Freeman to face medical tribunal over testosterone patch delivery

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Former Team Sky and British Cycling doctor Richard Freeman is set to face a medical tribunal in connection with the 2011 delivery of testosterone patches to the national team's headquarters in Manchester.

According to a report in The Sunday Telegraph, Freeman is likely to face the General Medical Council tribunal which could decide to punish him with a suspension or remove him from the medical register.

In 2016, UK Anti-Doping launched an investigation into the delivery of a 'mystery package' from British Cycling headquarters to Team Sky during the 2011 Criterium du Dauphine for Bradley Wiggins. During their examination of the records at the Manchester National Cycling Centre, investigators found evidence of a delivery of banned testosterone patches, as well as 60 - 70 vials of triamcinolone.

Freeman worked for both teams in 2011, and the medical equipment for the two programmes shared storage space at the National Cycling Centre.

Steve Peters, Team Sky's former medical director, at the time said the testosterone delivery was made in error and the patches were returned to the supplier. Freeman also denied any wrongdoing, saying the patches were never intended for athletes. 

British Cycling is a co-complainant in the GMC inquiry, and a spokesman said they "referred concerns in relation to Dr Richard Freeman's fitness to practice" to the GMC and "continue to support its ongoing investigation".

The UKAD closed its investigation last November without any anti-doping rule violations being issued, but a Select Committee report published early this year was heavily critical of Team Sky, saying they had taken advantage of the Therapeutic Use Exemptions allowed within the WADA code to enhance the performance of their riders.

Bradley Wiggins' use of TUEs to get injections of triamcinolone before major events, including prior to his 2012 Tour de France victory, was made public by Russian hackers after the 2016 Olympic Games.