Summary
So it took a while but Brailsford finally gave us some clarity about what was in the package that was delivered to Bradley Wiggins at the Dauphiné in 2011. Questions will inevitably be asked as to why Team Sky and British Cycling went to such lengths to deliver such a trivial-seeming medication (fluimucil) and why something that it is advised should not be used to treat an asthma sufferer was used to treat an asthma sufferer. The details around this will be revealed by Ukad and we may know more then. It needs to be confirmed, through invoices, whether what Brailsford has been told by Dr Freeman is in fact true. One thing is certain, that British Cycling and Team Sky have been tainted by this farrago and that their sporting operations would appear to be run in a more haphazard manner than you may think from such successful teams. Brailsford was as adamant as ever that Team Sky are clean, though. We will have a news take on the inquiry up shortly.
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Why has this ended up in front of a select committee meeting, Brailsford is asked. Doesn’t this reflect badly on the management at Team Sky. “There are lessons to be learned. I have handled this situation very badly. We’ve a fantastic reputation and our team don’t deserve to have this shadow cast over them and it pains me. But we have reviewed all our policies and how we use TUEs in the future and how do we gain and provide transparency while protecting competitive advantage. We invite anybody to come and examine us and scrutinise us.” And that is the end of that. Brailsford leaves.
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Brailsford is told that it looks like he is trying to cover something up, given that Fluimucil is such an innocuous medicine. He agrees that he hasn’t handled things well. “There was no question of a cover-up,” he says and [in articles in the Daily Mail] there have been conflicting reports about what happened around the package and he shouldn’t have tried to give “a running commentary.”
Brailsford on misleading @Matt_Lawton_DM "I relayed running commentary, it wasn't a cover-up, it was what I was being told, I was too hasty"
— Paul Kelso (@pkelso) December 19, 2016
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Nicholson pushes the point on the concern about the amount of influence doctors have in determining what medication riders need and how coaches and team managers can police this if they don’t always know what they are being prescribed. “If you have doctors who are willing to break the rules. If anyone steps the wrong side of the rules then they deserve everything they’re going to get,” says Brailsford. He says he has confidence in his doctors.
Here’s our first take on the revelation of what was in the package.
Well, this is interesting. Fluimucil is not recommended to be used if you have asthma.
Not be used if you have asthma... pic.twitter.com/qGqfoNUhh1
— Matt Lawton (@Matt_Lawton_DM) December 19, 2016
Brailsford says there are time when coaches do know what is being administered by doctors to riders, and there are times when they don’t. Doctors will share that information if they deem it necessary. “The discretion of doctors is very good and they will share information on a need to know basis.”
Should the process around administering drugs be toughened up a bit? Nicholson says he found it surprising that Sutton did not know what was in the package even though he arranged it? Brailsford does not look quite so confident as he did earlier. Brailsford says Dr Freeman authorised the package to be delivered, Sutton arranged it, and the physiotherapist Phil Burt packaged it up. Then it was taken by Simon Cope to France.
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John Nicholson says he believes Fluimucil is not licensed in the UK yet. Is there any evidence of what was in the package? “I have third-party information. I can only relate what I was told [by Dr Freeman]. He told me it was Fluimucil.” Was anything else in this package? “I hope not.” So Brailsford never saw the contents of the package himself.
I’m told Fluimucil costs eight euros in France. Why was it flown all this way? “I understand where your questioning is coming from. It’s not unusual for stuff to be flown around.”
Brailsford says he had no concerns about Wiggins’s TUEs given he hadn’t required them in the past and feels there was no crossing of the lines. He refers to the medical team’s advice again. It’s down to them, he says. “There has to be a medical need.”
What were Brailsford’s feelings about the appointment of Geert Leinders? “It wasn’t my greatest decision. I hold my hands up. He went through our processes and once we found out he had a past we took appropriate action.”
Did he play any part in these TUEs? “No,” says Brailsford.
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On the subject of Wiggins’s TUEs Brailsford says: “It’s done on a case by case basis. Depending on the condition of the diagnosis, the granting body may require further information.”
