The credibility of Team Sky and British Cycling was said to be ‘in tatters’ on Wednesday night after a devastating evidence session in front of MPs.
UK Anti-Doping chief Nicole Sapstead delivered an astonishing series of revelations that have emerged from the investigation into a medical package delivered for Sir Bradley Wiggins in June 2011.
It included the fact that British Cycling and former Team Sky doctor Richard Freeman - who worked closely with Wiggins for much of his career - had breached Team Sky medical protocols and possibly British medical regulations by not keeping proper records of the prescription drugs he administered to riders.
Last night parliamentary select committee chairman Damian Collins MP said: ‘The credibility of Team Sky and British Cycling is in tatters. They are in a terrible position. The
question at the heart of this is how can you say that British Cycling is the cleanest and most ethical in the world when there are not records to substantiate the drugs being given to one of our leading cyclists? The existence of this package may never have come out and unless it had we wouldn’t know that proper medical records were not being kept.’
Asked about Team Sky boss Sir Dave Brailsford, Collins said: ‘How can you say you are running the cleanest team in cycling when you don’t know what the doctors are giving the cyclists?
‘He says he has confidence in his team. Surely that confidence must have been undermined by the evidence we have heard.
‘How can you say he is confident in the way the team is being run when there are no records to support that.’