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CMS Doping in sport revelations/discussion

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thehog said:
Thumbs up! :)

Damian Collins: A truly independent body, that whistleblowers within sport can go to with confidence is needed @bbc5live

Why is Collins discussing this possibility ? The Government has the power to set up a whistle-blowing authority - Doubt any Government will be interested because it's not as useful as making grandiose statements, while sitting on your hands.
 
yaco said:
thehog said:
Thumbs up! :)

Damian Collins: A truly independent body, that whistleblowers within sport can go to with confidence is needed @bbc5live

Why is Collins discussing this possibility ? The Government has the power to set up a whistle-blowing authority - Doubt any Government will be interested because it's not as useful as making grandiose statements, while sitting on your hands.

The government could set it up, then Brailsford and Sutton can come along and lie to the like they did to Parliament.
 
The UK government is more interested in making laws against cyclist because of a lynch mob over a tragic death of a pedestrian after being hit by a cyclist, when the overwhelming danger to pedestrians is not from cyclist and often the killer wont go to jail
 
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Re:

fmk_RoI said:

Haven't seen this statement from "Team Sky whistleblower" before apols if already posted. Could be true could be a smokescreen. Worth reading for the comedy typos!

"Dear Damian

Subject: Team Sky British Cycling ethics and practice

As you can understand i am writing this email anonymously, i have been driven to write this because i was very disappointed by Dave B's and Shane's interviews with the select committee. I understand that Richard Freeman and Simon Cope have been invited for interview. I would like to provide you with some information that you may not be aware of.

I am providing information as a Sky insider unfortunately a lot of things i am saying will be difficult to substantiate without admission from Sky but hopefully will provide you with information that you may be able to get closer to the full truth.

To start with we need to look at the medical team at Sky and the ethics with in the team.

2010, two Dr's, David Hulse and Richard Freeman, both came from a non cycling background, Dr Steve Peters was head of medicine. The senior riders complained that the team did not do IV recovery. The thought at the time by some riders and some cycling Dr's was IV recovery was essential to cope with Grand tours. Dr David refused to give IV recovery and was sidelined for the 2010 TdF Richard Freeman was sent on a 'secrete' visit to South Africa to meet experts on recovery he agreed to give 'recovery' and worked the Tour. At the end of the season Dr David was sacked (paid off) publicly this was ascribed to the death of Txema. The team then engaged Fabio Bartolucci (interestingly he had been the personal coach of Nicole Cooke) and Geert Leinders. Fabio was brought in because he had special expertise in IV recovery and was reputed to being paid 200k for 100 days. In 2011 the needles ban came in just before the Giro and Fabio left quickly after that. At this time IV recovery was not a banned practice and it is only banned now in competition time.

Dave B has always looked at how the medical team can support performance in 2015 he hired Roger Palfreeman as a race Dr with a special focus on performance. Interestingly Roger had previously worked with UK anti doping and reported that they had a file on Dr Freeman questioning some of his practice. Up until recently Dr Freeman still provided some work for Sky and is the BC Dr. He still uses injectable recovery for the endurance track squad such as B12 but not during competition so no rules are broken this was not given on medical grounds

The controversy of the 'Jiffy' bag at the end of the 2011 Dauphine is simple this was just after the needles ban came in place earlier that year it was stated that individuals including Dr's being caught at cycle races with injectable equipment could face up to a 5 years prison sentence. The offence is only committed if used in 'competition' time if used the day after it is not an offence. The Jiffy bag would have contained flumacil as reported but it would also have contained needles and other injectable recovery products such as B12. As was reported flumacil can be used as a decongestant but in suspension it as also been injected, flumacil is a simple amino acid (n-actylecystine) which is essential for glutathione syntheses which is a powerful intracellular antioxidant and can aid recovery.