He’s asked if Team Sky would have had to pay an independent adviser to give advice on whether Wiggins would have needed a TUE … Brailsford says he isn’t sure but he imagines that would be the case.
Paul Farrelly MP asks about the package again. “Presumably British Cycling would have been invoiced for a package then …” Brailsford says that an agreement was in place that allowed for cross-funding and a re-charging policy.
Does a documentary paper-trail exist? “It should be there,” says Brailsford. “Ukad have all the invoices for our medical supplies. My understanding is that there is product code on each item.” He agrees that cross-checking of that product (Fluimucil) should be the end of it.
Brailsford says that Wiggins won every major race in 2012 so TUE before Tour de France didn’t make a big difference.
Would you have ever had a conversation with a medical member in which you would ask them not to prescribe anything that may have a performance-enhancing side-effect? “The medical team do not need any reining in or any advice of that sense. They are absolutely trustworthy and have the health of the athletes at their heart. They know where the lines are.”
Do you think Wiggins’s records should be made available to Ukad so this all tallies with Ukad’s investigation? “They have been,” says Brailsford. “If Bradley had taken something he shouldn’t have he was tested shortly afterward and that would have created an analytical finding.”
Still lack of clarity here, Brailsford says delivery was to restock Freeman's supplies. Sutton says Freeman administered contents to Wiggins
— Martyn Ziegler (@martynziegler) December 19, 2016
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Collins asks why such effort was made in getting a drug that was easy to come by flown out to France? “The sole purpose of Simon Cope’s visit wasn’t to bring this product. He was on his way anyway and brought it down with him. He has his own stores in Manchester so brought it with him.”
Collins asks why not ask the race doctor for a decongestant? Brailsford replies: "It wasn't convoluted, it was the easiest possible way."
— Sean Ingle (@seaningle) December 19, 2016
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A decongestant, Fluimucil, was in the package
Collins moves on to the package. Has Dr Freeman told you what was in the package? “Dr Freeman told me it was Fluimucil, a decongestant you put in a nebuliser. I couldn’t see any anti-doping rule violation.”
Finally, some clarity: David Brailsford says Dr Freeman told him that Fluimucil was in the package
— Sean Ingle (@seaningle) December 19, 2016
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Are you aware that Wiggins was prescribed a corticosteroid out of competition? “I wouldn’t be aware of that. That would be a breech of medical-client confidentiality.”
Would you be aware if the line is being crossed? “You can’t exist in Team Sky or British Cycling without knowing what the standards are. We race clean. Everybody is aware of that. We have a very clear structure and culture.”
Dave Brailsford insists that Team Sky has a "very clear structure and culture" about doping, to ensure "everything is done by the book"
— Sean Ingle (@seaningle) December 19, 2016
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Were corticosteroids used by Wiggins out of competition? “Not that I was aware of.” It’s a question of “use and abuse” and some riders may have used them out of competition if it was required after a crash or an injury. But that would not be “in any way shape or form an abuse.”
Do you question the medical staff as to whether Wiggins, for example, needed a strong medicine such a triamcinolone? “We have confidence in the medical team with regards to Bradley’s first TUE – it wasn’t just a doctor on his own that decided that. He wrote a letter of recommendation that I’m sure you’re aware of” and then the process is begun all the way up to Wada who decide whether it can be administered.
Brailsford: “The granting of a TUE is becoming much more of a challenge because of the possible stigma that is being attached to the process now.”
Collins: “With regard to TUEs, what’s the process of a team agreeing that an application is going to be made for a TUE?” It’s very much driven by the medical team, a team doctor. The rider has a condition. The doctor assessing it, forms a diagnosis and then looks at the criteria you have to hit to be given a TUE”, such as if the condition will harm their medical condition. the TUE is there to bring the athlete back to their “baseline” of health, he says.
Brailsford: “Just to be clear, we were given information on Friday of non-disclosure [on info relating to Ukad investigation] but now I am aware the situation has changed.”
