CYCLING RUN BY MEN FOR MEN!!

Nicole Cooke won the Olympic road race in Beijing in 2008 Ex-Olympic champion Nicole Cooke says she is "sceptical" of Team Sky's drug-free credentials and Sir Bradley Wiggins' therapeutic use exemptions. Wiggins was granted three TUEs to take anti-inflammatory drug triamcinolone before the 2011 and 2012 Tour de France and the 2013 Giro d'Italia. "Taking TUEs just before major events raises questions for me," said Cooke. Cooke also told MPs British Cycling is run "by men for men" and its attempts to stop doping are "ineffective". Wiggins' TUEs were approved by British authorities and cycling's world governing body the UCI, and there is no suggestion either the 36-year-old or his former employers Team Sky have broken any rules. Cooke, 33, made the claims in evidence submitted to a Culture, Media and Sport select committee on Tuesday. The committee is examining doping in sport and Tuesday's session was held to discuss issues raised at a hearing involving British Cycling and Team Sky in December. In a wide-ranging testimony, Cooke provided examples of sexism she had encountered in her 13-year career, stating British Cycling shows "discrimination and favouritism" because it is "answerable to itself". The Welsh former world and Commonwealth cycling champion added that the fight against doping is "the wrong people fighting the wrong war, in the wrong way, with the wrong tools". British Cycling is the subject of an investigation by UK Anti-Doping into allegations of wrongdoing in the sport. The national federation is also awaiting the findings of an independent review into an alleged bullying culture. Wiggins' TUE timing 'disturbing' Five-time Olympic champion Wiggins was granted a TUE to treat asthma and allergies, which was revealed when hacking group Fancy Bears released athletes' medical files stolen from the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada). Cooke compared her use of the steroid triamcinolone with that of Wiggins, stating she was granted a TUE for injections of the drug to treat a career-threatening knee injury as an alternative to surgery. She says she did not race again until "long after the performance-enhancing effects had worn off", and she added that Wiggins appeared to use the "same steroid before his main goals of the season". Cooke added she found the chronology of Wiggins' TUEs "disturbing" and that it makes her "sceptical" of what Team Sky have done. The team was launched in 2010 with a zero-tolerance approach towards doping in cycling.***prbxselfnetwork***