Dear Bradley,
When you signed my copy of your book, you wrote "All the best, mate". See? We're mates. You wrote it yourself, then signed it. I'm still waiting for you to turn up at my door in your kit on a Sunday to go for a ride, but hey, you're a busy man. I understand. You've got me in your diary somewhere, I'm sure.
The point I'm trying to make, Bradley, is that you're among friends here. You have a huge and loyal following. Even people who don't follow cycling, and couldn't name a single other cyclist, can name you. And they love you. You're one of our Jubilympic 'Eroes. You're (yeah I know, sorry) a National Treasure. So you see, Bradley, nobody, apart from a few demented Russkies, is out to get you. We celebrate your achievements with you. We support you when you race. We tell our kids about you. We believe in you.
So make no mistake, Bradley, when you say you've never taken a banned substance without permission, we absolutely, 100% believe you. Firstly, because, no-one, not even The Demented Russkies, has ever come up with any evidence that you have. Secondly, because you undoubtedly have integrity and decency. And thirdly, because if we didn't believe in our heroes, what would be the point in watching cycling any more?
Yep, don't worry Bradley. When your PR, and Team Sky, make statements that you've always followed the letter of the rules, we're with you, man. But the thing is, Bradley, when we signed up to you, and Team Sky, as fans, and put our trust and faith in you, we expected you to follow not just the letter of the rules, but the spirit of them too. And that's where we, your fans, are getting a little shaky right now.
We need a little reassurance, Bradley. We have some questions for you. The other day, you recorded an interview with Andrew Marr. It's going to be on TV in the morning. These are the questions we're hoping you'll answer:
1. What were the clinical reasons for your three Therapeutic Use Exemptions for intramuscular triamcinolone, and why was there no alternative to injecting this potent steroid?
2. How do you account for the coincidence that all three occasions you've required TUEs for intramuscular injections of triamcinoclone have been immediately before major races? That is, the 2011 Tour de France, the 2012 Tour de France, and the 2013 Giro D'Italia?
3. If the triamcinoclone injections were prescribed to you as therapy for asthmatic pollen allergy, why have you not required them, in or out of competition, before or since?
4. In your book, you write about how healthy you'd felt before the 2012 Tour de France. Had you been so ill you'd required an injection of triamcinoclone just before the biggest race of your life, this surely would have been a significant crisis, a memorable and traumatic event, and something to include in your book. Why isn't it in there?
5. In your book, you state that you'd complied with Team Sky's "no needles" policy by not having injections. Now, it turns out that you've had several. These injections weren't illegal: they were under TUEs. Why would you not have disclosed these in your book, instead of giving the impression that you'd never used needles?
Tomorrow's a Sunday, Bradley. At 9am on a Sunday morning, I'd normally be out on my bike in the Pennines, leaning into the climbs, imagining I'm you, dropping my rivals on an Alpine slope. But not this Sunday. Because tomorrow morning at 9am, I'll be in front of the television, watching you. My sons will be with me. My eldest, aged 8, worships you. He even has a Wiggins bike.
We'll be there, Bradley, listening. And it'd better be good.
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