Chit Chat
There is currently 1 person viewing this thread.
15 Nov 17
16:42
Joined:
Date Joined:
05 Apr 06
BBC :
Sir Bradley Wiggins said his life was "a living hell" during an investigation into allegations of wrongdoing at British Cycling and Team Sky.
On Wednesday, UK Anti-Doping said there would be no charges over a 'mystery' medical package delivered for Wiggins at the Criterium du Dauphine in 2011.
Wiggins, 37, said the investigation "felt nothing less than a witch hunt".
He added: "Being accused of any doping indiscretion is the worst possible thing for any professional sportsman."
Wiggins won five Olympic gold medals and the 2012 Tour de France before retiring from cycling in December 2016.
It was alleged that the package that was the focus of the investigation contained a banned substance - but the doctor involved, Dr Richard Freeman, said it was a legal decongestant, fluimucil.
The 14-month investigation has been closed and a Ukad statement said it would only "revisit matters if new and material information were to come to light".
"I welcome Ukad's confirmation that no anti-doping charges are to be brought regarding the so-called 'jiffy-bag' allegations," said Wiggins in a statement posted on social media.
"It has always been the case that no such charges could be brought against me as no anti-doping violations took place. I am pleased this has finally been confirmed publicly.
"This period of time has been a living hell for me and my family, full of innuendo and speculation. At times it has felt nothing less than a malicious witch hunt."
A Ukad statement said they were unable to "definitively confirm the contents of the package" because of a "lack of contemporaneous evidence."
Wiggins said he would assess potential legal options and was unhappy with Ukad's statement.
"To say I am disappointed by some of the comments made by Ukad this morning is an understatement," added Wiggins. "No evidence exists to prove a case against me and in all other circumstances this would be an unqualified finding of innocence."
Analysis
BBC sports editor Dan Roan
With no clarity over what was in the now-infamous jiffy bag delivered to Team Sky in 2011, this represents a wholly unsatisfactory end to a saga that has tainted some of the biggest reputations in British sport, and exposed Ukad's lack of power.
Their statement is deliberately nuanced, falling short of an exoneration of those involved, much to Sir Bradley Wiggins' dismay in a blistering statement, despite Britain's most decorated Olympian facing no charges.
But while the end of the investigation will come as a relief to many in the sport, the lack of medical records, the inaccuracies in Team Sky's initial explanations for the mystery delivery, the unavailability of key witness Dr Richard Freeman to Ukad investigators, the theft of his laptop, and the medical exemptions that Wiggins had before major races, all mean that suspicion will linger. The close relationship between Team Sky and the governing body (who still share headquarters in Manchester) is also again under scrutiny.
And at best, the attention to detail that was once the mantra of Team Sky and British Cycling has been exposed as hollow.
Sir Bradley Wiggins said his life was "a living hell" during an investigation into allegations of wrongdoing at British Cycling and Team Sky.
On Wednesday, UK Anti-Doping said there would be no charges over a 'mystery' medical package delivered for Wiggins at the Criterium du Dauphine in 2011.
Wiggins, 37, said the investigation "felt nothing less than a witch hunt".
He added: "Being accused of any doping indiscretion is the worst possible thing for any professional sportsman."
Wiggins won five Olympic gold medals and the 2012 Tour de France before retiring from cycling in December 2016.
It was alleged that the package that was the focus of the investigation contained a banned substance - but the doctor involved, Dr Richard Freeman, said it was a legal decongestant, fluimucil.
The 14-month investigation has been closed and a Ukad statement said it would only "revisit matters if new and material information were to come to light".
"I welcome Ukad's confirmation that no anti-doping charges are to be brought regarding the so-called 'jiffy-bag' allegations," said Wiggins in a statement posted on social media.
"It has always been the case that no such charges could be brought against me as no anti-doping violations took place. I am pleased this has finally been confirmed publicly.
"This period of time has been a living hell for me and my family, full of innuendo and speculation. At times it has felt nothing less than a malicious witch hunt."
A Ukad statement said they were unable to "definitively confirm the contents of the package" because of a "lack of contemporaneous evidence."
Wiggins said he would assess potential legal options and was unhappy with Ukad's statement.
"To say I am disappointed by some of the comments made by Ukad this morning is an understatement," added Wiggins. "No evidence exists to prove a case against me and in all other circumstances this would be an unqualified finding of innocence."
Analysis
BBC sports editor Dan Roan
With no clarity over what was in the now-infamous jiffy bag delivered to Team Sky in 2011, this represents a wholly unsatisfactory end to a saga that has tainted some of the biggest reputations in British sport, and exposed Ukad's lack of power.
Their statement is deliberately nuanced, falling short of an exoneration of those involved, much to Sir Bradley Wiggins' dismay in a blistering statement, despite Britain's most decorated Olympian facing no charges.
