MPs told no records were kept relating to medical package
Wednesday 1 March 2017 21:49, UK
UK Anti-Doping has been unable to prove what was in a medical package delivered to Sir Bradley Wiggins before the 2011 Tour de France because the Team Sky doctor and British Cycling kept no records, MPs have been told.
UKAD has been investigating an allegation that the package contained the corticosteroid triamcinalone, a controversial drug used to treat asthma that can have performance-enhancing qualities and is banned in competition.
Sir Bradley received medical permission to use the drug before the 2011 Tour de France, but he and Team Sky principal Sir Dave Brailsford have both said that the package in fact contained fluimicil, a legal decongestant.
Giving evidence to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, UKAD chief executive Nicole Sapstead said the investigation had been hampered by a lack of records.
She revealed that the then Team Sky doctor, Richard Freeman, had failed to upload his records to a Team Sky server, and his laptop was subsequently stolen while on holiday in Greece in 2014.
Dr Freeman had been due to give evidence to the committee but withdrew on Tuesday, saying he was unwell.
Ms Sapstead was highly critical of Team Sky and British Cycling, with whom it shares a medical store in Manchester, over the affair.
"We have received one account of what was in the package, that was fluimicil... which is not a prohibited substance," she said.
"We have asked a host of individuals including Phil Burt [the physiotherapist who packed the Jiffy bag] and he does not recall, neither does anyone else.
"We are not able to prove or refute the account we have been given that it was fluimicil [as] there are absolutely no records whatsoever of any treatment at that event.
"I would expect a professional cycling team founded on the premise of exhibiting that road racing could be conducted cleanly, to have records that would demonstrate that it was."
Ms Sapstead also revealed that records showed Team Sky had bought large quantities of triamcinalone, far more than was required to treat Sir Bradley, but there were no records of who it was administered to.
"You would either think there was an excessive amount of triamcinalone being ordered for one person, or there were quite a lot of people with the same problem," she said.
Ms Sapstead said she had found no evidence of a cover-up or attempts to tamper with the investigation, and no charges under anti-doping rules have been levelled.
Her decision to discuss an ongoing investigation is highly unusual and a clear break from UKAD's established policy of only commenting on cases in the event of a successful prosecution of an anti-doping rule violation.
Team Sky and Sir Bradley maintain that they have not broken any rules, but will face further questions as a result of the hearing.
A Team Sky statement read: "Team Sky has co-operated fully with UKAD's investigation and we will continue to do so. As we have said throughout, we are confident there has been no wrongdoing.
"Our commitment to anti-doping has been one of the founding principles of the team from the very start.
"Team Sky is a clean team. We abide by the rules and we are proud of our stance against doping. Any medical treatment, whatever its status, would only ever be given to a Team Sky rider if it was considered to be medically appropriate and justified.
"We have worked hard to put the right governance structures in place and we believe that our approach to anti-doping is rigorous and comprehensive. We continuously look to strengthen our own processes and systems, which have evolved since our formation."
