The new leadership of British Cycling "has been challenged to restore credibility" following "shocking" revelations about failures of practice, according to Matt Dickinson of the LONDON TIMES. UK Sport CEO Liz Nicholl warned that "millions of pounds in funding" could be jeopardized if the sport did not "address alarming problems, including the lack of medical reports" revealed in Wednesday’s Select Committee meeting. Once "held up" as a "flagship" program of British sport, cycling "came under fresh scrutiny" at a Parliamentary hearing when Richard Freeman, the former Team Sky doctor now with British Cycling, was shown to have "significant gaps in records of treatments issued to riders." UK Anti-Doping revealed that it is "still investigating" an allegation that triamcinolone was in the package delivered to Freeman and Bradley Wiggins in June '11. Wiggins "refused to answer questions," threatening to call the police when a BBC camera crew visited his home. British Cycling admitted "serious failings" in keeping records and Nicholl said that she was "concerned at how the ongoing turbulence could undermine public trust in the wider Olympic system." She said, "The reputation of British Cycling is taking a big hit over this period and the responsibility of the leadership of British Cycling is to restore the credibility and reputation through the actions that they take" (LONDON TIMES, 3/2).
QUESTIONS REMAIN: In London, Tom Cary reported UK Anti-Doping CEO Nicole Sapstead gave an update on her organization’s five-month investigation into Team Sky and British Cycling "over a Jiffy bag taken out to" Wiggins at the 2011 Criterium du Dauphiné. Sapstead highlighted an "astonishing lack of record-keeping" by Freeman, admitting "she could not establish what drug was in the medical package" (TELEGRAPH, 3/2).
'MAXIMUM CLARITY': Also in London, William Fotheringham reported British Cycling "promised to overhaul its relationship with Team Sky" and launched an investigation into what happened with the triamcinolone. The revelations around Team Sky and British Cycling from Sapstead were described as "shocking" and "unacceptable" by Nicholl. The "blurred relationship" between Team Sky and British Cycling was "heavily" criticized by the Select Committee on Wednesday. Asked to describe Sky’s current dealings with the governing body, British Cycling Chair Jonathan Browning said that there were currently "no individuals with joint responsibilities within the two bodies," and that they would aim for "maximum clarity of the separation of the roles and activities" (GUARDIAN, 3/2). REUTERS' Martyn Herman reported British Cycling said that its "gold-at-all-costs approach will be softened after accusations of a bullying and sexist culture." The findings of the UK Sport investigation into the culture within British Cycling, "initially expected to be published last month," have been delayed again. Browning admitted to "failures" in its World Class Programme, "which has delivered unprecedented medal success" at the last three Olympic Games: eight Golds in Beijing, eight in London and six in Rio. He said in a statement, "(The failures) occurred at a time when our sport and indeed the wider UK high-performance system were undergoing rapid transformation in terms of realising unprecedented medal success on the world stage." UK Sport said that it would publish the findings of the investigation "in as open and transparent a way as possible." Nicholl said that "valuable lessons" had been learned and that riders would start to experience "positive actions" from the findings of the review. British Cycling will receive £25M ($30.6M) in the "lead-up to the Tokyo Olympics," down from £30M in the Rio cycle (REUTERS, 3/2).
DAMAGING REVELATIONS: Also in London, Martyn Ziegler wrote the "credibility" of British Cycling and Team Sky was "in tatters" on Wednesday. The revelations at the Culture, Media & Sport Select Committee "struck at the heart of both British Cycling and Team Sky," which built their reputations on being "cleaner-than-clean in a sport that has been tainted by doping in the past." Select Committee Chair Damian Collins said, "The credibility of Team Sky and British Cycling is in tatters -- they are in a terrible position" (LONDON TIMES, 3/2). REUTERS' Julien Pretot reported Team Sky said in a statement that it was "confident there had been no wrongdoing." The statement said, "Team Sky is a clean team. We abide by the rules and we are proud of our stance against doping" (REUTERS, 3/1). SKY SPORTS reported Collins confirmed that Wiggins "will not be questioned by MPs over doping in sport." Collins said that Wiggins was not on the Select Committee's agenda because he is an "individual athlete." Collins said that his committee's task is "to hold British Cycling and Team Sky to account because they receive public money and to question UKAD about their power and resources." He added, "It is not for the Select Committee to investigate the medical records of an individual athlete" (SKY SPORTS, 3/2).