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Dave Brailsford enters the room …
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Sutton is asked if he would like to comment and apologise for his conduct relating to comments made about Jess Varnish that were deemed to be “inappropriate and discriminatory language” … Sutton looks a bit surprised. “Apologise?” he asks. “In 10 years I had not had one complaint against me until one athlete was dropped from the Olympic team. She’s entitled to have her say and I can have my say but I’ll leave it up to the legal team.”
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Did Dr Freeman say Brad’s been sorted, Sutton is asked by Collins? Was your assumption that he was referring to a treatment for a problem that he was suffering in the last few days of the Dauphiné [in 2011]? “He sorted him out with the illness he had at that moment. It could have been his allergies had flared up in the past few days.”
No one will tell us what was in the package? Sutton says he is upset by the questioning of Team Sky’s integrity.
I am astounded that you would suggest we have not done it by the book.”
Why was Sutton not aware of what was in the package when he authorised it? Sutton says he simply “arranged” for something to be delivered but did not know what it was.
You keep saying things are clean at Team Sky but this issue has caused a lot of controversy. Why did you not think to ask what was in the package? There was no evidence to suggest anything would be wrong, he says because nothing in the past suggested anything delivered would cause controversy.
Ian Lucas MP: You arranged for package to be delivered but you didn't know what was in it?" Sutton. "Exactly" Lucas: "Why did they ask you?"
— Sean Ingle (@seaningle) December 19, 2016
Sutton: "Because I was the guy you came to if you wanted things done. This was not an uncommon occurrence. I never asked what was in it"
— Sean Ingle (@seaningle) December 19, 2016
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Sutton is asked if it is not odd that he was never made aware of what the TUE was because if Andy Murray was given a TUE Ivan Lendl, his coach, would want to know what it was? “It was my job to get Wiggins fit and healthy … given the nature of the team and the way it has been set up the doctors would adhere to policy.” Sutton nods his head when asked if it is true that he didn’t think to ask about what Wiggins’s TUE was.
Was Sutton ever concerned about Team Sky hiring Dr Geert Leinders,who was banned for life last year for multiple doping violations while at Rabobank between 1996 and 2009. “As soon as Team Sky were made aware of this, his contract was terminated.”
Back to the package, could British Cycling have done more to clear this up? “The package hasn’t got anything to do with British Cycling. The package was a Team Sky delivery. I don’t think British Cycling should be penalised.”
What can British Cycling do to clear up this mess? “There’s an ongoing investigation. The powers that be need to come out and tell you what was in the package. I’m saddened where this has got to. We created this thing to give young riders the chance to go out and compete cleanly.”
Sutton: “There’s a lot of people that are jealous, there are lot of people who are bitter [of our success].”
Interesting that Sutton knew exactly what medication was flown out to Hong Kong earlier this year but didn't know what he authorised in 2011
— Martyn Ziegler (@martynziegler) December 19, 2016
Compared to other sports why does cycling attract so much doping controversy? “We’re policed more than any other sport in the world.”
Do you think it’s over policed? “No, no, we name and shame. We should be applauded for that,” says Sutton.
Sutton is thanked for making it clear that it wasn’t just pedals in the package. He is then asked how Team Sky improved dramatically from 2010 onwards. “We started working at altitude, we got a great new coach [Tim Kerrison],” he says. The approach changed and we got better he continues. They better understood what was required and learned so much in the first year that we knew where we came up short. I could tell you to the day when we realised what we needed to do. When watching Wiggins drop away in 2010 Sutton says he told Brailsford: “We need to train more in the red zone at altitude. Tim Kerrison then set up the training camp in Tenerife.”
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Sutton says that when Ukad’s investigation is complete we will be made aware of what the “ingredients” were in the package.
Sutton: "When the ingredients of the package comes out I'm sure things will be 100% clearer and we'll cleared"
— Sean Ingle (@seaningle) December 19, 2016
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Did Dr Freeman tell you he had performed an injection on Wiggins? “He didn’t tell me that, no. No one has spoken to me about that. No one has ever mentioned an injection [other than in the media].
