Acetylcysteine

By Chemistry World2018-06-20T11:32:00

A dozen male cyclists in a tight grouping pictured from the front

A compound with a range of medical uses that found itself embroiled in a cycling controversy

Competitive cycling has a perceived problem with drugs. And so in 2011 the delivery of a mysterious jiffy bag to Team Sky at the French road race the Critérium du Dauphiné was always going to look suspicious – especially as it was kept a secret for nearly 5 years.

Clearly, it had been an important delivery – important enough for Simon Cope, the women’s manager for British Cycling, to transport it personally from Manchester all the way to south east France. The jiffy bag was apparently being delivered to Sir Bradley Wiggins and contained fluimucil, a trade name for decongestant drug acetylcysteine – a perfectly legal substance that is not on the World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited list.

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