REVEALED: British riders had their doping samples retested while ex-Team Sky doctor Richard Freeman faced his medical tribunal, with UKAD trying to catch any potential cheats ahead of the Tokyo Olympics
- British riders have had their doping samples retested by UK Anti-Doping
- UKAD reanalysed 302 samples since January 2020, including 102 from riders
- Rise comes as Richard Freeman was struck off the medical register last month
- The ex-British Cycling and Team Sky doctor was found guilty of ordering a banned testosterone in 2011 ‘knowing or believing’ it was to dope a rider
British riders had their doping samples retested at the same time ex-British Cycling and Team Sky doctor Richard Freeman faced a medical tribunal.
UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) have released figures showing that they have reanalysed 302 samples since January 2020, including 102 taken from cyclists.
It is a significant ramping up of the agency’s retesting programme, as only 120 blood and urine samples of athletes — and only 39 of riders — were checked from January 2011 to January 2020.
Ex-British Cycling and Team Sky doctor Richard Freeman was found guilty at his medical tribunal of ordering a banned testosterone ‘knowing or believing’ it was to dope a rider
The rise in retesting comes as Freeman was struck off the medical register last month. He was found guilty of ordering banned testosterone in 2011 ‘knowing or believing’ it was to dope a rider.
UKAD are trying to catch any potential cheats from 2011 ahead of the Tokyo Olympics and before the 10-year statute of limitations ends, after which historic doping offences cannot be punished.
A UKAD spokesperson said: ‘When to reanalyse a sample is a decision which involves consideration of many factors including specific intelligence reports, developments in science and technology to detect prohibited substances and significant upcoming competitions.’
UKAD are currently under investigation by the World Anti-Doping Agency after the Mail on Sunday revealed that they allowed British Cycling to carry out their own probe into why a 2010 urine sample of a team rider contained traces of banned substance nandrolone.
British riders had their doping samples retested at the same time as Freeman’s tribunal
UKAD told the BBC that it couldn’t comment on individual test results and that: ‘Sometimes amounts of a “threshold substance” can be reported by the laboratory in a negative sample which are found to be below the threshold where an investigation is required.
‘These are trace amounts and can sometimes occur in the body naturally.
‘The guidance from WADA is that these trace findings may be used to help to decide who gets tested and when in the future, but does not automatically lead to an investigation.
‘We work within the WADA framework and are always happy to work with them if they ever require any further information from us on any of our activities.’
UKAD are trying to catch any potential cheats from 2011 ahead of the Tokyo Olympics