Sutton: “The doctor asked me if I knew of anyone coming down logistically who could deliver some stuff.
Did Dr Freeman tell you if it was some form of medical supply? “He didn’t relay what was in the package.”
Did Dr Freeman tell you that he had performed amny kind of medical treatment on Wiggins after the race was completed? “I didn’t see him there, I’d left, but I was aware that he did administer medical treatment.”
On to the package.Did Dr Freeman ever tell you what was in the package. “I have no knowledge what was in the package. I didn’t see it wrapped. It was a request from the doctor and I authorised it.”
Many people would find it surprising that you weren’t aware of these drugs being used given that a corticosteroid is banned in competition unless a TUE is issued … Sutton waffles a bit and then says “there was no wrongdoing here. Wiggins never worked outside any rules. Dave Brailsford was pioneer of clean cycling, who created the cleanest team in the world.”
He’s then asked wouldn’t he be made aware of this given that there can be dramatic weight loss. The answer is similar: “I can’t state strongly enough there was no wrongdoing on the part of Bradley Wiggins and Team Sky. It’s been proven.”
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When were you made aware that Wiggins was treated with triamcinolone, Sutton is asked? “ I was never aware.” He does say that he knew Wiggins had been given a corticosteroid but says he doesn’t know whether it was before or after the TUE was issued.
When are you aware that a TUE was needed in 2011? “I’m not aware unless there is a major injury. My role was to be part of the coaching team. I wasn’t part of the medical team. I have no knowledge of the medical team’s working with Brad.”
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Sutton: “You just allow the doctors to continue doing their jobs and you get on with yours … I’m not really informed [about the TUEs].”
Shane Sutton is asked about Wiggins’s TUEs and what he would be told about them. What would you reasonably know about medication riders would be on? “If you take it right back to the inception of the team in 2010 and then taking over Bradley’s programme, we set out with zero-tolerance to drugs. In the case of Wiggins and TUEs it wasn’t something I really cared about because I knew we were operating cleanly.”
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Shane Sutton, the former British Cycling performance director, enters the room to be questioned.
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They are told by John Nicholson MP that there is a sense of frustration in the room about why they are not answering questions about the package. They have been told by Ukad that they can talk freely. “Simon Cope said they could be pedals. Would that not be odd, pedals being flown out to a doctor?” Gilbert agrees that Cope’s explanation is bizarre and then says “we have been told we are not permitted to talk about the Ukad investigation. But of course, we would like to know what’s in the package.”
Have you not heard any gossip about what might be in the package? Howden says the gossip relates to pedals, shoes being delivered even though that might sound odd.
Nicholson references the smiles on the faces of sports journalists behind them on the subject of pedals.
How long will it take you to check your own records what was in the package? “It may take days, “says Howden.
We would like to know if it was pharmaceutical products in the package? Will you write to the chair with details of what was in this package in the next couple of days? Both sya they will.
John Nicholson’s asked the right questions and pushed and pushed relentlessly to the point that both Gilbert and Howden resembled chastised schoolchildren when they finally agreed to give them an answer.
Howden is asked about funding of British Cycling? Howden says a mix of public money and private sponsorship amounts to turnover of around £31m. Public money is vital.
Are you confident corporate sponsorship will continue after recent negative headlines? Howden does not seem concerned and talks up HSBC partnership again.
Corporate sponsorship could at risk, they are told and success of cycling could be affected … Howden again says the issue around the package is being handled by Ukad.
They’re told that the public will not be satisfied by that answer and HSBC should be concerned too.
Would an open process in relation to TUEs be welcome? Howden says he would welcome the transparency “wherever possible”.
Howden is asked about when he said the aim of British Cycling was to get someone to win the Tour before 2020 “cleanly” does that not reflect badly on cycling that the emphasis was on “cleanly” … do you think this story (the package) is a disaster for British Cycling? “I think it’s certainly severely unfortunate,” says Howden but it has not knocked his confidence in British cycling, he adds.