Under the current rules i do not think that there as been a breach however i do believe that TUE's were used tactically by the team to support the health of a rider with an ultimate aim of supporting performance. At that time there were regular rider review meetings and all details of the rider were discussed medical confidentiality was wavered (this is common practice in sport) and the seriousness of Brad's allergies were not discussed. The use of the Triamcinolone acetonide was never discussed in these meetings however it had been discussed out side of the rider review meetings as a general discussion because it had been used for years in cycling and the consensus was it would be in appropriate to use.

In 2012 The team was under extreme pressure to perform Dave B and Shane Sutton put a great deal of pressure on the medical team in particular Richard Freeman to provide more proactive medical support. Using TUE's was openly discussed in hushed voices as a means of supporting health and wellbeing.

During the 2012 TDF the Dr for the race was Allan Farrel he accompanied the British Road Team to the Fox Hills Resort to provide medical support for the squad during the camp which was used as the pre-olympic holding camp for the road Team. Richard Freeman was with the track Team. In between the end of the Tour de France and the start of the Olympics Mark Cavendish charted a private flight from Franham airport to see Richard for recovery. Again this was outside competition time so it was not illegal, but the ethics are very questionable.

Steve Peters was fully aware of every thing that was going on regarding the medical team at that time and interestingly for the London Olympics he was on the medical committee that approved TUE's .

Simon Cope unfortunately is just an unwitting porn in this, it is common practice to carry sealed packages around, however people are usually asked to take things when they are already traveling. The controversy here is Simon was sent as a specific courier. At that time the culture was if Shane told people to do something you just did it.

At the committee interview Shane hid behind trusting the medical team this is utter nonsense he directed the medical team he constantly bullied Richard Freeman

April 2017"
 
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...ling-doctor-jiffy-bag-scandal-richard-freeman

Freeman has not spoken publicly since UK Anti-Doping (Ukad) launched an investigation more than a year ago into the contents of a Jiffy bag delivered to Wiggins at the 2011 Critérium du Dauphiné. In a written statement to a parliamentary hearing, Freeman insisted the package contained only the decongestant Fluimucil but Ukad has still not been able to verify that claim because of the lack of medical records.

It is understood he was due to speak to Ukad as part of its continuing investigation two weeks ago but was not well enough to do so. British Cycling, which parted company with Freeman on 2 October, insisted it would continue to co-operate with the Ukad investigation. Freeman’s resignation removes an uncomfortable link with it and the doping suspicions swirling round Team Sky. Harrington, who took over from Ian Drake as chief executive of British Cycling in May, said she would have preferred to bring the matter to a more solid conclusion.

“We were investigating him on employment matters and Ukad were investigating him on doping matters,” she said. “After some months we were ready to continue with disciplinary action. Dr Freeman really wasn’t well enough to commence that and so we’ve allowed him to resign.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/richard-freeman-resigns-from-british-cycling/

The Telegraph reported that Freeman is suffering from 'stress-related issues' and is not expected to return to his post with British Cycling regardless of the outcome of a current investigation by UK Anti-Doping.

Good to see UKAD are still investigating but seems to be for show at the moment. Freeman and Salzwedel out, the house cleaning goes on.
 
Robert5091 said:
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...ling-doctor-jiffy-bag-scandal-richard-freeman

Freeman has not spoken publicly since UK Anti-Doping (Ukad) launched an investigation more than a year ago into the contents of a Jiffy bag delivered to Wiggins at the 2011 Critérium du Dauphiné. In a written statement to a parliamentary hearing, Freeman insisted the package contained only the decongestant Fluimucil but Ukad has still not been able to verify that claim because of the lack of medical records.

It is understood he was due to speak to Ukad as part of its continuing investigation two weeks ago but was not well enough to do so. British Cycling, which parted company with Freeman on 2 October, insisted it would continue to co-operate with the Ukad investigation. Freeman’s resignation removes an uncomfortable link with it and the doping suspicions swirling round Team Sky. Harrington, who took over from Ian Drake as chief executive of British Cycling in May, said she would have preferred to bring the matter to a more solid conclusion.