But while the end of the investigation will come as a relief to many in the sport, the lack of medical records, the inaccuracies in Team Sky's initial explanations for the mystery delivery, the unavailability of key witness Dr Richard Freeman to Ukad investigators, the theft of his laptop, and the medical exemptions that Wiggins had before major races, all mean that suspicion will linger. The close relationship between Team Sky and the governing body (who still share headquarters in Manchester) is also again under scrutiny.
And at best, the attention to detail that was once the mantra of Team Sky and British Cycling has been exposed as hollow.
sort by:
Show
per page
Replies: 21
|
By:
All driven by the BBC.
|
|
By:
If you are going to get a package delivered to you in the position he was, you make sure you get somebody independent to verify what it is so there can be no doubt as to what is contained in the package.
Do they think we are babes in the wood ? |
|
By:
I dont trust any sportsman to be clean, or sportsperson. just want the bbc to treat them all equally.
|
|
By:
do you not think that if wiggins was breaking all these records as an asthma sufferer he,d mention the fact he suffered from asthma in his autobiography,ffs someone,somewhere please just tell us what was in the jiffy,till then he,s as guilty as fooook and taking people for gullable fools
|
|
By:
I'm sure if this was a Russian competitor then it would be accepted just the same?
|
|
By:
The more money (and titles) that get thrown at sports, the more cheating there will be. I no longer watch any.
|
|
By:
Oh I'm sure they think he's as guilty as hell, it's just that they can't prove it. It's a similar situation as the Sir Cliff Richard case. I'm convinced that the police believe that Sir Cliff WAS guilty of the original complaint made against him by the individual in question. Again, it's just that the evidence wasn't strong enough for a court case to go ahead. The police just dropped all charges, they never said that Sir Cliff was innocent!
|
|
By:
Of the 54 athletes currently serving bans under UKAD regulations 7 are from cycling but a staggering 54 are all from another popular sport but it never gets mentioned. Why not?
|
|
By:
Sorry that should be 25 from the other sport.
|
|
By:
Bix you tell us .you aint mentioned it either
 |
|
By:
Sorry. It's rugby.
|
|
By:
ta. no prob
|
|
By:
Historically of the 153 athletes who have served suspensions under UKAD 66 were rugby players.
|
|
By:
Female ?
|
|
By:
bix
Of the 54 athletes currently serving bans under UKAD regulations 7 are from cycling but a staggering 54 are all from another popular sport but it never gets mentioned. Why not? It doesn't get mentioned for two reasons 1) most of the offenders are from the Amateur game and not the professional game 2) Most of the Rugby players are taking substances in order to build muscle just to compete with those further down the line in their natural development, rather than just to gain advantages. And by taking substances to build muscle at that level, the financial rewards are still virtually nil. You are just trying to make it to the pro ranks. There are so many varying factors that decide the outcome of a Rugby match, taking steroids for a Rugby player especially at amateur level cannot be compared to the huge advantages that a Cyclist gains from doping, one Cyclist doping a la Lance Armstrong can completely decide the outcome of a race/history because it is a sport solely reliant on fitness/stamina rather than any skill/technique. There are monster players in both Rugby codes who are not successful as less built players, in Cycling if you are doping you are competing/winning titles. Cycling is also a world wide/more important sport globally that garners bigger sponsorship deals for the best/most successful riders and the rewards of successfully doping are much greater. Wiggans here will always be under suspicion because of this mystery package unfortunately for him. |
|
By:
Cycling is basically a sport completely built around mental and physical fitness.
If you know you are doping, and you know it is giving you huge physical advantages, then that itself is giving you a huge psychological boost, even if doping is not as effective for one athlete as it is for another, the placebo effect also helps with the mental side of competing for hours on end. Doping in Cycling and other fitness based sports such as long distance running and triathlons is much more prevalent than team sports such as Football/Rugby. |
|
By:
The reasons why and the benefits of taking drugs for a particular sport are not really the issue here. The figures from Bix are incredible where nearly 50% of all drug culprits in the UK are from one sport but there is no acknowledgement in the media that the sport has a problem. In America the NFL has long recognised the drug problem in American Football but in the UK a blind eye seems to be turned.
|
|
By:
Anyone that thinks drugs are not a problem in football should have a chat with Arsene Wenger and also read the sports involved in Operation Puerto.
Common sense tells you with the ridiculous amounts of money at stake and to be earned in football there will always be some players and teams who will look for a little chemical advantage. |
|
By:
Steroids have changed rugby beyond recognition. Centres are now built like the old wing forwards but with the speed of olympic sprinters. The likes of Phillipe Sella and Phil Bennett would not get a look-in these days.
|
|
By:
No wonder the injuries are now so common and severe. Imagine the force generated by two 18 stone sprinters crashing into each other. The days of forwards like Bill Beaumont trundling round the pitch are long gone. The evidence is there for all to see but never a mention in the media that you don't get like that on sandwiches and fruit juice.
|
|
By:
if Beaumont and co new you could run around like a blue arse fly wearing all sorts of body armour for 40 mins before been subbed,they,d have been just as aggressive
|