Inquiry prevents comment from boss

BRITISH Cycling president Bob Howden insists he is prevented from confirming what was in a package delivered to Sir Bradley Wiggins five years ago due to the ongoing UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) investigation into the matter.

Wiggins announced his retirement on Wednesday but the contents of the package given to him at the end of a race in France in 2011 are the subject of a UKAD probe into alleged “wrongdoing”.

Team Sky principal Sir Dave Brailsford told a Department of Culture, Media and Sport select committee last week the package contained fluimucil, an over-the-counter decongestant available relatively cheaply in France.

However, that does not explain why the team went to such expense to have it personally delivered to Wiggins by British Cycling coach Simon Cope. All parties deny wrongdoing.

Damian Collins MP, the chairman of the select committee, said evidence provided by British Cycling failed to confirm Brailsford’s explanation, adding that the “more we discover about the package, the more questions seem to be thrown up”.

However, Howden told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that all the records needed to prove the drug was just a decongestant as claimed have been supplied.

“It’s difficult to talk in detail about this because it’s the subject of an ongoing UKAD investigation,” Howden said.

“What I can say is the information requested at the Commons select committee has been forwarded to the chair of that committee (Damian Collins).

“That included the information around what was in the package and who sent the package. That has been sent through to the select committee.”