Cath Wiggins apologises for calling Chris Froome 'slithering reptile'

Cath Wiggins, the wife of five-time Olympic gold medalist Sir Bradley Wiggins, has issued an apology after she branded Chris Froome a "slithering reptile" in an outburst on social media.

Froome, 32, is currently under scrutiny from the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) after it revealed an adverse analytical finding (AAF) in a urine test he provided during this year's Vuelta a Espana.

The UCI, cycling's world governing body, released a statement on Wednesday confirming that Froome, who completed a historic double by becoming just the third person to win the Tour de France and the Vuelta in the same year, had double the permitted amount of the asthma medication Salbutamol in his system.

Froome has denied any wrongdoing but said the UCI is "absolutely right to examine test results."

Mrs Wiggins, however, added to the controversy surrounding Froome -- who could receive a ban and be stripped of his Vuelta title if he fails to provide adequate evidence -- by giving her take on the coverage of the Team Sky rider's situation.

"I am going to be sick. Nothing in the news," she wrote in a Facebook post.

Mrs Wiggins also hit out at the treatment given to her own husband, adding: "If I was given to conspiracy theory I'd allege they'd thrown my boy under the bus on purpose to cover for this slithering reptile."