Knight errant?

Wiggins’ rushed arrival on to The Andrew Marr Show, soon after the Fancy Bears’ revelations last September, was an opening salvo aimed directly at his own feet. Marr’s ignorance of professional cycling quickly became apparent and Wiggins’ reputation suffered further damage, this time self-inflicted; a man acting with indecent haste.

Unpalatable as it might be to the cycling fan, British Cycling, Team Sky, and, yes, even Wiggins, have made a hash of the entire process

The sense he was given an easy ride was keenly felt by the cycling press, but Wiggins should receive proper credit for sitting down with Guardian journalist William Fotheringham, the ghost writer of My Time, Wiggins’ 2013 book, in which the rider claimed he had only ever had injections for vaccination, illness or dehydration.

Brailsford, British Cycling and the Select Committee debacle

If Wiggins’ stance has at least been partially successful – he has, as noted, remained largely above the fray – then that is more than can be said for British Cycling.

The performances of the federation’s former chairman Bob Howden (inexplicably, still its president) and its former technical director Shane Sutton were disastrous. Howden was accused by MPs of incompetence, while Sutton, pugnacious as ever, found the House of Commons a very different environment to the Manchester Velodrome.

MPs did, however, learn from Sutton the package delivered by Cope to the Team Sky bus after the final stage of the 2011 Dauphiné was for then team doctor Richard Freeman, and that Freeman had administered its contents to Wiggins.

Sutton’s unswerving preference for blunt truths, a highly effective tool in velodrome, but a weapon in the hands of those with more subtle agendas, served him poorly.

Sky fall

It is the testimony of Team Sky principle Sir Dave Brailsford, however, that has more serious ramifications.

His assertion that Dr Freeman had told him that the ‘mystery package’ contained the decongestant Fluimucil has raised more questions than answers, not least with British Cycling lacking the documentary evidence to back up the claim.

Why would Team Sky send to Manchester for an over-the-counter medication available in almost any French pharmacy, and probably within a short drive of the Dauphiné’s finish in La Toussuire?

Additionally, the care Brailsford had taken to place himself at arm’s length from the revelation – framing his testimony to the Select Committee merely as what he had been told by Freeman – smacked of a smooth operator operating too smoothly; a team principal refusing to let the buck stop with him.

What next for Wiggins?

So what next for Sir Bradley Wiggins? The truth is that his reputation, in Britain at least, is unlikely to suffer any long-term damage, despite the serious failings uncovered at British Cycling and Team Sky.

Today, Fleet Street has taken a day off from the Premier League to froth about cycling, but tomorrow it will be the usual fare of Rooney to China, Ranieri Betrayed, Wenger Out etc.

Institutions are easier to attack than individuals, and the likes of Brailsford, Sutton, Howden and Freeman are softer targets than a national hero, even if they are deserving of the criticism that has come their way.

Only Cope can accurately be described as a ‘patsy’. Stitched up? Yes, and by MPs too, Mr Matheson.

Does any of this mean Wiggins has got off lightly? No. If his reputation survives intact it’s because he has earned respect, not only for his athletic achievements, but in the way he conducts himself. True, his relationship with the media can be fractious, but bump into him in a lift, or queuing up for breakfast in the team hotel, and you’ll meet a refreshingly down-to-earth character.

Will we see him as mentor to Team WIGGINS and founder of a companion women’s team? Let us hope so. Will we see him again on The Jump? Let’s hope not.

Will we see him before a Select Committee? Who knows? Wiggins is likely always to remain a mercurial figure, unpredictable and occasionally frustrating, but very much his own man.