‘It was legal, ethical’

LONDON: Bradley Wiggins has insisted he was not trying to gain an “unfair advantage” from being allowed to use a banned steroid before major races.

The Olympic cyclist told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show he took the powerful anti-inflammatory drug triamcinolone for allergies and respiratory problems.

Wiggins said he sought therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs) to “put himself back on a level playing field”.

TUEs allow the use of banned substances if athletes have genuine medical need. He said: “This was to cure a medical condition. This wasn’t about trying to find a way to gain an unfair advantage.

“This was about putting myself back on a level playing field in order to compete at the highest level.”

He said he had been “struggling” with asthma and his breathing before the 2012 Tour de France and decided to “take that medical advice”.

“When you win the race three weeks out from the Tour de France, as I did, you’re the favourite for the Tour.

“(And) you have the medical team and coaches checking everything’s okay. ‘Bradley, you’re on track here, you’re the favourite to win this race, now we need to make sure the next three weeks ... is there anything we can help with?’

“(I say) ‘Well, I’m still struggling with this breathing, I know it didn’t look like it, but is there anything else you can do just to make sure that this doesn’t become an issue into a three-week race at the height of the season?’

“And, in turn, I took that medical advice (to take triamcinolone).” – BBC