Agree that not much will happen for Froome / Ineos, having persisted through years of bad press already, and with relevance of Freeman / Sutton fading.
Freeman’s lawyer, Mary O’Rourke QC quoted in article:
“The GMC aren’t going to believe whatever he says, they are bent on saying it was doping,” she said.
Seems unusual (to me) for an attorney to both set out the defense strategy and predict in advance that it won't work. Her point probably is the same as yours, that someone wants blood... and so Freeman is going to come out of it worse off than the more-culpable people.
Freeman and Sutton square off, the former admits the drugs but says it wasn't for athletes, this is found implausible and at best, improper, after testimony by an endocrinologist... so Freeman gets some kind of sanction. Sutton continues to deny knowledge of the package, and in the absence of evidence, nothing happens. There is a hidden human cost and trail of wreckage in the lives of everyone affected, however. Far from unscathed.
The story is being promoted in the press as "stunning", "explosive", and similar superlatives but barring some major new revelations from other characters in the saga, will be anticlimactic
It seems significant in the way that you describe, in that it establishes a top-down supply chain. Maybe there was already 'proof' at Sky by the Tiernan-Locke case and TUE abuse, but those were not structurally the same
From Ineos staff website:
Team doctors: Neil Heron, Richard Usher, Derick MacLeod, Inigo Sarrieguil... these are the same people, so the medical core of Team Sky has not changed, just been rebranded. Meanwhile the Ineos roster is changing, and so an interesting question is: how a point of control for a doping program persists. It seemed like Froome, Wiggins, Thomas were compartmentalized to the point that they really may not have known what teammates were doing with doping methods. But who in management / physicians has knowledge of what, and where do those paths intersect ...
There has to be a balance-of-power that maintains silence as staff and riders leave a team. Dont' think Froome's situation will be changed by Freeman vs. Sutton