My own personal opinion, which is all it is, is that Leinders was dirty and Brailsford knew this perfectly well. Whether he hired him for his doping or not, is still to be determined. There seems to be an belief that the likes of Leinders and Ibarguren went to medical school and specialised in EPO and its uses and that they walk around their teams with a syringe permanently in their hands. That's not the case. They're doctors whom, in addition to the dirty stuff, apply genuine medical practice and, having experienced the non-doping, physiological and medical requirements of elite professional cyclists at first hand for years, will be expert in their treatment - more so than your next GP off the block. Unless, that is, you believe that athletes who ride 3000 miles in 3 weeks, at 40 km/h, have the same needs as your average man on the street. I've never done that myself, but I can see that their needs might be different. Every other sport hires medical specialists with experience of treating athletes from that particular sport. And yet people expect cycling teams to hire your average GP with no experience! DB's biggest problem was finding a doctor with the relevant experience, but without the baggage. His biggest mistake was simply not admitting that this couldn't be done.