To get things in some kind of proportion...
...Wiggins took a hayfever treatment that is approved by WADA and everybody else, once a year, as a preventative precaution before cycling around the fields of France for 3 weeks.
The mistake was not being as transparent as they should. At least they applied for a tue which can't be said of Orica wrt Yates. They seem to have received little criticism for that gaffe
Let me fix that for you
Smoker Wiggins was given a shot of what most doctors do not ever give hayfever sufferers, but some doctors use as a last resort in the most serious cases. It has massive performance enhancing side effects and its use and abuse via TUEs has a fearsome reputation within and outside the pro peloton. The timing was critical, each time just before Wiggins main goal for the season and at exactly the right time to achieve the side effects its reputation demand it is used. Its use by Wiggins matched that time in his career when he achieved his best power to weight ratios.
Let me quote a bit of CIRC "One doctor stated that it was impossible to lose the weight that some riders achieve without assistance, and that the TUE is taken advantage of to enable this practice. He stated that riders use corticoids to “lean out” i.e. to lose weight quickly, and keep it off, without losing power. By way of example he explained that to lose 4kg in 4 weeks by using corticoids would provide a 7% power/weight improvement. He added that when used in large quantities and in conjunction with other substances, they supported performance gains. "
Let's put that CIRC quote in perspective. Say I was working with an elite athlete that had been in the pro peloton for 7 or 8 years and was a high achiever - ie already maxed out. Even if I set about a regime of a new diet and targeted exercise, a realistic target would be to achieve a 2- 3 % power weight improvement in six months. I could never consider achieving 7% by fair means. 7% in four weeks ! It is why it is so hard to beat dopers.
A TUE is a tool to write off any positive from a test result. If you are going to lie about the TUE you are not going to worry about a trivial thing like it says the athlete will have a single injection. You would just get on and inject. Why bother drawing attention to what you are up to; the AAF is covered.
It's a tough revelation which is why Mr weathervane Millar is now pointing in the other direction. (Mr Millar is always committed to his own survival and profitability - doping pays well, it pays seriously well.) There is no hiding from it and all it means. It is not just Wiggins; it is those who were around him as well.