Sir Bradley Wiggins: No 'unfair advantage' from using drug

Sir Bradley Wiggins has defended using a banned steroid with medical permission before his 2012 Tour de France victory, saying he did not gain an "unfair advantage" from an injection of the powerful anti-inflammatory drug triamcinolone.

In his first public comments since details of his medical history were leaked by Russian hackers, Sir Bradley said the drug was injected to treat asthma and "put himself back on a level playing field".

Triamcinolone, a corticosteroid, is banned under the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code because it is considered performance-enhancing, but can be administered with medical permission under a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE).

Three of Sir Bradley's TUEs for the drug were leaked by a hacking organisation calling itself Fancy Bears 10 days ago.

They revealed that he received injections while riding for Team Sky a few days before the 2011 and 2012 Tour de France, and the 2013 Giro d'Italia. In each case the race was his major target for the year.

The cyclist said that on each occasion permission had been granted under the regulations of cycling's governing body, the UCI, and WADA. There is no suggestion he or Team Sky have broken any rules.

Sir Bradley, who has always suffered from asthma, said his medical team recommended he take the drug to treat breathing difficulties.

"It was prescribed for allergies and respiratory problems," he told the BBC.

"This was to cure a medical condition. This wasn't about trying to find a way to gain an unfair advantage, this was about putting myself back on a level playing field in order to compete at the highest level."

Sir Bradley's representatives had previously said there "was nothing new" in the leaked material.

Questions have been raised, however, about an apparent contradiction with the account given of the 2012 Tour de France in his autobiography.

In it he denied ever having injections other than for rehydration or vaccination, and said he was in good health before the race.

Asked about the book, he said: "It was always a loaded question with regards to doping.

"Intravenous injections of iron, EPO etc, no one ever asked the question: 'Have you ever had an injection by a medical professional to treat or cure a medical condition?' There are two sides to that, and at that period of time it was very much with a doping emphasis in the question."

The 36-year-old's use of the drug has aroused comment within cycling, in part because triamcinolone was among the substances routinely abused in the last decade, prior to the exposure of Lance Armstrong as a serial cheat.

Sir Bradley acknowledged that in that era riders had "abused" the drug.

"Cycling has obviously been through a very turbulent period the last couple of years in the post-Lawrence Armstrong era, and obviously I won the Tour de France right at the height of that in 2012, and - and it's still an open wound in cycling and it will take many years to get over that," he said.

"Especially for the guys that are winning and competing and performing at the Tour de France.

"Whoever is leading in the sport at that time, and at the moment it's Team Sky, they're leading the way, and you know, they're ... setting the standard for everybody.

"And they're the best of what they do, and unfortunately when you're the best of what you do sometimes comes scrutiny. Especially in a sport that has a tainted history."

Team Sky has previously defended its use of TUEs, saying: "TUEs for Team Sky riders have been granted by the appropriate authorities and in complete accordance with the rules.

"This is a complex area given the obvious issues around medical confidentiality. There is a legitimate debate across sport on where best to draw the line on transparency.

"It is very rare that a rider needs a TUE and we have robust internal processes in place that we are confident in and which we constantly review.

"Team Sky's approach to anti-doping and our commitment to clean competition are well known."