Cycling’s reputation is in the gutter, says Doyle

BRIAN COOKSON, the former president of British Cycling and the International Cycling Union (UCI), has been accused of destroying what little credibility was left in the sport in the UK because of his handling of the Team Sky controversies. Earlier this month Cookson, who at one stage was also a member of Team Sky’s supervisory board, called for the reputation of Team Sky and Sir Bradley Wiggins to be ‘reinstated’ after a UK Anti-Doping investigation concluded without being able to establish what was in a medical package ordered by the team for Wiggins. But Cookson was still UCI president when Sky were informed of Chris Froome’s adverse analytical finding in a drugs test at the Vuelta in September and now has been forced to admit he was aware of the situation when he made his comments to the BBC. ‘I was informed Froome had provided an A sample with an anomalous result for a substance that did not result in an immediate provisional suspension in the last 24 hours of my tenure at UCI,’ said Cookson in a statement. ‘When I left the UCI the following day, the matter passed to the new president and, rightly, I was no longer informed about the matter.’ Tony Doyle, former president of British Cycling, condemned Cookson’s comments. ‘It is appalling that he (Brian) has called for the reputation of Team Sky to be reinstated when he knew there was a dark cloud hanging over their heads,’ he said. ‘By doing so he has brought the world governing body and British Cycling into disrepute. The credibility of British Cycling was already in tatters, as MPs said in Parliament, but what was left of the reputation of our sport is now in the gutter. ‘The British Cycling president who has just presided over the worst 18 months in our history (Bob Howden) is still in his position and, despite assurances that things were going to change, Team Sky are still sharing the national velodrome in Manchester with BC,’ he added.