Dope claim /Ex-british cycling chief ‘received drugs’ in Edinburgh toilet
Shane Sutton, the former performance director of British Cycling, received drugs in a Mcdonalds toilet in Edinburgh around the time of the 1986 Commonwealth Games, it has been claimed.
The accusation was made during a medical tribunal in Manchester called by the General Medical Council to assess former British Cycling and Team Sky doctor Richard Freeman’s fitness to practise.
Freeman’s barrister Mary O’rourke QC, has made several allegations against Sutton including that a current British Cycling coach used a Coke can containing urine to try to help Sutton cover up a doping offence during his riding career.
Sutton is a key witness but walked out of the tribunal on 12 November and has not returned, having denied O’rourke’s allegations that he is a “bully, a liar and a doper”. Sutton stated that he never tested positive in 100 tests during his career.
Yesterday O’rourke outlined the questions she had planned to put to Sutton if her cross-examination had continued, having been told the questions would be treated as “assertions, not evidence” by the tribunal.
A series of allegations then followed, the most serious being that a current British Cycling coach handed Sutton a can containing urine during an edition of the Tour of Ireland in an attempt to beat a dope test.
O’rourke said the pair were caught and their team withdrew from the race to prevent the matter being pursued. O’rourke also claimed that Sutton received drugs in a Mcdonalds toilet around the time of the 1986 Edinburgh Commonwealth Games.
O’rourke also claimed that Sutton had confessed to Dr Freeman that he used amphetamines as a rider and used his partner’s phone to verbally abuse Dr Freeman after the doctor had blocked his number.
O’rourke said she had a statement from 2008 Olympic champion Nicole Cooke and her father accusing Sutton of “bullying, dishonesty and other shady behaviour”.
Dr Freeman denies a GMC charge that he ordered testosterone gel knowing or believing it was for an athlete to improve performance, but admitted ordering the gel and lying to British Cycling colleagues about it.
Dr Freeman says Sutton bullied him into placing the testosterone order in May 2011, which Sutton denies.
Freeman also admitted charges related to recordkeeping and prescribing medicines to non-athlete members of staff.