FLORENCE, Italy (VN) — Sky broadcasting gives its “full and continued support” to the British WorldTour team despite the controversies over the last month.
Sky is defending the team after a Russian hacker group revealed what were “ethically wrong” TUEs sought by the team and Bradley Wiggins. Also, the Daily Mail reported the delivery of a suspicious medical package to France on the final day of the 2011 Critérium du Dauphiné. UK Anti-Doping has now opened an investigation.
Graham McWilliam, deputy head of Sky News and the chairman of Team Sky board, posted on Twitter that he sent the team his message of support over the weekend. He shared what he wrote to the team.
“Keep your feet firmly on the ground and stay focused on what’s important. For Team Sky that’s racing and winning, the right way,” McWilliam wrote. “That’s what we’ve done from that start and that’s what we’ll continue to do in future.
“I can assure you of Sky’s full and continued support. There is no equivocation on our part. We trust you, we believe in you and we remain as excited about this sport as ever.”
The pan-European broadcasting company sponsored the team from its beginning in 2010. Its reported revenue in 2015 was around $12.3 billion. The team — with stars Chris Froome, Michal Kwiatkowski, and previously Bradley Wiggins — runs on an annual budget of around £24 million ($29 million).
Some of Sky’s top cyclists expressed concern, however, after the TUE information became public.
Nicolas Roche, who is leaving Sky for BMC Racing in 2017, questioned the ethics behind applying for TUEs. Wiggins, as revealed by the Fancy Bears hacker group, injected corticosteroid triamcinolone prior to the 2011 and 2012 editions of the Tour de France, and the 2013 Giro d’Italia. In 2012, he became the first Brit to win the Tour.
“There is a major problem with TUEs,” Roche told Cyclingnews on Monday. “There is a problem with the actual system. Again, you can do whatever you want against Wiggins but unfortunately, as far as ethically it’s wrong, he is within the rules.”
Wiggins said that he applied for the TUE because he has been “a lifelong sufferer of asthma” and that it was not “to gain an unfair advantage.”
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) allows for such TUE certificates. A recent dump of US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) documents by Fancy Bears, shows that the certificate use is most prevalent in cycling.
A doctor recommended that Wiggins use triamcinolone, and the UCI signed off on the TUE. The certificate allows an athlete to use an otherwise banned drug.
The Fancy Bears dumps that began September 13, however, highlight doping’s grey area. Chris Froome said last month that “more stringent protocols can be put in place.”
He wrote on Twitter, “It is clear that the TUE system is open to abuse and I believe that this is something that the UCI and WADA need to urgently address.”
Sky and British Cycling would not say what was in the medical package delivered to the team on the final day of the 2011 Critérium du Dauphiné. The UKAD started its investigation and Friday, visited the team and cycling federation to ask questions. Team Sky said that it has been “a challenging few weeks.”
The post Sky sponsor tells team: ‘We trust you’ appeared first on VeloNews.com.