“We were investigating him on employment matters and Ukad were investigating him on doping matters,” she said. “After some months we were ready to continue with disciplinary action. Dr Freeman really wasn’t well enough to commence that and so we’ve allowed him to resign.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/richard-freeman-resigns-from-british-cycling/

The Telegraph reported that Freeman is suffering from 'stress-related issues' and is not expected to return to his post with British Cycling regardless of the outcome of a current investigation by UK Anti-Doping.

Good to see UKAD are still investigating but seems to be for show at the moment. Freeman and Salzwedel out, the house cleaning goes on.

yup...first the laptop and now its handler...lost from the evidence chain

looks and smells legit...what unparalleled bad luck sky/BC seem to have trying to appear clean :)
 
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Robert5091 said:
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...ling-doctor-jiffy-bag-scandal-richard-freeman

Freeman has not spoken publicly since UK Anti-Doping (Ukad) launched an investigation more than a year ago into the contents of a Jiffy bag delivered to Wiggins at the 2011 Critérium du Dauphiné. In a written statement to a parliamentary hearing, Freeman insisted the package contained only the decongestant Fluimucil but Ukad has still not been able to verify that claim because of the lack of medical records.

It is understood he was due to speak to Ukad as part of its continuing investigation two weeks ago but was not well enough to do so. British Cycling, which parted company with Freeman on 2 October, insisted it would continue to co-operate with the Ukad investigation. Freeman’s resignation removes an uncomfortable link with it and the doping suspicions swirling round Team Sky. Harrington, who took over from Ian Drake as chief executive of British Cycling in May, said she would have preferred to bring the matter to a more solid conclusion.

“We were investigating him on employment matters and Ukad were investigating him on doping matters,” she said. “After some months we were ready to continue with disciplinary action. Dr Freeman really wasn’t well enough to commence that and so we’ve allowed him to resign.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/richard-freeman-resigns-from-british-cycling/

The Telegraph reported that Freeman is suffering from 'stress-related issues' and is not expected to return to his post with British Cycling regardless of the outcome of a current investigation by UK Anti-Doping.

Good to see UKAD are still investigating but seems to be for show at the moment. Freeman and Salzwedel out, the house cleaning goes on.

Guardian article says Freeman didn't get a payoff - find that hard to believe

How did Brailsford get Freeman to be the fall guy with the protracted sicky blag if he didn't incentivise him with £££s (and of course the inevitable NDA)
 
Wiggo's Package said:
Robert5091 said:
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...ling-doctor-jiffy-bag-scandal-richard-freeman

Freeman has not spoken publicly since UK Anti-Doping (Ukad) launched an investigation more than a year ago into the contents of a Jiffy bag delivered to Wiggins at the 2011 Critérium du Dauphiné. In a written statement to a parliamentary hearing, Freeman insisted the package contained only the decongestant Fluimucil but Ukad has still not been able to verify that claim because of the lack of medical records.

It is understood he was due to speak to Ukad as part of its continuing investigation two weeks ago but was not well enough to do so. British Cycling, which parted company with Freeman on 2 October, insisted it would continue to co-operate with the Ukad investigation. Freeman’s resignation removes an uncomfortable link with it and the doping suspicions swirling round Team Sky. Harrington, who took over from Ian Drake as chief executive of British Cycling in May, said she would have preferred to bring the matter to a more solid conclusion.

“We were investigating him on employment matters and Ukad were investigating him on doping matters,” she said. “After some months we were ready to continue with disciplinary action. Dr Freeman really wasn’t well enough to commence that and so we’ve allowed him to resign.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/richard-freeman-resigns-from-british-cycling/

The Telegraph reported that Freeman is suffering from 'stress-related issues' and is not expected to return to his post with British Cycling regardless of the outcome of a current investigation by UK Anti-Doping.

Good to see UKAD are still investigating but seems to be for show at the moment. Freeman and Salzwedel out, the house cleaning goes on.

