UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) said he had 30 sachets of a banned testosterone gel delivered to the National Cycling Centre in Manchester in May 2011 and lied about it.

The watchdog said the National Anti-Doping Panel decision to ban him was made in July.

Freeman was in his role at British Cycling and what was Team Sky when Bradley Wiggins became Britain's first Tour de France champion in 2012, a time when UK cycling soared to the top of the sport.

The Testogel that Freeman ordered is a prescription-only medication and banned under anti-doping rules as it contains testosterone, which can improve performance.

Freeman told UKAD he ordered the gel for a "non-rider" member of British Cycling staff, but refused to name them due to patient confidentiality.

He said he had asked them several times to waive their confidentiality but they refused.

However, UKAD said this was false, as was his claim the gel had been returned to the supplier.

In 2021, Freeman was also struck off the medical register after a tribunal ruled he knew or believed the gel was intended for a rider to improve their performance.

During that tribunal, he also admitted destroying a laptop with "a screwdriver or blunt instrument" before giving it to experts to examine.

He lost a High Court appeal against being struck off in January.

The latest decision by the anti-doping panel said it was satisfied Freeman had "intended to make available to one or more of his athletes the prohibited substance delivered to the Manchester Velodrome".

His ban runs from 22 December 2020, when he was provisionally suspended, to 21 December 2024.

British Cycling chair Frank Slevin said the organisation had supported the investigation and that Freeman's conduct "bore no resemblance to the high ethical and professional standards which we, our members and our partners rightly expect".