The revelation that use of the drug triamcinolone by Bradley Wiggins and Team Sky was 'unethical' is the most incredible aspect of an explosive new Parliamentary report, according to the Daily Mail's Matt Lawton.
Matt joined Ger and Eoin on the line on OTB:AM to discuss the 'Combating doping in sport' report published by the Digital, Culture, Media & Sport Committee in UK Parliament. Matt was also one of the first journalists to go to print with allegations against former Tour winner Wiggins, as well as castigating Dave Brailsford and Team Sky for their roles in a debacle which further damages the reputation of the sport.
"I actually think that the biggest thing in that report is the admission by [Shane] Sutton [former Team Sky head coach] that the the use of triamcinolone was 'unethical'. I thought that was the absolute stand-out quote of the whole report - I thought it was incredible. From what I understand, people at [Team] Sky are shaken by that."
Sutton was key to Bradley Wiggins' 2012 Tour de France success, and Matt believes that this not only undermines the credibility of the win itself, but of the entire management structure of Team Sky.
"What you have is a man who masterminded Wiggins' success, coached him to that Tour title - took him from a guy whose going out the back door, finishing 24th in his first year at Sky, and won it in 2012. He's also [Dave] Brailsford's right hand man. Nothing happened at Team Sky without those two people knowing, and one of them has broken ranks by talking to the Committee and admitting that it was unethical.
"I think [...] that [Wiggins] will not be able to escape what his coach and mentor has said. Read the Wiggins book from 2012 - 'My Time' - Shane Sutton is a central player in the story. He is someone that Wiggins describes as absolutely crucial to his success, and he is conceding now that it is unethical. It might not have broken any WADA rules technically, but it is unethical.
Matt believes that there will be far-reaching consequences for Team Sky as a result.
"Given that the ethics of the team is central to their image, central to what they're supposed to be about, central to the dream that Brailsford sold to everybody in 2010 - I think that kills them."
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