'Mystery' medical delivery to Wiggins sparked months of debate
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Bradley Wiggins and Shane Sutton before the 2011 Tour de France
The Team Sky bus before the stage(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
David Brailsford and Shane Sutton
Dave Brailsford speaks during the second rest day at the Tour de France(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
It was announced on Wednesday November 15, 2017, that the UKAD investigation into an 'allegation of wrongdoing' involving Bradley Wiggins, Team Sky, British Cycling, and a mystery medical package had closed, and that no charges would be brought against any of the parties involved. It is a story that has run and run for over a year - fuelled by claims and counter claims, information and misinformation - and the lack of a definitive conclusion from UKAD means it still has legs.
The facts are that British Cycling employee Simon Cope travelled from the UK to France to transport a medical package to the Team Sky bus on the final day of the Critérium du Dauphiné, and that it was then administered to Wiggins by Dr Richard Freeman. What was in the package - was it triamcinolone, banned in competition, or was it fluimucil, a legal decongestant - was the great mystery, and UKAD acknowledged in their closing statement that is likely it will never be known.
In this timeline, we track the development of the story, from the origins of the allegations, through a parliamentary inquiry, to the conclusion of the investigation, and the impassioned reaction from Wiggins after more than a year of silence.
October 7, 2016: UKAD confirm investigation into 'allegations of wrongdoing in cycling' after the Daily Mail's story on a medical delivery to Team Sky via British Cycling employee Simon Cope.
Meanwhile, speculation continued around what was in the package and whether or not Team Sky was operating in a 'grey area'. Former performance director Peter Keen said the case highlighted concerns he had already raised surrounding the connections between the publicly-funded British Cycling programs and the professional, privately funded, Team Sky.
Parliamentary hearing
In late October British Cycling was informed that Parliament's Culture, Media and Sport select committee had some questions about the case. The hearings took place on December 19, with Shane Sutton confirming that the package was delivered for Wiggins and was of a medical nature. David Brailsford then took the stand and said that he was told by the Team Sky doctor that the package contained the decongestant Fliumucil. But British Cycling executives said they had no knowledge this was the case, and have since been unable to provide documentary proof that this is what the package contained.
