Report: No sanctions for Sky’s Dauphiné mystery package delivery
A British media report claims Sky will not be slapped with citations or sanctions stemming from the 2011 incident.
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A two-month investigation conducted by UK Anti-Doping into a mystery package delivered to Team Sky and Bradley Wiggins at the 2011 Critérium du Dauphiné is set to conclude soon without any citations or sanctions, according to a report in The Times.
The investigation stems from the delivery of a package containing an unidentified medical item or substance to La Toussuire by British Cycling staff member Simon Cope. Cope has stated that he did not know what was in the package, and when questioned directly by The Cycling Podcast, Team Sky principal Dave Brailsford declined to divulge what the package contained.
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Brailsford initially stated that Cope traveled to France to deliver the package to British cyclist Emma Pooley, but Pooley was in Spain at the time. Sky later admitted that the package was destined for Team Sky at the Dauphiné.
Team Sky, Wiggins, and Cycling have denied wrongdoing.
According to the Times report, Team Sky and British Cycling will face no formal sanctions but could still be reprimanded by UK Anti-Doping. The reprimand would center on concerns over the documentation and transportation of medicine.
The story of Cope’s package delivery surfaced shortly after the release of confidential Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) documents that showed Wiggins had injected triamcinolone, a corticosteroid, just before three major grand tours, including the Tour de France he won in 2012. Those documents were released by The Fancy Bears hacking group along with dozens of TUEs from other athletes in multiple sports.