Team Sky boss Sir Dave Brailsford has defended Sir Bradley Wiggins for using an anti-inflammatory drug around the time of his 2012 Tour de France victory.
Russian hacking group 'Fancy Bear' recently released details of Wiggins's medical records, which included three therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs) - permission to use otherwise banned substances for medical reasons.
The 36-year-old, who has won five Olympic gold medals in his career, had corticosteroid triamcinolone injections in 2011, 2012 and 2013 to help with allergies and respiratory problems.
The cyclist has insisted that he did not gain an "unfair advantage" by using the steroid, and now Brailsford has given his support to Wiggins.
"Abuse is the key word," Brailsford told Sky News. "People have abused it in the past, but the question was, is there a genuine medical need, and given the process and the integrity of the process - there was a doctor and authorities who approved this - I didn't see any need to question this. I felt I could trust it.
"I get fierce scrutiny most of the time at British Cycling and Team Sky, whenever you perform well in our sport people put you under the microscope and we have had that time and time again at various stages of the way.
"What I can tell everybody is that we are doing it the right way. It is 100% a clean operation, we always look at the right thing to do and have policies and process to make sure that we perform in the right way and people can believe in us."
Brailsford also revealed that Team Sky will publicly disclose any TUEs if the riders consent.
Danielle Joynson
