A former Team Sky rider Michael Barry claims that a highly controversial painkiller, Tramadol, is commonly used by the British squad riders not only during the competition, but also to support their training.

Barry rode for Team Sky in his final three years in the professional peloton before retiring hanging up the wheels 2012, and in an interview for The Times the 38-year old Canadian claimed that he saw his team-mates frequently using the drug between 2010 and 2012.

Despite some discussions on that topic Tramadol, the morphile-like painkiller, is not prohibited, but according to Barry it significantly enhances riders’ performance.

“I used Tramadol at Sky,” Barry admitted.

“I’ve never seen that it was only used during the competition. I’ve seen Sky riders using it for training as well.”

“The effects are quickly noticeable. After Tramadol I felt euphoric, but had some troubles with concentration at the same time. The pain in legs disappeared and therefore it was possible to push harder,” Barry explained.

The 38-year old Canadian, one of the key witnesses in the USADA investigation into Lance Armstrong and doping at US Postal Service, was forced to take the drug following his crash at the Tour de France 2010 edition and admitted that it was a decisive factor letting him stay in the competition.

“When I crashed in the Tour I took it, but stopped after several days. It allows you to go far beyond your limits,” Barry confessed in the interview preceding his biography being published later this week.

The use of Tramadol is a hotly discussed topic in the peloton and convinced by WADA, several teams agreed not to use a drug last year. Team Sky, however, didn’t feature on that list.