I didn’t ask what was in Wiggo’s parcel.. I wanted to keep my job
– COACH WHO DELIVERED MYSTERY PACKAGE
A COACH who couriered a mystery package for Sir Bradley Wiggins says he did not ask about its contents as he wanted to keep his job.
Simon Cope was quizzed by MPs about a Jiffy bag he took to Team Sky doctor Richard Freeman at the finish of the June 2011 Criterium du Dauphine race, which Sir Bradley won.
Asked yesterday why he did not query the parcel’s contents, Mr Cope, a former British Cycling coach, said: “Why would I question it? Why would I question the integrity of our governing body?
“I just didn’t ask. You may think I’m stupid. Maybe I was doing everything possible to keep a job. It was part-time, and 12 months down the line I was made redundant.
“I have a family to look after,” Mr Cope told the Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee. “It must have been something medical, because it was for Dr Freeman. I had no reason to doubt it.’ MPs previously heard the package contained the decongestant Fluimucil, which was used to treat Sir Bradley. The medical records of the five-time Olympian, who is asthmatic, were leaked by Russian hackers in September. Mr Cope said he was asked by former Team Sky coach Shane Sutton to collect a package from the National Cycling Centre in Manchester on June 8, 2011. He was to take it to French ski resort La Toussuire, where the Dauphine race finished. It was a routine request, he said, adding that he believed he needed to justify his salary. But Mr Cope, who now manages Sir Bradley’s road racing team, added: “I probably should have asked what was in the package.” UK Anti-Doping is investigating the contents of the parcel. Sir Bradley insists he did nothing wrong.