Dave Brailsford’s career before Man Utd – from doping denials to health scare

It wasn't all too long ago that Dave Brailsford was tasked with saving cycling on these shores, setting the goal of winning the Tour de France – the most famous race on the cycling calendar.

Before Brailsford and his Team Sky arrived on the scene, there had never been a Brit on the podium, let alone challenge for the coveted yellow jersey. However, fast forward to 2023, and only France, Italy, Belgium and Spain can boast more Tour victories than the UK.

Brailsford now looks set to face a task just as daunting – take Manchester United back to their seat at the top of the Premier League table. However, Brailsford's ascent to the top of the sporting hasn't come without its hiccups.

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The 1996 Olympics were a disaster for Team GB, with Matthew Pinsent and Steve Redgrave claiming Britain's only gold medal. Changes had to be made, and as lottery funding was introduced, Brailsford was also making his first moves into British Cycling.

By 2003 he was named as the programme director – and the good times started to roll. Medals poured in as Olympic heroes Bradley Wiggins and Jason Kenny became household names.

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However, all was not well in the British Cycling camp, with Brailsford being accused of bullying and sexism. Though Brailsford hit back at these claims in his column in The Times.

He said: "Reading some of the more lurid headlines in recent weeks, you could be forgiven for thinking that our Olympic and Paralympic cycling success was forged in a boot camp for bullies and sexists rather than a high-performance environment that nurtured world-class athletes to fulfil their potential.

“We were not sexist, we were medallist. That is what we pushed for an equal number of male and female events so our elite female athletes could have the same maximum chance of success as their male counterparts.”

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In 2010, Brailsford turned his attention away from the velodrome and onto the road. Backed by Sky, Brailsford was at the helm of the first British team to take on the Tour with the goal of crowning it's first British winner.

Wiggins was the chosen man, having finished fourth while riding for Garmin-Slipstream at the 2009 edition. Team Sky revolutionised cycling, dragging the sport into the 21st century with their 'marginal gains'.

"The whole principle came from the idea that if you broke down everything you could think of that goes into riding a bike, and then improved it by 1%, you will get a significant increase when you put them all together," he explained.

Brailsford had hoped to crown a British tour champion in ten years – he did it in two. During the 2012 edition of the event, Wiggins, flanked by Chris Froome, dismissed the challenge of Vincenzo Nibali as they broke the will of the Italian in the Alps and the Pyrenees.

The era of dominance from Team Sky was born. Chris Froome won the Tour four times, while Geraint Thomas shocked the world in 2018 to claim his sole victory. Colombian Egan Bernal won the 2019 edition, becoming the first non-British rider to win the Tour on the team.

Brailsford's world had drastically changed when Bernal became the youngest winner of the post-World War 2 era. He was now focusing solely on Team Sky, after stepping down from his role at British Cycling.

Team Sky had also been renamed INEOS-Grenadiers, as Sir Jim Ratcliffe purchased the team ahead of the 2019 lap of France.

However, Brailsford was now also embroiled in a doping scandal, centring on Wiggins. A suspect package was sent to Sky in 2011 to treat Wiggins, but the case was dismissed when UKAD couldn't find enough evidence to suggest what was in the package.

"There’s a rider, there’s a doctor. They agree to visit a consultant. The consultant’s report is pretty categorical in saying there is an issue here and I recommend the following medication," Brailsford said.

“That then goes to the anti-doping authorities. They say yes, we agree with this. Or they can say no. There are different steps to this process that should give us confidence. I believe in that process. I still do.”

However, in March 2018 the Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee published a report that concluded Team Sky had crossed an "ethical" line surrounding the use of triamcinolone in the build-up to the 2012 Tour.

In 2021, Brailsford was appointed as Director of Sport for INEOS, and his appearances at cycling races started to dwindle with his new role. And he admitted after battling health scares he might not be able to fulfil his role: “If I do have any further health issues, I won’t be able to continue.

“I’m pretty clear about that."

As INEOS' stranglehold on the cycling world has started to dwindle thanks to the emergence of Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, Brailsford has been at the centre of INEOS' project with Nice.

The 59-year-old was so dedicated to the role, he slept in a camper van at the training ground. This season, with the INEOS millions, Nice are the only unbeaten side in Ligue 1 and currently sit in second place.

Is Brailsford the man to get the Stretford End singing again? Sir Jim will certainly be hoping so.

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