Wiggins used powerful steroid to improve his power in Tour de France, MPs declare in explosive report

   LONDON, March 5 (Xinhua) -- A damning report Monday by British MPs into the use of drugs in sport has accused Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins of taking a powerful steroid to improve his performance in the 2012 race.

  In the report by the House of Commons Culture and Sport Select Committee, which came after a two-year inquiry, the MPs said from the evidence received by the committee regarding the use of the steroid triamcinolone at Team Sky, particularly in 2012, they believe the powerful corticosteroid was being used to prepare Wiggins, and possibly other riders supporting him, for the Tour de France.

  "The purpose of this was not to treat medical need, but to improve his power to weight ratio ahead of the race."

  It said an application for the therapeutic use of triamcinolone for Wiggins, ahead of the 2012 Tour de France, also meant he benefited from the performance enhancing properties of this drug during the race.

   "We believe that drugs were being used by Team Sky, within the WADA rules, to enhance the performance of riders, and not just to treat medical need."

   The committee report said there is overwhelming evidence of the widespread use of performance enhancing drugs in sport.

    "Some are illegal in any respect; others are legal, but are used in suspicious ways. Whether permitted for selective use or banned outright, performance enhancing drugs can have serious consequences for the integrity of sport and the wellbeing of individual athletes.

   "The huge increase in financial rewards for successful sports men and women carries the increased risk of incentives to use drugs to cheat. In particular, our inquiry has found acute failures in several different organisations in athletics and cycling: a failure to share appropriate medical records with anti-doping organisations; a failure to keep proper internal records of the medical substances given to athletes; and a failure to outlaw the use of potentially dangerous drugs in certain sports."

  Wiggins has rejected the findings of the committee which is made up of cross-party MPs from the British Parliament.

  The Guardian newspaper in London said the long-awaited report by the select committee is a potential death knell for Team Sky. The explosive report, added the Guardian, has suggested Team Sky and Wiggins used performance-enhancing drugs under the guise of treating a legitimate medical condition in order to win the 2012 Tour de France.

  The select committee report said its long inquiry highlighted the failure of sports bodies in their governance and policing of anti-doping rules.

   "The sporting bodies the committee has looked at have demonstrated poor record keeping and poor medicines policies. There should be tighter guidelines on the use of medicines that can affect performance," the politicians said.

   Their report added: "The committee in this report is calling for legislation to be introduced to criminalise the supply of drugs to sports people with intent to enhance performance."

  The committee said the official UK anti doping agency needs greater powers and resources to conduct investigations and enforce the rules. Enditem