Bradley Wiggins has said that reformed drug cheats can help prevent young cyclists from following the same path.

Team Sky, the outfit that the 2012 Tour de France winner rides for, operate a zero-tolerance policy towards drug use, parting ways with several members of staff over the winter in the wake of the Lance Armstrong revelations.

The 32-year-old told Sky Sports News: "People make mistakes in life, and a lot of these people have made decisions 10-15 years ago which are coming back to haunt them. They can't be vilified for that in some areas.

"Bobby Julich is a classic example - in 1998 he finished third in the Tour de France, he's admitted to doping and has now moved on from the team. While he served his time here was 100% an advocate of anti-doping as someone who'd experienced it and been put under pressure to do what he did back in '98.

"I think in some cases the reformed characters, David Millar and that, as people who've actually experienced it they can help youngsters on the way not to go, and I think in a way we need some of those people within this sport."

Earlier this week, Wiggins criticised the UCI's handling of the Armstrong doping scandal, after the American confessed to using performance-enhancing substances during his seven Tour de France wins in an interview with Oprah Winfrey.