Geraint Thomas: We've never even joked about corticosteroid use at Team Sky

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Geraint Thomas strenuously denies that he and other Team Sky riders have used corticosteroids in order to lose weight. The assertion comes after the British parliament select committee published their report, 'Combatting Doping in Sport.'

The parliamentary report included testimony from an anonymous source who indicated that Bradley Wiggins and other Team Sky riders were treated with corticosteroids out of competition in order to shed weight ahead of the 2012 Tour de France.

Thomas was not part of the Tour de France group that year due the fact that he concentrated his efforts around the team pursuit at the London 2012 Olympic Games. He has raced the Tour de France several times with Team Sky, having joined them in 2010 for their inaugural season.

Team Sky and Bradley Wiggins have refuted the claims made by the anonymous source. Wiggins, as revealed through the Fancy Bears hackers, was treated with the powerful corticosteroid triamcinolone on the eve of three Grand Tour challenges, including the 2012 Tour de France.

Ahead of stage 2 of Tirreno-Adriatico, Cyclingnews spoke to Thomas about the report.

"With the report, I don't really know. I've not read it and I've just heard the main talking points. The only thing I found a bit strange was that it was based on one guy's testimony and no one else got their chance to put their argument forward," Thomas said, in the relation to Team Sky's statement that criticised MPs for not allowing them to counter the claim before the publication of the report.

"That was the only thing that I found a bit strange. Other than that, all I can speak about it my experience of it all really. For sure, it's all a load of crap to me."

Cyclingnews asked Thomas if he, or to his knowledge, other Team Sky riders had ever used corticosteroids in order to drop weight.

"Never. Never. Never. Not even spoken about, joked about at the dinner table or talked about with any management. It's the first I've heard of it in the team," Thomas said.

Thomas has spoken extensively about his thoughts on the TUE system in the recent weeks and months.

At the Volta ao Algarve in February Cyclingnews asked Thomas what was more important to him – the letter of the laws surrounding anti-doping, or the ethical side? Team Sky have faced scrutiny over the so-called grey areas of the sport, such as the use of TUEs by Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome.

"It's definitely, obviously about the rules but it's also about the ethics. It's just the way that I've been brought up, to be honest," Thomas said. "It's just the way my mum and dad were. So why would you take something that you don't need? But it's both the laws and the ethics, I guess. Even if I had a TUE it's not a bad thing. It's because of all that's gone on that it's seen as a bad thing. That's wrong because if someone genuinely needs something then they should genuinely have it."

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