Lizzie Armitstead: Why I am no drugs cheat

I am writing this statement in my own words, something I have wanted to do from the very beginning.Understandably people have questions which I want to answer as openly and honest as I can. I hope people understand that speaking with journalists is a necessary part of my job, speaking directly to the public in a statement like this, which has not been ghost written or moulded by somebody else is unheard of.

I want to take responsibility for this message, this is my life and not a game of headlines. I want to state the facts but also try to explain my situation further. I believe I owe this statement to sports fans, people who love sport like I do.

As an 18-year-old schoolgirl I was introduced to the whereabouts system, nine years ago. Since then the system has evolved and developed, post October 2015 I recognised this and requested further education from Ukad, I will come back to this later.

By submitting my whereabouts I am consenting to people coming into my house or hotel and taking blood and urine samples. This is a part of my sport that I accept and wholeheartedly support.

To add some background before I explain the specific details of my three “strikes”.

I have been tested 16 times in 2016.

I have a clear and valid blood passport (a more detailed use of looking for doping violations by looking for trends versus anomalies in my blood values).

I have been tested after every victory this season.

I am on the road for around 250 days a year, with around 60 race days.

I have never tested positive for a banned substance.

I have never taken a banned substance.

I will present the facts of my three “strikes”.

Sweden: August 20, 2015

Ukad are allowed a maximum of two weeks to inform you of a “strike”. When I received the letter from Ukad I immediately contested it with a written explanation, this was not accepted on the eve of me travelling to America for my world championships. I had no legal advice or external support at the time.

Last week: CAS ruled quickly and unanimously in my favour and cleared me of any wrong doing, because:

I was at the hotel I stated.

The DCO didn’t do what was reasonable or necessary to find me.

I was tested the next day, this test was negative.

Calling an athlete’s mobile phone is not a method approved by Ukad to try and locate an athlete, as such it is not an argument against me that I slept with my phone on silent in order not to disturb a room mate.

Put simply I was available and willing to provide a sample for Ukad.

Second ‘strike’: October 2015

Despite being reported as a ‘missed test’ this was in fact a ‘filing failure’.

Ukad did not try to test me, instead this was an administrative spot check. They found an inconsistency between an overnight accommodation and a morning time slot.

A busy post world championship period meant I had no firm plans and as such was changing address and plans very quickly. I made a mistake. This was an honest mistake rather than trying to deceive anybody. A mistake that many athletes who are honest with themselves will admit to having made themselves. I was tested by Ukad later that week and produced a negative result.

In December 2015, I met with Ukad and British cycling to discuss a support plan in order to avoid a third potential ‘strike’.

Simon Thornton from British Cycling was put in place to check my whereabouts on a bi-weekly basis. We had regular contact and he would help me with any problems, effectively he was a fail-safe mechanism. Since meeting with Ukad my whereabouts updates have been as detailed and specific as they can possibly be. Going as far as I can in describing my locations to avoid any further issues.

Unfortunately, this system fell apart on June 9 when Ukad tried to test me in my hour slot and I was not where I had stated I would be.