Team Sky Principal Dave Brailsford "revealed for the first time" what he believes was in the "mystery package" carried over to France by a British Cycling employee on the final day of the 2011 Criterium du Dauphiné, saying that "he has been told it was fluimucil, a decongestant." Brailsford "was giving evidence to a parliamentary select committee on Monday as part of its wider inquiry into doping in sport." UK Anti-Doping has spent the last 10 weeks investigating, "among other things, the transportation of a medical package over to France on the final day of the 2011 Dauphiné," won by Bradley Wiggins. Until now Brailsford "had refused to say publicly what was in the package, saying he preferred to wait until UKAD had concluded its investigation" (London TELEGRAPH, 12/19).
The U.K. competition watchdog "has warned that websites reselling event tickets could be fined," as it launched an investigation into the secondary market to "determine whether companies are breaking consumer protection laws." The Competition & Markets Authority said on Monday that it had "begun probing the market operated on online platforms" such as StubHub and Seatwave, following concerns that "people are not getting the full range of information required by law when buying tickets put up for resale." It will study whether companies "are providing information on who the seller is" and their connections to the event organizers, and whether "there are any restrictions on the ticket which could result in the buyer being denied entrance to an event" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 12/19).
New Zealand Rugby has "made its move" in attempting to keep three "high-profile players" in New Zealand. The union has tabled its final deals for Ben Smith, Israel Dagg and Aaron Cruden, and said that it will "give them the time they need to make a decision." The trio's contracts end after the British & Irish Lions tour in June and "all three have received lucrative offers to join French clubs" (RADIO NEW ZEALAND, 12/19).
The Scottish Country Sports Tourism Group unveiled plans to make Scotland one of the world's top destinations for hunting, shooting and fishing. The industry group's "Game for Growth" strategy "aims to boost the value of these activities to the Scottish economy" by £30M ($37.2M) in the next three years to £185M ($229.3M). VisitScotland will provide match funding to help lift the int'l online profile of Scotland's country sports (Scotland DAILY RECORD, 12/19).
