Olympian blasts cycling sexism
Former Olympic and world road race champion Nicole Cooke has told a panel of MPs that cycling is a sport “run by men, for men” and fears for the fight against doping.
Cooke strongly criticised British Cycling, the International Cycling Union, UK Anti-Doping, UK Sport and the World AntiDoping Agency (WADA).
FORMER OLYMPIC and world road race champion Nicole Cooke has told a panel of MPs that cycling is a sport “run by men, for men” and raised concerns that the fight against doping is being waged in the wrong way.
Cook strongly criticised British Cycling, the International Cycling Union, UK Anti-Doping, UK Sport and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) during her 70-minutes of wide-ranging testimony yesterday to the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee.
Speaking to the MPs via an audio link from Paris, Cooke concluded her evidence by contrasting her use of the corticosteroid triamcinolone with Sir Bradley Wiggins’ use of the same drug.
Both were given therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs) – doctor’s notes that let athletes take substances that would otherwise be banned – for injections of the triamcinolone, in Wiggins’ case on the eve of the 2011 and 2012 Tours de France and the 2013 Giro d’Italia.
Cooke, however, explained she used it to treat a serious knee injury in 2003 and 2007, when the only alternative was surgery, and did not race until “long after the performance-enhancing effects had worn off ”.
She claimed Wiggins used the “same steroid before his main goals of the season”.
If there was any doubt about the point Cooke was making she spelled it out in the 6,000-word written testimony she provided to the committee.
In a section on her own experiences of trying to race clean in a dirty era, the 33-year-old Welsh star noted the large number of riders at the biggest races with TUEs.
She wrote that having such an exemption “was a very convenient way to mask a doping program”.
Referring to the governance of the sport Cooke noted that cycling “receives annually significant financial support from the public purse” and that, in her opinion, “such funds are not distributed equitably and in a decent manner for the benefit of the whole of the target population. I summarise that as a sport run by men, for men”.
British Cycling said in a statement in response: “While there is still a way to go, British Cycling is absolutely committed to resolving the historic gender imbalance in our sport. There is always more that can be done and we strive to make continual improvements to ensure that cycling is reaching out to women and girls of all ages and abilities.”
A UK Sport spokesman said: “UK Sport takes its responsibilities as an investor of public funds and a champion of equality in sport very seriously.
“On matters raised relating to the governance of the national governing body, UK Sport and Sport England have recently published a new code for sports governance which raises the bar for the requirements around governance that all sports bodies who receive public funding will need to address and comply to.”
A spokeswoman for UK AntiDoping, said: “Anti-doping is a complex and evolving area; one that continues to be subject to great debate, especially in relation to the regulatory and investigatory powers of national anti-doping organisations. We welcome this debate, as it highlights the challenges we face regarding jurisdiction and resourcing. But there should be no doubt about the determination of this organisation to protect clean sport.”
Anti-doping is a complex and evolving area UK Anti-Doping spokesman