Blazin' Saddles: Sky's problems deepen while Tinkov signs off in style

You get the impression that Jonathan Tiernan-Locke had been biding his time carefully for the chance to get one over his former employers. Having been sacked by Team Sky for irregularities in his biological passport back in 2014 and subsequently thrown under the bus by British Cycling and UK Anti-Doping, Tienan-Locke sat out a two-year ban in relative obscurity – an arrest for drink-driving aside – before returning to cycling as an independent racer earlier this year.

But with Team Sky – whom he joined in January 2013 following his victory in the Tour of Britain months earlier – currently in the dog house following the Fancy Bears revelations into their use (and apparent abuse) of the TUE system, Tiernan-Locke has come out of the woodwork to offer his take on the situation.

Despite stressing he did not wish "to insinuate anything", Tiernan-Locke said that the timing of Sir Bradley Wiggins TUE – that's to say, ahead of his major Grand Tour goals in 2011, 2012 and 2013 – for the otherwise banned synthetic corticosteroid triamcinolone acetonide (Kenalog) looked both "odd" and "suspicious".

But more intriguingly, Tiernan-Locke re-opened old wounds by claiming that British Cycling offered riders the controversial painkiller Tramadol "freely" at the 2012 World Championships (won by the Belgian Philippe Gilbert at Valkenburg).

"I wasn't in any pain so I didn't need to take it, and that was offered freely around. It just didn't sit well with me at the time. I thought, 'I'm not in any pain', why would I want a painkiller?'" Tiernan-Locke told BBC sport.

Coming home in nineteenth place after being distanced by the big favourites on the final climb, Tiernan-Locke was nevertheless the best-placed from a nine-man British team that was made up of himself, seven Team Sky riders and one former Sky rider. Indeed, such was the Sky-centric nature of the squad that the British team even used the infamous Sky bus.

Included in the team alongside Tiernan-Locke and Wiggins was Chris Froome, who – along with another former Sky rider, the now-retired Canadian Michael Barry – has since confirmed using Tramadol before 2012 to treat painful conditions. In 2014 – and as part of their zero-tolerance mantra – Team Sky insisted that they had banned the drug (which is still not yet on WADA's banned list of substances) for the two previous seasons.

Tiernan-Locke's statement came after the Daily Mail revealed that UKAD is currently investigating Team Sky and Wiggins over the contents of a mysterious medical package that was allegedly delivered to the team bus on the final day of the Dauphine in June 2011. The substance, which has yet to be identified, is said not to have contained triamcinolone.

Both Wiggins and Team Sky deny any wrongdoing in the TUE case, insisting the 2012 Tour winner needed a drug banned in competition to combat asthma and allergy issues. The team has also issued a statement saying they are looking into the Daily Mail allegations.

Seeking out the opinion of the disgraced Tiernan-Locke was a logical thing for the BBC to have done. After all, the British rider – now 31 years old – is the only member of Sky to have been dealt a doping ban during his time on the British team, even if the irregularities in his biological passport predated Tiernan-Locke's time at Sky.

Given his abrupt end at Sky, you can forgive Tiernan-Locke for sticking the knife in. Indeed, if anything, you'd expect him to have twisted it a little further. What he actually said about Wiggins hardly took the TUE debate to fresh levels – and he is right to say that Sky, even if they have technically done nothing wrong, will see their image "tainted" somewhat by these revelations.

Once again, the tramadol quotes are hardly shocking: we knew this was a drug – legal, though controversial – that was widespread in the peloton and even among the British contingent. But linking its use so directly with British Cycling and Team Sky at this moment will only increase the spotlight on Brailsford and his kingdom.

And there's no denying that there is mounting pressure on Messrs Brailsford and Wiggins – plus all that they represent – with the latest Daily Mail investigation, which spread across four pages. Mystery packages being delivered to team buses: it all sounds very US Postal – which is exactly the same unwanted comparison that Sky's critics have made for years.

Unless this one is cleaned up soon then it could well rumble on and on. It's a hard act to keep on claiming this is a fireless smoke – especially when the fuel keeps on burning.

As for Tiernan-Locke, the man from Devon says his days riding professionally are over. After a few months of riding as an independent, Tiernan-Locke founded the Saint Piran team before notching a couple of low key victories on the amateur circuit. He says riding is just a "hobby" now – just as well, seeing that his 17-month drink driving ban still has a few weeks left to run.

Ahead of his Tinkoff team folding at the end of the season, Russian billionaire Oleg Tinkov gave one last frank and expletive-riddled interview with Cyclingnews during which he touched on his relationship with his former star riders, Alberto Contador and Peter Sagan.

Below are six quotes from the interview – just one of which is actually from Tinkov. Let's see if you can spot which one...

"Who cares if the old woman who likes to look at the French countryside can’t see the Tour anymore?"

"If I had a time machine I’d go back and spend the same money again."

"I don’t have a relationship with Contador. I respect him as a rider for his past but as a person he’s never really appealed to me. I don’t like him. Even in the team, most of the riders don’t like him, apart from his little Spanish group."

"Personally I think Alberto should stop riding because he's not as strong anymore. I think he’s going to be like a limping duck. He's going to look stupid. At the Vuelta he was dropped by the best four or five riders, next year it will be by the best 20 riders. I don’t think he’s ever going to win another Grand Tour. He should forget about it and quit."

"Contador never really wants to drink champagne and is always careful about what he eats because he’s focused on winning the Tour de France in July. That’s a stupid attitude, that’s why he kept crashing, he’s too hard on himself and too focused. Peter Sagan is more relaxed and is easy going. The guys who are always serious are always boring. They can f*** off. They’re boring guys, they have a terrible life."

"I think I have a big heart but I also speak my mind. I know I never tried to really hurt anybody. Everything I’ve done was to try to help cycling be better. Any criticism of my riders was to help motivate them. I think I was right to do that."

Any ideas? In fact, it was a trick question: Tinkov said all of the above. We're guessing he won't be on the Contadors' Christmas card list, then. All the best Oleg – and see you again when you get bored of yachts and skiing.