LDN - Sports

Cycling: Doctor at center of 'jiffy bag' probe resigns due to ill health

[October 20, 2017] LONDON (Reuters) - The British Cycling doctor at the center of Team Sky's "jiffy bag" saga has resigned due to ill health, the organization said in a statement on Friday.

Doctor Richard Freeman received a package on behalf of Bradley Wiggins at the 2011 Criterium du Dauphine race in France, the contents of which have remained a source of speculation despite Team Sky stating it was a flu treatment.

Both British Cycling and Team Sky are part of an ongoing investigation by UK Anti-Doping into allegations of wrongdoing in British cycling.

Freeman was supposed to answer questions from MPs at a parliamentary committee hearing in February but failed to attend, citing a stress-related illness.

In a statement on Friday British Cycling said: "Dr Richard Freeman has tendered and we have accepted his resignation from British Cycling in the interest of his health.

"We regret that we have not been able to reconcile all unanswered questions whilst he was in our employment but we continue to work closely with UKAD as we are intent on bringing their investigation to a satisfactory conclusion.

"We hope that upon his return to health, Richard can do his part to help bring to a close ongoing investigations."

Freeman, who worked for both British Cycling and Team Sky between 2009 and 2015, was criticized for failing to confirm what was in the package delivered for Wiggins.

He said his laptop containing details of the delivery to the Dauphine had been stolen in 2014.

British Cycling admitted "serious failings" in its record keeping while Team Sky boss Dave Brailsford admitted that there had been "process failures" but categorically denied any wrongdoing, saying the team was "100 percent" trustworthy.

(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)


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