No Leinders link over drug, says Wiggins

SIR Bradley Wiggins has denied that controversial Belgian doctor Geert Leinders had any involvement in the decision to apply for permission to use a banned steroid to treat allergies ahead of three major races.

Wiggins’ use of triamcinolone, the same drug Lance Armstrong tested positive for at the 1999 Tour de France, came to light when Russian hackers stole medical data stored by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) and published it online on Wednesday.

The five-time Olympic champion has also clarified comments made in his 2012 autobiography that he strictly observed cycling’s “no needles” policy, despite already having injections of triamcinolone before the 2011 and 2012 editions of the Tour de France, with a third coming shortly before the 2013 Giro d’Italia.

A spokesman for Wiggins said: “Brad’s passing comment regarding needles in the 2012 book referred to the historic and illegal practice of intravenous injections of performance-enhancing substances, which was the subject of a law change by the UCI [world cycling’s governing body] in 2011.

“The triamcinolone injection that is referred to in the Wada leaks is an intramuscular treatment for asthma and is fully approved by the sport’s governing bodies. Brad stands by his comment concerning the use of illegal intravenous needle injections.”

Leinders was hired by Team Sky, Wiggins’ team at the time, in 2011 to bring the newly-formed outfit more experience of the professional road cycling scene and he worked for them on a consultancy basis until his name appeared in the United States Anti-Doping Agency’s Armstrong investigation in 2012.

That led to the British team immediately ending their relationship with Leinders, who had until that point been a popular member of staff.

Team boss Sir Dave Brailsford’s embarrassment over the hiring of Leinders was compounded three years later when a joint investigation into the Dutch Rabobank team by the American, Danish and Dutch anti-doping agencies resulted in a life ban for the doctor.

One of Rabobank’s former riders, Denmark’s Michael Rasmussen, has spoken at length about Leinders’ use of triamcinolone and the closelyrelated cortisone to aid recovery, boost stamina and shed weight without losing strength.

Rasmussen, who twice won the Tour’s King of the Mountains jersey, has said Leinders helped him get the false medical certificates he needed to be granted TUEs (therapeutic use exemptions) by the UCI and Wada.

But the spokesman for Wiggins said: “Brad has no direct link to Geert Leinders. Leinders was ‘ on race’ doctor for Team Sky for a short period, so was occasionally present at races dealing with injuries sustained while racing, such as colds, bruises and so on. Leinders had no part in Brad’s TUE application. His medical assessments from 2011-15 were processed by the official Team Sky doctor and were verified by independent specialists to follow Wada, UCI and [British Cycling] guidelines.”