In an interview with the Telegraph, former Team Sky rider Michael Barry has alleged that he witnessed young riders `heavily´ using sleeping pills as well as the pain killer, Tramadol. The Canadian has also alleged that he urged Team Sky doctors to keep an inventory of legal drugs used at races, but that his request was not met. Barry has previously said that Tramadol was `readily` used by the British team, and while the management squad admitted in 2013 that the painkiller was prescribed, they have argued that it was used `minimally´. The management later called for a ban of the substance. In the Telegraph interview Barry also stated that some riders used sleeping pills to cope with the rigours of professional cycling.ADVERTISEMENT Neither Tramadol nor sleeping pills are banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency. However riders from other teams have admitted to regularly using sleeping pills, including David Millar, Thomas Dekker and Luca Paolini. Barry said that he brought his concerns about both sleeping pills and Tramadol to the management at the team and that their use was not ethical. `The thing with doping is that there is a black and a white,` Barry told the Telegraph. `Did the team [Sky] cross into the black? No, in my opinion. They didn´t dope, but there is a grey area. The use of painkillers falls into that grey area. Tramadol falls into that grey area. `I loved my time with the team, I had a great experience there. But, ethically, I really started questioning the use of the Tramadol, and the sleeping pills, especially when you see the younger riders using this stuff heavily. If we went into a medical clinic and just asked their GP, they probably wouldn´t give these out. And that is not ethical.` Wiggins and Fluimicil
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