Former British Cycling doctor lodges appeal

Richard Freeman, the former chief doctor for Team Sky and British Cycling, has lodged an appeal to clear his name after being permanently struck off the medical register last month, his legal team said on Thursday.

Freeman, who worked for Team Sky and British Cycling during a golden period of success between 2009 and 2017, was found guilty of ordering testosterone “knowing or believing” it to be for an athlete to improve performance.

He was charged with ordering 30 sachets of Testogel to the national velodrome in Manchester for an unnamed athlete in 2011 and admitted to destroying a laptop before passing it on to forensic experts conducting a UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) probe.

He had previously admitted to 18 of the 22 charges against him, including purchasing banned testosterone and lying to UK Anti-Doping, but denied the central charge of “knowing or believing” the Testogel was to be given to an unnamed rider.

“Mr Freeman is innocent of wrongdoing and we are confident that the truth will ultimately be recognised by the UK justice system,” his lawyer Graham Small said in an email.

Freeman, 61, said last month that he had “made plenty of mistakes” but was shocked at the verdict, claiming he was not a “doping doctor.”