Team Sky doctor to release tell-all book unveiling the medical science behind British cycling success
Richard Freeman has decided to tell his own story about the medical practices used to help British athletes to success
A lot of unanswered questions remain from Team Sky and British Cycling regarding their use of medical substances to treat their riders and enhance performance. Ahead of the 2018 Tour de France, some of those questions could be answered with the release of a new book by doctor Richard Freeman.
Freeman was employed by British Cycling and Team Sky between 2009 and 2015. He was at the center of the investigation into a jiffy bag containing medical substances sent to Bradley Wiggins during the 2011 Critérium du Dauphiné. Freeman was called to answer questions before a British parliamentary Select Committee into combating doping in sport but failed to testify for medical reasons and was also responsible for losing important medical records from his laptop that he says was stolen during a vacation in Greece.
In his book The Line: Where Medicine and Sport Collide set to release June 18, he intends to open up about some of these mysteries.
“In The Line, Dr Freeman reveals the medical principles and practices that helped lead these athletes to success – ideas that we now consider commonplace, but many of which were in fact the doc’s own innovations,” the publisher wrote in a statement about the upcoming book.
“In a sport where there’s an ethical line as well as a finishing line, Dr Freeman gives a frank and open account in response to allegations of misuse of medical treatment to enhance performance,” it continued.
While many will be very curious to see what the book contains, Team Sky and Chris Froome will surely have more questions to answer when they line-up at the 2018 Tour de France on July 9. As for members of the parliamentary committee who were denied questioning Freeman, they will be looking at the contents of the book.
“It is disappointing that Richard Freeman wants to tell his story, rather than be questioned about it in front of the committee,” Select Committee chair Damian Collins told The Telegraph. “We will take a close Âinterest in anything he says which is Ârelated to our inquiry and report.”
Team Sky have endured years of tough questions and Chris Froome who won the Giro d’Italia but is currently trying to explain away an adverse analytical finding for Salbutamol from the 2017 Vuelta a España.
