Wiggins spokesperson on WADA leak: 'There's nothing new here'
Leak showed six TUEs between 2008 and 2013
Bradley Wiggins has responded to the leak of his medical information by hackers of the World Anti Doping Agency's (WADA) systems with a statement issued through a spokesperson saying: "There's nothing new here."
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Tsar Team (APT28) – also known as 'Fancy Bear' – released a second round of data from its hack of WADA's Anti Doping Administration and Management System (ADAMS), with Wiggins one of 29 athletes concerned, alongside fellow Tour de France winner Chris Froome. The data leak has been confirmed by WADA.
The leak gives details of Wiggins' entire history of Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUE), with six revealed between 2008 and 2013.
The first three date back to 2008, when he rode for Team Highroad, and saw him granted permission to use Salbutamol, Fluticasone, Formoterol, and Budesonide for a period of 12 months.
"There's nothing new here," a spokesperson for Wiggins said in a statement sent to Cyclingnews on Thursday.
"Everyone knows Brad suffers from asthma; his medical treatment is BC [British Cycling - ed] and UCI approved and like all TEAMGB athletes he follows WADA regulations to the letter.
"The leak of theses records is an attempt to undermine the credibility of WADA and that's something for them to deal with."
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The files also show that Wiggins received three separate TUEs for Triamcinolone Acetonide during his time at Team Sky. He was granted permission for a 40mg intramuscular injection of the corticosteroid in June 2011, June 2012 and April 2013 – days ahead of the 2011 Tour de France, 2012 Tour de France (which he won), and 2013 Giro d'Italia, respectively.
The UCI implemented a no-needle policy in 2011, banning the use of injectable substances unless they were "medically justified based on latest recognized scientific knowledge and evidence based medicine."
The UCI requires any injections to be reported to them, and in the case of local injection of glucocorticosteroids like Triamcinolone acetonide, riders are prohibited from competing within 48 hours of the injection.
Wiggins supported the policy in 2011, but said the UCI was not obviously enforcing it.
In 2013, the 48-hour enforced rest was upped to eight days.
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Salbutamol, Formoterol, Budesonide and Fluticasone are all associated with the treatment of asthma.
Wiggins' certificates of approval for the Triamcinolone Acetonide doses - which can be used to combat allergic reactions - all note that he suffers from a lifelong pollen allergy and detail his symptoms, from 'nasal congestion', 'rhinorrea' and 'eye watering', to 'wheezing', 'throat irritation' and 'dyspnoea'.
"The Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) process, as set out by UK Anti-Doping, is 'a means by which an athlete can obtain approval to use a prescribed prohibited substance or method for the treatment of a legitimate medical condition'," Team Sky said in a statement on Thursday.
"Applications made by Team Sky for TUEs have all been managed and recorded in line with the processes put in place by the governing body. Team Sky’s approach to anti-doping and our commitment to clean competition are well known."
Patrick is a freelance sports writer and editor. He’s an NCTJ-accredited journalist with a bachelor’s degree in modern languages (French and Spanish). Patrick worked full-time at Cyclingnews for eight years between 2015 and 2023, latterly as Deputy Editor.