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I now have four puffs of the blue one before every hard training session and every race
You need to be careful about that if you're tested, some pharmacokinetic studies have shown that double-dosing (which is what you're doing) can lead to an adverse analytical finding if the test is just timed 'wrong', even though your daily dose is well below the permitted amount if you only have that one double dose per day.
Also, if you want to use your full permitted daily dose for maximum benefit, you're better off taking little-and-often rather than chugging it all at once, for the same pharmacokinetic reasons.
gbj_tester-
That's interesting, I'm following doctor's orders on that dosing too. They've also put me back on the brown (inhaler) which I've stopped previously as it actually made me wheezy (and still is). Following my last appointment, the doctor said that in emergencies I could use the blue one 10 times which will apparently act in a similar way to a nebuliser. My peak flow is about 30% down on what it should be for my height and weight so it needs sorting one way or another.
Currid
I was diagnosed with sports induced asthma when I was 14, I played football to a decent standard through my teens and 20s and rarely had to use my inhaler. Only on very cold days/nights when I hadn't had time to warm up properly (coming off the bench for example).
Having got seriously into cycling in my early 30s my symptoms got far worse (coughing and wheezing after long/hard sessions). I now have four puffs of the blue one before every hard training session and every race, if I'm out for a long time or it's particularly cold I may need to use it again.
Given certain scenarios; significant drop in temperature and thinning air on a mountain stage along with a sudden hard effort I'm surprised more pros don't need to use an inhaler at that point, I reckon I would.
Also respiratory illnesses are a bugger when your asthma is playing up. I've had three chest infections of various degrees this winter (mainly due to a toddler in nursery, rarely had them before). Start with a cold and go straight to your chest. Two bouts of asthma steroids this winter just to keep me breathing properly. If I were a pro I can imagine I would have had to smash through the TUEs just to keep training properly, let alone race.