Page 23 - ARUBA TODAY

A23
SPORTS Tuesday 6 March 2018

Investigation: Drug enhanced Wiggins performance in Tour win

By ROB HARRIS report states.
AP Sports Writer TEAM ACCUSED
LONDON (AP) — Bradley Brailsford, who directed Brit-
Wiggins used a banned ain's breakthrough success
powerful corticosteroid to at the 2008 Beijing Olym-
enhance his performance pics, established Team Sky
while preparing to win the in 2009 with the financial
Tour de France in 2012, a backing of satellite broad-
British parliamentary com- caster Sky, whose largest
mittee said in a doping shareholder is Rupert Mur-
investigation report that doch's 21st Century Fox.
accuses Team Sky of cross- The stated mission was to
ing an "ethical line" after cleanly produce Britain's
preaching zero tolerance. first Tour de France cham-
The legislators said they pion as cycling was trying
received evidence that to rebuild its reputation af-
shows Team Sky sought a ter years of scandals.
therapeutic use exemption The publication of the par-
(TUE) for Wiggins to take liamentary report comes
triamcinolone "not to treat with Team Sky's four-time
medical need" — asthma Tour de France champion,
— "but to improve his pow- Chris Froome, under inves-
er to weight ratio." tigation by cycling's world
"We believe this powerful governing body for failing In this July 21, 2012 file photo, Bradley Wiggins of Britain, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey,
corticosteroid was being a doping test. Froome has celebrates as he crosses the finish line of the 19th stage of the the Tour de France cycling race in
Chartres, France.
used to prepare Bradley been ordered to explain Associated Press
Wiggins, and possibly other why a urine sample he pro-
riders supporting him, for vided at the Spanish Vuel- the shared British Cycling- The parliamentary commit- hackers Fancy Bears in
the (2012) Tour de France," ta in September showed Team Sky medical facility in tee said it received material 2016 showed that Wiggins
the House of Commons se- a concentration of the Manchester. from a "well-placed and re- gained a therapeutic use
lect committee said in the asthma drug salbutamol at There was no paper trail spected source" about the exemption to have the an-
report published Monday. twice the permitted level. or written evidence to use of triamcinolone, spe- ti-inflammatory drug triam-
"He benefited from the Froome denies any wrong- substantiate a claim by cifically that "Wiggins was cinolone injected on three
performance-enhancing doing. Brailsford that the product using these drugs beyond specific occasions before
properties of this drug dur- Wiggins was Team Sky's first couriered was Fluimucil , the requirement for any the 2011 and 2012 Tours
ing the race." Tour de France champion, a brand name for a legal TUE," which allows athletes and the 2013 Giro D'Italia.
In a statement, Wiggins de- emerging victorious in 2012 decongestant containing to use otherwise-banned The British legislators found
nied "any drug was used before cementing his status acetylcysteine used for substances because of a the TUE system was "open
without medical need." as Britain's most decorated clearing mucus. The com- verified medical need. to abuse" by using products
Team Sky defended its rep- Olympian at the 2016 Rio mittee now says that Team Wiggins and a smaller "to achieve a peak level of
utation in a statement criti- de Janeiro Games by tak- Sky doctor Richard Free- group of riders trained physical condition in the
cizing "the anonymous and ing his haul to eight medals man, who failed to log Wig- away from the rest of Team athlete, rather than return-
potentially malicious claim" before retiring. gins' use of an unlicensed Sky while preparing for the ing them to a normal state
by members of parliament. Tour de France organizers product, can no longer 2012 season, according to of health."
But the report from a com- told The Associated Press confirm it was Fluimucil and the legislators, who report: While Wiggins' use of a TUE
mittee established in 2015 on Sunday that they have he was "the only reported "The source said they were "does not constitute a vio-
to investigate doping casts no comment to make on source of this information." all using corticosteroids lation of the WADA code,"
doubt on the team's use of the issue. The U.K. Anti-Doping Agen- out of competition to lean the report said, "it does
medication and failure to MYSTERY PACKAGE cy said in November that its down in preparation for the cross the ethical line that
keep accurate medical re- Investigations into Wiggins investigation into whether major races that season." David Brailsford says he
cords. began later in 2016 follow- the product was in fact the The digital, culture, media himself drew for Team Sky.
Team Sky general man- ing a leak to a newspaper corticosteroid triamcino- and sports select com- "In this case, and contrary
ager "David Brailsford must about a medical package lone was hampered by a mittee said it was told in to the testimony of David
take responsibility for these delivered to the rider at lack of accurate medical writing by Wiggins' former Brailsford in front of the
failures, the regime un- the 2011 Dauphine Libere records but it decided not coach, Shane Sutton, that committee, we believe
der which Team Sky riders race in France, a key pre- to issue charges . UKAD "what Brad was doing was that drugs were being used
trained and competed Tour event. The mystery said it would re-open the in- unethical but not against by Team Sky, within the
and the damaging skepti- deepened as Team Sky vestigation if new evidence the rules" by taking triam- WADA rules, to enhance
cism about the legitimacy declined for two months to emerged. cinolone. the performance of riders,
of his team's performance say what substance was in CORTICOSTEROIDS ... TO OPEN TO ABUSE and not just to treat medi-
and accomplishments," the the bag dispatched from LEAN DOWN A leak by the Russian-linked cal need."q