Guardian article says Freeman didn't get a payoff - find that hard to believe

How did Brailsford get Freeman to be the fall guy with the protracted sicky blag if he didn't incentivise him with £££s (and of course the inevitable NDA)

sky have such a large budget...... expenses to subcontractors' subcontractors' subcontractors....could easily get lost
 
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Coincidentally the 'whistle-blower' letter went onto the CMS web page the day after Theresa May announced the snap general election on 18 April, and some 4 months after DB and SS have given evidence.

That letter just doesn't seem to read correctly - I think more than one person has written/edited it an attempt to make it look like one individual 'whistle-blower'.

1. The factual intelligent - medical knowledge and account of facts eloquently put
2. The bad spelling -porn instead of pawn - sloppy given number (1) author
3. The spin doctor - using buzzwords such as bullying, powerful clearly pushing the bullying agenda

I am no forensic writing professor but it reads like 2, maybe 3 people have had a hand in it.
 
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TourOfSardinia said:
It says here: http://www.bbc.com/sport/cycling/41691267
Freeman has left the governing body without a financial settlement and was not asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
yeah
so he is a Free Man

So the BBC article says that Freeman didn't get a payoff from BC and BC didn't ask him to sign an NDA

No such confirmation in respect of Sky however and of course Freeman was employed by Sky at the time of the package incident

So can we infer that Freeman's payoff came from Sky and that he signed an NDA with Sky?

It would be a classic Brailsford move - use deflection tactics (no payoff from BC) to hide the awkward reality (payoff from Sky)
 
Re:

B_Ugli said:
Coincidentally the 'whistle-blower' letter went onto the CMS web page the day after Theresa May announced the snap general election on 18 April, and some 4 months after DB and SS have given evidence.

That letter just doesn't seem to read correctly - I think more than one person has written/edited it an attempt to make it look like one individual 'whistle-blower'.

1. The factual intelligent - medical knowledge and account of facts eloquently put
2. The bad spelling -porn instead of pawn - sloppy given number (1) author
3. The spin doctor - using buzzwords such as bullying, powerful clearly pushing the bullying agenda

I am no forensic writing professor but it reads like 2, maybe 3 people have had a hand in it.
Re the part I bolded - did we read the same letter? What you see as eloquence many others see as fevered gibberish.
 
Re: Re:

Wiggo's Package said:
TourOfSardinia said:
It says here: http://www.bbc.com/sport/cycling/41691267
Freeman has left the governing body without a financial settlement and was not asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
yeah
so he is a Free Man

So the BBC article says that Freeman didn't get a payoff from BC and BC didn't ask him to sign an NDA

No such confirmation in respect of Sky however and of course Freeman was employed by Sky at the time of the package incident

So can we infer that Freeman's payoff came from Sky and that he signed an NDA with Sky?

It would be a classic Brailsford move - use deflection tactics (no payoff from BC) to hide the awkward reality (payoff from Sky)

Also doctor/patient confidentiality was quoted at the hearings.
 
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Re: Re:

Robert5091 said:
Wiggo's Package said:
TourOfSardinia said:
It says here: http://www.bbc.com/sport/cycling/41691267
Freeman has left the governing body without a financial settlement and was not asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
yeah
so he is a Free Man

So the BBC article says that Freeman didn't get a payoff from BC and BC didn't ask him to sign an NDA

No such confirmation in respect of Sky however and of course Freeman was employed by Sky at the time of the package incident

So can we infer that Freeman's payoff came from Sky and that he signed an NDA with Sky?

It would be a classic Brailsford move - use deflection tactics (no payoff from BC) to hide the awkward reality (payoff from Sky)

Also doctor/patient confidentiality was quoted at the hearings.

Team Sky use doctor/patient confidentiality as a weapon of convenience

In the case of Freeman it was as you say the reason to stay silent

But in the Josh Edmondson case Sky's chief medic Steve Peters unilaterally waived doctor/patient confidentiality on the evening news because Sky needed to think up a reason why Edmondson's use of needles etc wasn't reported to the authorities
 
Josh purchased his own equipment. There was no doctor patient relationship. Josh was the doctor and the patient so no GMC rules broken by talking.

