Bradley Wiggins charges to the front in the closing stages to lead out Edvald Boasson Hagen(Image credit: Sirotti)
Despite advice from his team doctors to refrain from releasing his biological passport data, Bradley Wiggins is still keen on the idea. The Tour de France leader last released his data in 2009, having finished fourth in that year’s Tour.
“I did it in 2009 and people still said I was doping,” Wiggins said.
“Whatever you do with the passport information it’s almost a no-win situation. I’ve spoken to the doctors on the team about it and they’ve said the blood passport isn’t clear-cut on doping or not doping. There are so many variables in it. So if I was to do that certain people would scrutinise it and say it’s either too stable or it’s up and down. It’s something I’m looking into doing but it’s something I’ve been advised against, but it’s something I’d like to do and I’ve got nothing to hide. So I don’t see why it shouldn’t be out there.”
Wiggins has answered questions on doping since his time trial performance in Besançon. The first encounter was prickly; with the Tour leader hitting out at those who had likened Sky’s performance to US Postal’s and those whom questioned his stance on doping via Twitter.
However since Besançon. Wiggins has attempted to build bridges and in the process offered more precise and in-depth answers to doping and anti-doping related questions. A blog on the Guardian’s website has also appeared, in which Wiggins provided a detailed account as to why he would not dope.
In his press conference on Saturday though, he talked about the biological passport but also raised the important point of time. As one English-speaking Tour winner is becoming increasingly aware, eventually the truth will come out and Wiggins puts his trust in the longevity and successes of the passport.
“For some people no matter what you do it’s not going to be enough unless they can live with me for 12 months, which I’m not prepared to do. The test of time is more important and the continuation of the job that the UCI are doing. I’ve lost count how many times I’ve been tested this week and I guess the more we do of that the better for our sport.”
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Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
