In the face of very damaging findings, Team Sky and Bradley Wiggins have both issued statements denying the conclusions. Above, Dave Brailsford with journalist David Walsh on stage 15 of the 2013 Tour de France to Mont Ventoux (Photo: Pete Goding)
Team Sky and Bradley Wiggins statements on new report
Bradley Wiggins and Team Sky have responded to a new report by the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee.
It alleges corticosteroids were used by Wiggins and the team to enhance performance and not treat illness, though within anti-doping rules.
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And the committee also refers to unexplained anonymous evidence which alleged the product sent to the team at the 2011 Critérium du Dauphiné was not an over the counter, legal, decongestant as Team Sky claimed.
“Further information shown to the committee claimed that the product that was requested to be sent out to the event was triamcinolone,” the committee says.
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However, Team Sky and Bradley Wiggins released statements denying the allegation. Wiggins made his statement via Twitter and pledged to comment more comprehensively soon.
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“I find it so sad that accusations can be made, where people can be accused of things they have never done which are then regarded as facts,” Wiggins said.
“I strongly refute the claim that any drug was used without medical need. I hope to have my say in the next few days and put my side across.”
Team Sky issued its own statement. It took issue with the findings and the way the committee operated.
"The Report details again areas in the past where we have already acknowledged that the Team fell short,” it says.
“We take full responsibility for mistakes that were made. We wrote to the Committee in March 2017 setting out in detail the steps we took in subsequent years to put them right, including, for example, the strengthening of our medical record keeping.
"However, the report also makes the serious claim that medication has been used by the Team to enhance performance. We strongly refute this.
“The report also includes an allegation of widespread Triamcinolone use by Team Sky riders ahead of the 2012 Tour de France. Again, we strongly refute this allegation.
“We are surprised and disappointed that the Committee has chosen to present an anonymous and potentially malicious claim in this way, without presenting any evidence or giving us an opportunity to respond.
“This is unfair both to the Team and to the riders in question."
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