Dave Brailsford’s team promised to win clean but the Richard Freeman verdict raises questions about their methods
Few of those in European cycling’s professional milieu, long schooled in batting away doping suspicions, will be shocked by the findings of the Richard Freeman medical tribunal. Cycling, after all, has a long history of “dodgy doctors”, the most renowned of all being Michele
Ferrari, Lance Armstrong’s infamous performance guru.
In a sport long shadowed by scandal, the wondrous achievements of Team Sky under the management of Dave Brailsford were always viewed sceptically. But this is also a story of subterfuge, failed vetting procedures and manipulation of facts, even before a government select committee.