Bradley Wiggins and Sky are at the heart of an investigation into practices within the team in the early 2010s. -

Fabio Ferrari / AP / SIPA

Former Sky doctor Richard Freeman, who had always denied ordering testosterone to administer to runners, was found guilty on Friday of having done so for doping purposes by the General Council of British doctors, reports the BBC. 

This medical court ruled that Freeman, who was also the doctor for the UK cycling team, placed the orders "knowing or believing" that Testogel, a drug used in adult men to replace testosterone, "must be administered to an athlete to improve his athletic performance ”. 

Shadows over the Olympics and the Tour de France

This verdict will raise many questions about the past practices of the British team, which dominated the last Olympic Games, as well as the performance of the Sky team, which won six Tours de France between 2012 and 2018, thanks to Bradley Wiggins, Christopher Froome and Geraint Thomas.

Freeman admitted 18 of 22 charges relating to ordering the product, but denied purchasing it to administer to a runner.

He claimed that testosterone was ordered to treat the erection problems of the technical director of the federation Shane Sutton, which the latter denied. 

Freeman also implicated by the British Anti-Doping Agency

Freeman, whose trial has now been open for two years, is also implicated by the British Anti-Doping Agency (Ukad), which accuses him of "possession of prohibited products" and "disruption or attempted disruption of doping control. ".

In a report published in 2018, British parliamentarians accused Sky (now the Ineos team) of having used corticosteroids to improve the performance of its riders and not to treat them, in particular on the 2012 Tour de France won by Bradley Wiggins.

The court will sit again next week to determine the penalties Freeman will face and whether he will be found unfit to continue practicing medicine. 

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