You say you don’t know what was in it. Does anybody know what was in it because how was Simon Cope allowed through airport security? Ukad’s message was “leave it to us and don’t get involved.”
So you’re happy for stuff to be taken around the world without your knowledge? Howden looks very uncomfortable, waffles and says “in respect of the investigation” before being cut off. Howden says “he doesn’t know what was in there” again. “We can only refer you back to Ukad on that.”
Howden and Gilbert are told that it is unusual that no one at British Cycling has any control over what is being taken anywhere …
View of former head of Australian Anti-Doping ... https://t.co/vRJE55vHtV
— Sean Ingle (@seaningle) December 19, 2016
Back on TUEs Howden says the number has fallen from around 230 per year in 2009, globally, to around 13 last year because regular asthma treatment is allowed to be stronger now.
Does package show that it is time to reassess British Cycling’s partnership with Sky? Howden says it has been key in developing the level of expertise required to be successful but that the two teams have become more independent in recent years as Sky’s expertise has become more focused. The partnership is set to end shortly as they join up with a new sponsor.
Does package show too close relationship with Team Sky & British Cycling? Howden rambles. Farrelly "I don't know whether that was yes or no"
— Sean Ingle (@seaningle) December 19, 2016
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Have either of you ever taken packages, personally, to teams? “No,” reply both of them. They wouldn’t be expected to. It’s not their job.
Have Ukad asked them to butt out of the investigation? Howden again says it’s taken us aback this morning that we’ve been asked to discuss the details of the package when they haven’t been involved in the Ukad investigation. “Ukad are conducting this investigation and we’re not been told what they are focusing,” says Gilbert.
They are asked about the many packages that get sent out to riders, medical and non-medical. “We haven’t looked into detail of what is sent,” says Gilbert.
Have you got a drug store, they are asked? How big is it? Howden: “I’ve never been in it. I can’t give you that information. It would be a cupboard within the medical room. It’s for immediate use and likely use. An issue might arise within a race and you have to get medical equipment out.”
Might that cupboard contain substances that may be used, banned in competition, but not banned out of competition in that cupboard? Gilbert says “yes” but they can be used for things such as broken collarbones.
Under what circumstances might a package be sent from that cupboard? “When there is a need for it,” says Gilbert. Howden chips in: “Or if there is a TUE.”
Would British Cycling see that TUE that is granted before sending out such a package? “Yes,” says Howden.
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Gilbert is asked again about TUE abuse: “The TUE process is something that happens between a rider and the UCI. That committee has strict protocols around where they are granted. Those protocols include clauses around there being no reasonable alternative and the rider’s health being seriously harmed by not taking them.” Howden says he spends a lot of time with academy riders educating them as to what is correct and what is not correct in terms of doping. Gilbert says this education starts with around 500-600 13-year-olds and upwards. They have at least two sessions a year.
Gilbert is asked whether there is a conflict of interests if team doctors have to look after their athletes’ health and also their performance. Neither Gilbert nor Howden seems particularly concerned with this relationship.
Gilbert is asked about TUEs. He doesn’t think they are a big issue. “TUEs allow people with ordinary conditions to be able to compete in sport. That process involves medical scrutiny. It is not just about having a doctor’s note. The doctors are part of a panel, independent and from around the world. Only when there is unanimity around the decision do you get granted a TUE. Last year there were only 13 TUEs granted across cycling, globally.” Should those TUEs be made public? “They could be. If that helps with gaining confidence in sport there’s an argument to say they should be.”
Gilbert says panel decides on TUEs - but until 2014 it was just Zorzoli, the doc at the UCI, who made the decision.
— Martyn Ziegler (@martynziegler) December 19, 2016
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Asked about whether criminalising drug use in sport would be effective in eradicating cheating in sport, Gilbert says that that kind of sanction isn’t going to work as a deterrent because the focus is always on evading getting caught.
