Sir Bradley Wiggins calls package investigation a 'malicious witch-hunt'
The "categorically untrue" allegations focused on a Jiffy bag delivered to his Team Sky doctor after a race in France in 2011.
Wednesday 15 November 2017 21:39, UK
Sir Bradley Wiggins has criticised an official investigation into allegations of wrongdoing in cycling as a "malicious witch-hunt".
In a statement posted on Twitter, the five-time Olympic gold medallist said UK Anti-Doping's (UKAD) 14-month investigation into a package delivered to his Team Sky doctor Richard Freeman after a race in 2011 had made his life "a living hell".
The UKAD has been unable to prove what was in the package, commonly known as a Jiffy bag, which was delivered at the end of the Criterium du Dauphine race in France six years ago.
It had been suggested that it may have contained the drug Fluimucil, which can help break up thick mucus in the lungs and make it easier to breathe.
The organisation has confirmed that no charges will be brought, "despite very significant effort on UKAD's part to confirm or refute the account that the package delivered to Team Sky contained Fluimucil".
Wiggins, who in 2012 became the first British rider to win the Tour de France, said: "I welcome UKAD's confirmation that no anti-doping charges are to be brought. It has always been the case that no such charges could be brought against me as no anti-doping violations took place.
"I am pleased that this has finally been confirmed publicly but there are a large number of questions regarding the investigation which I feel remain unanswered.
"Being accused of any doping indiscretion is the worst possible thing for any professional sportsperson, especially when it is without any solid factual basis and you know the allegation will be categorically untrue."
The 37-year-old, who retired after the 2016 OIympics in Rio, said that he had been "hounded" on his doorstep since the investigation began and that his family had been subjected to a period of "innuendo and speculation" that had caused "serious personal damage".
He has also questioned UKAD over the source of the original allegation, why it was considered credible, how much the investigation had cost and why it had taken so long.
UKAD Chief Executive Nicole Sapstead said: "As with all UKAD investigations, our work has been thorough and extensive, and I can reassure the public that we treat every credible allegation with the utmost seriousness."
She said the investigation had been hampered by "a lack of accurate medical records" at British Cycling, which she described as "a serious concern".
UKAD has written to British Cycling, UK Sport, Sport England and Team Sky, and referred some information to the General Medical Council, following the outcome of the investigation.