Two former professionals depart from British team
Two days after the team’s race coach Bobby Julich left Sky Procycling after admitting hat he had used doping products during his career, two other officials are also thought to have been shown the door.
A source with knowledge of the situation told VeloNation on Friday about the news, and this now appears to be confirmed by the Daily Telegraph. It stated that former British pro Sean Yates and former Dutch professional rider Steven De Jongh were also removed from the roster, with both presumably also admitting to banned substance use in the past.
Yates raced as a professional from 1982 to 1996, debuting with Peugeot and then competing for Fagor, 7-Eleven and Motorola. After his retirement, he became a directeur sportif and was part of the management of the Discovery Channel team between 2005 and 2007. As part of the latter role, he worked with Lance Armstrong during his final season prior to his retirement in 2005.
Yates was part of the Motorola team at a time when former team-mates Frankie Andreu and Tyler Hamilton said a decision was made by Armstrong and others to use banned substances. He was also part of the management setup at Discovery Channel when multiple witnesses stated that doping was a major part of the team.
However earlier this month he insisted to BBC radio 5 Live that he saw nothing at all of suspicion during his six years alongside Armstrong.
“It’s all pretty damning for Lance and the whole history of his seven Tour wins, and beyond. My opinion is one of disappointment, I’m upset, really. [I’m shocked] at the depth of the whole system. I worked with Lance but never had any indication this practice was going on…it is disappointing,” he said.
“I was there in 2005, for his last Tour win, and before then I was working with another team. I’d turn up, I’d drive the car in the Tour de France, and I never saw an indication of anything dodgy going on. I used to go out in the morning, go out on my bike, go back, drive the car, and call the tactics now and then, but I never saw anything untoward.”
However it appears that an investigation by Sky Procycling has resulted in an admission, and his time with the team has come to an end.
The same is thought to be the case with de Jongh, who competed with the TVM, Rabobank and Quick Step teams. It is not yet clear what he has told Brailsford, but he was part of the TVM team during the 1998 Tour de France.
The squad was suspected of systematic doping and its riders ultimately withdrew from the event.
Following the publication of USADA’s report into doping on the US Postal Service and Discovery Channel teams, Brailsford said that a zero tolerance policy for riders and staff would be enforced.