Howden seems much more comfortable when asked a broader question about doping in sport. “Sport, cycling, does everything it can to reduce the influence of drugs but at a lower level, amateur level, we may get some influence from societal drug use.”
Collins asks: do you feel British Cycling should release info that they weren’t legally obliged to give if it was important to Ukad’s investigation? Both Gilbert and Howden agree that they should be helpful if that’s the case.
Pushed by Collins, Howden says: “We are not aware of any doping products that was in the package”.
Damian Collins says he finds it extraordinary that Howden does not know what is in the package. British Cycling’s Dr George Gilbert says: “You are making the assumption it is a medical package. We’ve been told by UKAD not to look into it.”
Damian Collins introduces the proceedings by saying that Ukad welcome the committee asking questions about the package that was delivered to France on 12 June 2011 by Simon Cope of British Cycling that was the subject of much media speculation. President and chair of British Cycling, Bob Howden, is immediately asked does he know what was in the package? Howden says he is taken aback by Ukad’s statement because he is not prepared to answer the question because it is a key matter in the Ukad investigation.
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Our chief sports writer, Sean Ingle, is in parliament and attending the committee sessions today.
Sure MPs will ask the questions; whether they'll get fresh insight is another matter. Lawyers have heavily prepped Brailsford/Sutton etc
— Sean Ingle (@seaningle) December 19, 2016
Preamble
Good morning. Today the culture, media and sport select committee will hold two evidence sessions with Team Sky, British Cycling and Wada as part of its wider inquiry into combatting doping in sport that has also so far looked at British athletics. The first is due to begin at 11.15am GMT, when Robert Howden, president and chair of British Cycling, will face questions alongside Dr George Gilbert, British Cycling board director and chair of the British Cycling Ethics Commission.
Then at midday, Shane Sutton, the former technical director of British Cycling, who resigned his role in controversial circumstances earlier this year, will give evidence. And at around 12.30pm Team Sky’s general manager, Dave Brailsford, will be up.
Sean Ingle believes there are 10 questions the MPs should ask Brailsford and Sutton today, including: What was in the medical package taken by British Cycling doctor Simon Cope to Team Sky on the final day of the 2011 Dauphiné Libéré? Brailsford has previously suggested that he knew what was in it. So will we finally get an answer? You can read the rest of Sean’s questions here:
The questions are being asked to determine whether Team Sky and British Cycling, who have worked together very closely in the past, have followed the letter and spirit of the anti-doping code after it emerged this year that the former Tour de France winner and multiple-gold winning Olympian, Bradley Wiggins, used TUEs for a corticosteroid on three occasions before major races to treat allergies. Team Sky, Brailsford and Wiggins have vehemently denied any wrongdoing or blurring of the lines when it comes to doping.
The session background, as published on the Parliament.tv website, states:
In September this year Russian hackers leaked medical records for Sir Bradley Wiggins, sparking a UK Anti-Doping investigation into drug use in the Team Sky British cycling team. Wiggins faced wide criticism for applying for Therapeutic Use Exemptions — an exemption allowing an athlete to take an otherwise banned substance for a medical condition — for a corticosteroid used in the treatment of asthma and allergies, before three Grand Tour races, including the 2012 Tour he won to make British sporting history. Sir Bradley and Team Sky have consistently denied any wrongdoing and the UKAD investigation is expected to report shortly.
The MP and chair of the committee, Damian Collins, has outlined what he hopes to discover in today’s session. He said: “It is important that sports follow the letter and spirit of the anti-doping code. We want to understand more about the ethics of the use of TUE’s and the way Team Sky and British Cycling police the anti-doping rules. We will also be questioning Sir Craig Reedie about the resources available to WADA to monitor doping abuse around the world, and in particular in sports like cycling and athletics. We are keen to understand more from WADA about their investigation into doping in Russia, the involvement and support of the Russian government for this, the progress he feels Russia still needs to make, and the role of international sporting organisations like the IOC, IAAF and the UCI, in promoting and safeguarding clean sport.”
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