Tribunal rules that British cycling doctor Dr Richard Freeman obtained drug to help rider dope

The reputation of British cycling was dealt a severe blow on Friday when a doctor involved in the country’s transformation into an Olympic superpower and the Tour de France-wining Team Sky was found to have covered up the order of a “drug of choice” intended to boost a rider’s performance. Dr Richard Freeman received the guilty verdict from Britain’s Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service following a lengthy investigation and hearings lasting two years into the discovery of the 2011 order of 30 sachets of testosterone gel to the Manchester Velodrome. No athlete was identified by the tribunal, which is set to determine next week whether Freeman can continue to work as a doctor as it considers sanctions. But Freeman has been suspended from working in sport after being charged by the UK Anti-Doping Agency with “possession of prohibited substances and/or prohibited methods and tampering or attempted tampering with any part of doping control.” The 18,300-word MPTS ruling issued in Manchester makes clear both the status of Freeman in sport and the magnitude of his offenses. “The team doctor for a team of elite cyclists and a member of the anti-doping working group, ordered a doping ‘drug of choice’ for that sport,” the ruling said. “Upon its arrival he was dishonest about why it had been sent, removed it from the Velodrome, and it was never seen again. The tribunal found that Dr Freeman has been dishonest in its regard ever since.” Freeman had tried to claim the package of the Testogel product was to treat former British Cycling performance director Shane Sutton’s erectile dysfunction, but that was denied by the Australian in testimony to the hearing in 2019. Freeman admitted to 18 of the 22 MPTS charges, including dishonest conduct by giving untrue information to UKAD, while contesting key charges he has been found guilty of about the purpose of the order to the base for both British Cycling and Team Sky. “Reflecting upon the totality of the evidence, the tribunal has determined that Dr Freeman placed the order and obtained the Testogel knowing or believing it was to be administered to an athlete to improve their athletic performance,” the ruling said. “Bearing in mind the breadth of Dr. Freeman’s dishonesty … the tribunal found his conduct incapable of innocent explanation,” the ruling added. Freeman was suspended by British Cycling in 2017 and resigned after eight years with the organization, saying he was too ill to face disciplinary action for poor medical record-keeping. By that time he had been part of great cycling successes at the Olympics where Britain won 12 medals in both the 2012 and 2016 Games, including eight golds in London and six in Rio de Janeiro. He also held a simultaneous role until 2015 at Team Sky, which produced Britain’s first Tour de France champion in 2012 when Bradley Wiggins triumphed. No riders were named by the tribunal as being involved in doping. In 2019, Team Sky was renamed after Ineos following a change of ownership from the satellite broadcaster to Jim Ratcliffe, who is the chairman of the chemicals giant.