Who is Bradley Wiggins, what drug did he take, does the Tour De France winner have asthma and what are the doping claims?
FIVE-time Olympic gold medallist Sir Bradley Wiggins has been forced to deny he cheated and claims he is the victim of a smear attempt.
A report by MPs accused him of "crossing an ethical line" by using allowed drugs for sports enhancement, rather than medical purposes, during the 2012 Tour de France. Here's what we know...
Who is Wiggins, where is he from and what's his net worth?
With his sardonic humour and love of British musical icons, he seems the quintessential Brit but Wiggins was actually born in Ghent, Belgium, on 28 April 1980.
His mother Linda moved the family to north-west London after his father Gary, an Australian professional cyclist, left abruptly when Bradley was two.
The Tour de France winner endured a fractious relationship with his father, who had problems with alcohol and drugs, and even served jail time.
They went 14 years without contact, and when Gary collapsed and died after a fight at a house part in Australian in 2008, his son did not attend his funeral.
Wiggins did mention his father following his final victory, which he achieved alongside fellow British cycling legend Mark Cavendish.
"I always think of my dad when I’m in here," he said. "He was a terrible father but I still idolise him as a bike rider because I wouldn’t be here without him."
Britain's "Knight Rider" is worth around £13million, according to .
In 2016, he announced a multi-million pound deal with Skoda which was also expected to benefit his other brands and riding team.
What is Bradley Wiggins and Team Sky accused of?
The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) sports committee says Team Sky gave Wiggins, 37, anti-inflammatory drug triamcinolone at the 2012 Tour de France - which he won.
"Drugs were being used by Team Sky, within World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) rules, to enhance the performance of riders," the damning report claimed.
It claims Team Sky "abused" the system of "Therapeutic Use Exemption" (TUE) to improve his "power-to-weight ratio" rather than use the drug medically.
"This does not constitute a violation of the World Anti-Doping Agency code," the report said. "But it does cross the ethical line that David Brailsford says he himself drew for Team Sky."
What did Wiggins tell the BBC?
In his first interview since the allegations were made, Wiggins said he "100 per cent" did not cheat.
"Not at any time in my career did we cross the ethical line," he told the BBC. "I refute that 100 per cent... This is malicious, this is someone trying to smear me."
He added: "[Cycling] is the most scrutinised sport in the world. I can't control what people are going to think but for some people, whatever you do it is not going to be enough. I just don't know any more in this sport - you are damned if you do, damned if you don't.
"The widespread effect it has had on the family is just horrific. I am having to pick up the pieces with the kids - I would not wish it on anyone."
What is triamcinolone and could it be used to treat Wiggins' asthma?
Triamcinolone is a synthetic glucocorticoid, a corticosteroid used to treat various allergies, inflammations and autoimmune disorders, as well as asthma.
In its 2014 Prohibited List, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) banned it from competition "when administered orally, intravenously, intramuscularly or rectally".
Questions were raised over Wiggins' use of TUEs, which allow athletes with serious conditions to take banned substances, after his medical history was leaked by hackers in 2016.
The Fancy Bears group revealed files which showed he took six TUEs banned by WADA throughout his career.
It included three intramuscular injections of triamcinolone which were supposedly used to treat hay fever shortly before the 2011 and 2012 Tour de France races.
And in 2008, he was allowed to take salbutamol (which has since been legalised), formoterol and budesonide to treat asthma.
"I've got a history of allergy to pollen," Wiggins told the Guardian in September 2016, adding that he first started struggling during the 2003 Giro D'Italia.
He said he suffered "uncontrollable sneezing, runny nose, watery eyes, the urge to rub my eyes constantly and in doing that the eyes becoming bloodshot".
What is 'Jiffygate' and why is it suddenly relevant?
In 2016, Wiggins’ personal medical history was released by a hacker group called the Fancy Bears.
Questions were raised about his use of Therapeutic Use Exemptions to take banned substances to treat hay-fever.
