Wiggins asks for answers after investigation into 'jiffy bag' scandal dropped

The five-time Olympic champion and 2012 Tour de France winner has broken his silence on the infamous 'jiffy bag' scandal that has dragged on since the Fancy Bears hack revealed his medical records last September.

He also called the last year a "malicious witch hunt" and a "living hell for me and my family".

It was alleged that the parcel contained a banned substance – namely a corticosteroid – but Sir Dave Brailsford told a Commons select committee that the package was actually fluimucil, a legal decongestant.

The Fancy Bears hack had already revealed that Wiggins received three therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs) for the use of triamcinolone in advance of the 2011 and 2012 Tours de France, as well as the 2013 Giro d'Italia – three of the biggest races in his career.

Wiggins' use of TUEs were legal and, following none of British Cycling, Team Sky or UKAD Sport being able to prove either way what was in the package delivered to Wiggins in 2011, UKAD announced this morning that the investigation was closed and no charges would be brought.

"This period has been a living hell for me and my family, full of innuendo and speculation. At times it has felt nothing less than a malicious witch hunt," posted Wiggins in a statement on social media.

"Being accused of any doping indiscretion is the worst possible thing for any professional sportsperson, especially when it is without any solid factual basis and you know the allegation to be categorically untrue.

"I have kept my silence throughout this period to allow UKAD to conduct their investigation in the most professional way possible and so as not to undermine it.

"This is despite widespread and unfounded speculation in the press, being hounded on my door step and having commentators and professional riders wading in without knowing all the facts."

Wiggins' statement posed a number of questions of UKAD following their announcement on Wednesday morning.

The 37-year-old eight-time world champion, who is now training to be a rower, wants to know where the information to launch the investigation came from, what exactly was alleged, why UKAD treated it as credible, why it has taken UKAD so long to reach their conclusion and how much tax payers money has been spent on the investigation so far.

UKAD's statement said they would they would reopen the investigation if new evidence came to light.

It read: "Put simply, due to the lack of contemporaneous evidence, UKAD has been unable to definitively confirm the contents of the package.

"The significant likelihood is that it is now impossible to do so."

Wiggins, however, was unhappy with the comments from UKAD.

"To say I am disappointed by some of the comments made by UKAD this morning is an understatement," he added.

"No evidence exists to prove a case against me and in all other circumstances this would be an unqualified finding of innocence."

Wiggins ended his statement by requesting the media to give him and his family space and to respect their privacy.

Sportsbeat 2017