécom expired and the team released him. Bouyer filed a civil lawsuit against the UCI and WADA in July 2007, arguing they were preventing him from working. After confirmation from the UCI that a new drug for treating narcolepsy (Xyrem

Xyrem

Xyrem is a prescription medication manufactured by Jazz Pharmaceuticals, and is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of cataplexy associated with narcolepsy and Excessive Daytime Sleepiness associated with narcolepsy...

) was not on the banned list, he signed again for the Bouygues team for the 2009 season.http://www.equipebouyguestelecom.fr/cyclisme/une-nouvelle-experience_sto1823171/story.shtml

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