Controversy was also sparked by claims a mystery package was flown out to the rider in 2011, after he won the prestigious Criterium du Dauphine race.
After much speculation, Team Sky chief Sir David Brailsford told MPs the jiffy bag contained fluimucil, a legal decongestant that is not on Wada's list of banned substances.
How did Team Sky and Wiggins respond to recent doping allegations?
The DCMS report suggests that Team Sky's version of the jiffy bag story is "implausible".
Team Sky has "strongly refuted" the claims that "medication has been used by the team to enhance performance"and allegations "of widespread triamcinolone use by Team Sky riders ahead of the 2012 Tour de France".
Meanwhile Wiggins said in a statement: "I find it so sad that accusations can be made, where people can be accused of things they have never done, which are then regarded as facts.
"I strongly refute the claim that any drug was used without medical need. I hope to have my say in the next few days and put to my side across."
Bradley Wiggins compete on reality show The Jump after retiring
After announcing his retirement from his cycling career, Sir Bradley Wiggins was keen to take on a new challenge by signing up for gruelling winter sports TV show The Jump.
But before the new series even got started, Sir Bradley had been beset by problems.
Following hot on the heels of the news that model Vogue Williams will no longer be competing in the competition due to injury, it has emerged that the Olympian also needed to receive medical treatment for a torn calf muscle when he posted a picture of himself with a bandage around his ankle.
What does Sir Bradley have to do with Paul Weller?
His achievements off the bike have made him a sporting idol – off it, Wiggins has become known as a committed mod.
The Paul Weller-esque haircut he sported for long periods of his career was no coincidence – the mod icon is one of his heroes, and the duo hosted a special BBC Radio 6 Music show together in 2012.
Despite his stunning achievements on the bike that year, Wiggins said playing guitar alongside the former Jam frontman was the undoubted highlight.
He collects guitars and scooters, and lists among his favourite bands The Smiths, Small Faces and Oasis – who he credits with giving him the swagger he took into pro cycling.
Who is Bradley Wiggins' wife?
Following his history-making fifth Olympic gold medal in Rio 2016, Wiggins hinted at his upcoming retirement by admitting it was time to spend more time with his family.
The 36-year-old said: “I’m not doing Tokyo in 2020. My kids need a proper dad in their lives and my wife needs a proper husband."
Sir Bradley met his wife, Cathy, a former nurse, at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester.
She showed the same fighting spirit as her husband during his magnificent 2012 Tour de France win, becoming embroiled in a Twitter spat with the then girlfriend of Wiggins' Team Sky teammate – but rival – Chris Froome.
They have two children together, Ben and Isabella, and live in Eccleston, Lancashire. The Olympic hero is an avid fan of Liverpool FC and the Wigan Warriors rugby league team.
When Wiggins secured his Tour win budding cyclist Ben, then seven, looked like he could follow in his father's footsteps as they rode down the iconic Champs Elysees together.
Has he ever been BBC Sports Personality of the Year?
Wiggins was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2012, which after the triumphant London Olympics featured arguably the strongest shortlist of all time.
His achievements that year were exceptional – he followed up becoming the first Brit to win the Tour with his fourth Olympic gold medal – but it was also his personality that marked him out.
Unusually for a sportsman, he is known to be a fan of a drink – celebrating his London 2012 gold medal, he declared himself "blind drunk and overwhelmed".
Wiggins revealed that in the nine months between the 2004 Athens Olympics and the birth of his son he was rarely sober – drinking 12 pints a day as his life "threatened to spiral out of control".
Read the latest on Bradley Wiggins
He is famously sweary, ending his last press conference as a cyclist with succinct "F*** it", and breaks the mould by livening up often dull post-race interviews and medal ceremonies.
Sir Bradley stood on the Champs Elysees podium having won the Tour and quipped that it was time "to draw the raffle numbers".
He had his Team GB teammates in stitches by sticking out his tongue at the Rio 2016 medal ceremony.