Sir Bradley Wiggins has criticised UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) for conducting a 14-month investigation over allegations of wrongdoing by Team Sky and British Cycling after the doping body dropped the case.
UKAD had mounted an investigation into a 'jiffy bag' that was delivered to British Cycling's physician Dr Richard Freeman following the conclusion of the 2011 Criterium du Dauphine race in France.
In a statement released on Twitter, Wiggins, 37, said: "I have kept my silence throughout the period to allow UKAD to conduct their investigation in the most professional way possible.
"I welcome UKAD's confirmation that no anti-doping charges are to be brought regarding the so-called 'jiffy bag' allegations."
The 2012 Tour de France champion continued: "This period of time has been a living hell for me and my family, full of innuendo and speculation. At times it has felt nothing less than a malicious witch hunt.
"To say I am disappointed by some of the comments made by UKAD this morning is an understatement. No evidence exists to prove a case against me and in all other circumstances this would be an unqualified finding of innocence.
"The amount of time it has taken to come to today's conclusion has caused serious personal damage, especially as the investigation seems to be predicated on a news headline rather than real solid information."
Wiggins -- who competed at five Olympics from 2000 to 2016, winning medals at all of them -- also took the opportunity to call for the source of the allegations against him to be revealed and stated that the findings of UKAD left him with several unanswered questions.
My say on the matter... pic.twitter.com/7MiSsFHtQE
— Brad Wiggins (@SirWiggo) November 15, 2017
Earlier on Wednesday, a statement on the UKAD website read: "Put simply, due to the lack of contemporaneous evidence, UKAD has been unable to definitively confirm the contents of the package.
"The significant likelihood is that it is now impossible to do so."