Former Team Sky’s Doctor Suspended for Four Years in Doping Case Richard Freeman, who had been provisionally suspended since December 2020, has had his ban extended until 2024 as announced on Tuesday. Richard Freeman, the former doctor for Team Sky and the British cycling team, has been handed a four-year suspension by the British anti-doping agency. He had been accused of ordering testosterone for doping purposes back in 2011.
Dr. Freeman had been provisionally suspended in December 2020. His ban from all professional sports-related activities will now last until December 2024. The British anti-doping agency (UKAD) leveled two accusations against him: one for the possession of testosterone, a prohibited substance in cycling, and the other for falsification or attempted falsification of an element in an anti-doping control.
UKAD initiated an investigation in 2016 after receiving information regarding a potential violation of anti-doping rules during the 2011 edition of the Critérium du Dauphiné in France, a race that was won by Bradley Wiggins (riding for Team Sky at the time).
Sky’s Dominance in the 2010s Richard Freeman admitted to 18 out of the 22 charges brought against him, but he denied the central accusation regarding the ordering of Testogel, a hormonal treatment used to address symptoms related to testosterone deficiency. He claimed at the time that the testosterone had been ordered to treat the erectile problems of former performance director Shane Sutton, a claim that Sutton refuted.
The case cast a shadow over the British national cycling team, which had become a dominant force in the Olympics, as well as the former Team Sky, which had won the Tour de France multiple times in the 2010s.
According to Jane Rumble, the CEO of UKAD, the decision handed down on Tuesday “confirms that Richard Freeman violated the rules of British anti-doping. The rules are put in place to ensure that everyone contributes to keeping the sport clean and that all athletes are on a level playing field.”
