Pressure on Brailsford builds in wake of Freeman verdict
Demands for new investigations, answers and even suspensions abound, reports Vern Pitt
Pressure is growing on Ineos Grenadiers team principal Dave Brailsford to provide greater answers and candour about why a package of testosterone gel sachets was delivered to the Manchester velodrome while he was in charge.
Last Friday the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service found the then British Cycling and Team Sky doctor Richard Freeman had, on the balance of probability, ordered the testogel in 2011 believing it would be given to a rider for performance enhancement.
Freeman remains under investigation by UK Anti-doping (UK AD) “for possession of prohibited substances and/ or prohibited methods and tampering or attempted tampering with any part of doping control”.
Ethical standards
Last Friday Ineos Grenadiers released a statement saying that it is “very clear” that Freeman “fell short of the ethical standards required of him as a doctor” but said they did not believe there was evidence to support the finding that any athlete used testogel or any other performance enhancing substances. It added it would make no further comment. British Cycling chief executive Brian Facer said the tribunal’s finding was “extremely disturbing” and pointed out the governing body had made a slew of changes to medical procedures in recent years.
Freeman maintains his innocence over the central charge; he admitted to 18 of the 22 charges the tribunal had initially put to him. He told the Daily Mail:
“It’s unbelievable. I have never doped a rider in my life. I’m still to see any evidence of who this rider supposedly was. I accept there are people who don’t believe me. They will say I’ve lied and changed my story and can’t trust anything I say. I’ve admitted to those lies.”
Reputations under a cloud
He added: “The reputations of many good people are under a cloud and that’s just not fair, not least on them.”
Because of that and the raft of unanswered questions left in the tribunal’s wake (see box) pressure swiftly came to bear on Brailsford, who was performance director at British Cycling and team principal at Team Sky in 2011, to provide answers.
MPS called for him to step aside. Former shadow sports minister Clive Efford said: “Until this is cleared up, all those involved shouldn’t be anywhere near the sport.” Meanwhile Bradley Wiggins said on his podcast that the case “stinks to high heaven” and a further investigation was needed, though he said he doubted the testogel was actually used to dope a rider.
Speaking to Cycling Weekly commentator Phil Liggett said: “If there is a degree of suspicion surrounding you, then you’ve got to come out and get rid of that suspicion... The onus is swinging to the innocent to prove they have no connection with this situation.
Casting suspicion
“It’s very difficult to accept that the medical doctor on the team is getting these testosterone gels and they’re [management] are unaware of it, especially if it’s going to a rider. In that situation whoever’s running the team, in this case it’s Dave Brailsford, must surely be aware of what is going on. The onus is on the team to disprove what has gone on.” He said not doing so risked casting suspicion on all those involved with the team.
Ex-team Wiggins director Simon Cope, who was working for British Cycling in 2011 and was a central figure in the Jiffy bag saga, said he’d “never seen anything untoward” at BC. He told CW: “Obviously, Dave was in charge of the team, so either he was blind to it and Freeman was ordering testosterone off his own back, or he knew about it one way or the other.”
He added: “If they [UK AD] want to investigate it, then yes, I think people should step away, and it should be investigated properly.” However, he said he doubted such an investigation would find anything incriminating.