Siutsou defends Wiggins and Sky but says sick riders should be at the Paralympics

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Kanstantin Siutsou (Team Sky). (Image credit: Team Sky)

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Kanstantsin Siutsou (Sky) on the podium (Image credit: Bettini Photo)

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Heinrich Haussler, Ramunas Navardauskas and Kanstantin Siutsou get to know each other at the Bahrain Merida camp (Image credit: Courtesy of Polartec-Kometa)

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Kanstantsin Siutsou (Sky) (Image credit: Bettini Photo)

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Kanstantsin Siutsou greets some young fans at a startline in Poland (Image credit: Laura Fletcher / cassettemedia.com)

Kanstantin Siutsou has said he "still cannot believe" that Bradley Wiggins used Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs) to take triamcinolone acetonide, but defends his former teammate, despite arguing that riders with conditions requiring medical authorisation for banned substances should compete in para-sport.

Bradley Wiggins explains TUE use, asthma and allergies

Former Sky rider Tiernan-Locke says Great Britain offered Tramadol 'freely'

Team Sky riders comment on Wiggins controversy and TUE process

Froome: Impossible to say if Wiggins operated in a grey area

No TUE, no Tramadol

"In the race if you crash, for something painful you can put some cream on, like cortisol, and at the doping control you have to write it down. I know just about that. But to put a request to WADA, I don't know about that," he said.

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Patrick Fletcher

Deputy Editor - Europe. Patrick is an NCTJ-trained journalist who has seven years’ experience covering professional cycling. He has a modern languages degree from Durham University and has been able to put it to some use in what is a multi-lingual sport, with a particular focus on French and Spanish-speaking riders. After joining Cyclingnews as a staff writer on the back of work experience, Patrick became Features Editor in 2018 and oversaw significant growth in the site’s long-form and in-depth output. Since 2021 he has been Deputy Editor - Europe, taking more responsibility for the site’s content as a whole, while still writing and - despite a pandemic-induced hiatus - travelling to races around the world. Away from cycling, Patrick spends most of his time playing or watching other forms of sport - football, tennis, trail running, darts, to name a few, but he draws the line at rugby.