British Cycling invoice Sky for Freeman's services to Sky and Freeman will be self-employed invoicing British Cycling so Freeman is not PAYE employee as such. He will be employed like Cope was. i.e. self employed and keep his expenses separated between BC & Sky so BC accountant knows who pays what expense on the invoice he sends Tour Racing Ltd.
 
Re:

samhocking said:
Josh purchased his own equipment. There was no doctor patient relationship. Josh was the doctor and the patient so no GMC rules broken by talking.

British Cycling invoice Sky for Freeman's services to Sky and Freeman will be self-employed invoicing British Cycling so Freeman is not PAYE employee as such. He will be employed like Cope was. i.e. self employed and keep his expenses separated between BC & Sky so BC accountant knows who pays what expense on the invoice he sends Tour Racing Ltd.

There was a doctor patient relationship. The reason that they determined not to report the incident was that he was deemed to be 'ill' - indeed, Dr Peter's quote was "I suppose if I'm looking at safety issues I did think there was a really big risk this lad would be pushed over the edge. I stand by my decision...He is making very poor decisions because he is not well, and therefore we need to treat him first of all and then get to the bottom of it. But actually to put him through some kind of investigation or disciplinary at that point could've been very serious and damaged this lad's health."

They claim they decided not to report for fear of his mental health. Then they discussed his mental health to defend their position. Now, presumably he'd already published his own story by then, but I would be curious to hear from a doctor whether or not this means you are permitted to discuss the patient, or whether you still need to clear it with the patient before doing so.

Re. Freeman's position - do you know that he contracted to Sky via BC using, presumably, back to back contracts or just presuming? If he were a freelancer, he'd be perfectly able to invoice directly - cheaper for Sky, less administrative complications re. expsenses etc., liabilities much much clearer in the event of failure to perform, lower risk falling foul of tax man.
 
Re:

Robert5091 said:
http://inrng.com/2012/08/team-sky-budget-accounts/
... almost everyone working for the team does so as a “contractor”, selling their services to the team. This practice is common on many “anglo-saxon” teams as it puts the burden of paying payroll taxes on the rider or staff member, therefore allowing the team budget to stretch further.

This is still the norm at Sky I believe.

Ta. But still not clear if contract out via BC or via Freeman as individual.
 
Re:

Robert5091 said:
http://inrng.com/2012/08/team-sky-budget-accounts/
... almost everyone working for the team does so as a “contractor”, selling their services to the team. This practice is common on many “anglo-saxon” teams as it puts the burden of paying payroll taxes on the rider or staff member, therefore allowing the team budget to stretch further.

This is still the norm at Sky I believe.
It's the way many businesses run: most everyone's a self-employed contractor, only needed when needed. This works for the riders all the way down to the mechanics (and it's not just about tax dodging by the employer - the employee can also be tax dodging, or the employer can simply be saving having to have someone on the books for twelve months of the year when they're really only needed for three or four).
 
Re:

samhocking said:
Josh purchased his own equipment. There was no doctor patient relationship. Josh was the doctor and the patient so no GMC rules broken by talking.

British Cycling invoice Sky for Freeman's services to Sky and Freeman will be self-employed invoicing British Cycling so Freeman is not PAYE employee as such. He will be employed like Cope was. i.e. self employed and keep his expenses separated between BC & Sky so BC accountant knows who pays what expense on the invoice he sends Tour Racing Ltd.

Are you yourself a PAYE worker with sky/BC or do you invoice them directly for services rendered? Surely your consistent staunch defence of all things sky/BC cannot go unrewarded.
 
Re:

samhocking said:
Josh purchased his own equipment. There was no doctor patient relationship. Josh was the doctor and the patient so no GMC rules broken by talking.

British Cycling invoice Sky for Freeman's services to Sky and Freeman will be self-employed invoicing British Cycling so Freeman is not PAYE employee as such. He will be employed like Cope was. i.e. self employed and keep his expenses separated between BC & Sky so BC accountant knows who pays what expense on the invoice he sends Tour Racing Ltd.
Sam you have a very fertile imagination.
 

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