We'll probably never know who, if anyone, took doping from Richard Freeman

Last week's ruling on the Richard Freeman doping case ended a near seven-year wait for justice, but left many unfulfilled. The doctor, formerly of British Cycling and Team Sky, was handed a four-year ban for his role in ordering a banned substance. The news should have brought a sense of closure, but instead left a lot of questions unanswered, the biggest of which being how could a doping violation have no dopees?

Throughout the investigation, the rider was treated as 'unnamed', meaning that it is unknown who it could be. There were no positive anti-doping tests, no admissions and crucially no proof of who, if anyone, used the Testogel. So what chance do we stand of ever finding out?

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There are, perhaps, only a handful of people who know who the drug was truly intended for, and Freeman is likely the best placed to say. Still, he is under no obligation to reveal names.

This stems in part from the fact that doping in sport is not a criminal offence in the UK. Yes, it is banned by the relevant sports authorities - in this case UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) - but there is no specific legislation against doping.

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