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Annamarie Phelps to chair independent British Cycling review as riders continue to speak out for and against Shane Sutton

Review will not be completed until after the Olympics

Annamarie Phelps, the Chair of British Rowing, a trustee and vice chair of the British Paralympic Association and a board member of the British Olympic Association is to oversee an independent review into British Cycling’s World Class Programme. While the review will begin imminently, it will not conclude until after the Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The review will look into all forms of discrimination and bullying with specific focus on the climate and culture of British Cycling’s World Class Programme.

Liz Nicholl, CEO of UK Sport, said:

“UK Sport expects the highest level of ethical and professional standards from its funded athletes, athlete support personnel and national governing bodies; winning is worth nothing if it is not done fairly, equitably and with the greatest integrity.

“The allegations made by current and former athletes about British Cycling’s World Class Programme over the past week have been deeply troubling to UK Sport, and any long term cultural issues within the programme must therefore be fully investigated.”

The announcement comes as riders continue to speak out both for and against Shane Sutton, who resigned from his position as technical director on Wednesday.

Following Jessica Varnish’s claim that Sutton told her to ‘go and have a baby’ and subsequent allegations that he referred to para-cyclists as ‘gimps’ and ‘wobblies’, three current riders in the squad have now told The Guardian that he called women ‘bitches’ and ‘sheilas’ and once referred to a non-white rider as a ‘dirty terrorist’ when he turned up for a race with stubble. The riders, who asked to remain anonymous, suggest that others are not speaking out for fear of losing out on Olympic places.

Earlier in the week, BMX rider Kelvin Batey, who rode for Great Britain until 2008, said: "There was one point where I thought about stepping into the road and ending it all.” He then added: "That man has got a lot to answer for because I am sure I am not the only person he has affected at such an extreme level."

Others, however, have defended Sutton. Dani King, part of the quartet that won team pursuit gold at London 2012, said she never experienced any sexism. She felt that Sutton was equally tough on both men and women.

Speaking to Sky Sports, she said:

"I feel for Jess being taken off the programme, she's a good friend of mine, but in terms of the allegations, personally I've never experienced it myself. Shane is just a no-nonsense type of guy and he's no-nonsense with both the men and the women. I think it works for some people and it doesn't for others.

"But in terms of it just being for the women, that's definitely not true. It's both cases and it's just the way he works. He's a great motivator and it's a shame what has happened."

Rochelle Gilmore, the team manager of the Wiggle High5 women’s cycling team for which King currently rides, said Sutton had also worked well with former team members Joanna Rowsell Shand and Laura Trott. “He really cares about them at heart and when they were performing at their lowest was when they had the most support from him.”

Team Sky’s Luke Rowe tweeted: “Some people asking me what I think of Shane Sutton. The answer is he’s a great guy with a big heart that has done a lot for me and the sport.”

While also taking time to bemoan fundamental inequality in the sport, Geraint Thomas said of his personal experience working with Sutton, that he was, “one of the main reasons I am where I am today,” before adding: “He's done more than most for British Cycling.”

In a statement on his website, Sir Chris Hoy said that he didn’t want to comment on the allegations against Sutton but instead paid tribute to what he’d achieved for British Cycling.

“I have never met anyone who gave so much to their role within any team and who cared so much for the performance of the riders. Shane expected 100% commitment from every member of the team regardless of their role and he led by example in that respect. As a coach, his uncompromising approach yielded unparalleled results for the GB team and his contribution to my career and the entire British Cycling success story was outstanding. For this, I would like to sincerely thank him.”

Hoy also linked to a 2009 Guardian article entitled ‘My mentor’ in which he describes Sutton as, “so intense that there are times that the only thing you can do is fall out with him. Half the time you want to throttle the guy and the other half you are trying to get into his good books.”

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7 comments

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DrJDog | 7 years ago
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' Dani King, part of the quartet that won team pursuit gold at London 2012.'

The quartet did not win gold. Three of the four did. Get a quote from the fourth member of that team and I bet it doesn't sound like the other three.

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charlie_L | 7 years ago
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If £m's of public money is put into British Cycling why don't we insist that  women get half of it? Such a rule  would force people like Sutton to at least think about equality.

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Ramz | 7 years ago
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In response to some of the comments here: nobody says you have to love your coach, or that the coach shouldn't be a difficult and challenging individual. However there has to be a line: if the coach is demeaning, racist, sexist or disablist they have crossed the line. Furthermore a good coach recognises that different athletes are motivated in different ways and has an arsenal of tools and techniques to motivate them. If they only have a great "bollocking" tool, they will only be great some of the time.

It is good to see a range of views on Sutton. Now let's see what the outcome of the enquiry is going to be.

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WDG | 7 years ago
1 like

I feel for the individuals who felt victimised, but would question whether they were cut out for top line sport.  This is all about winning.  Results are what matter.  If you don't make the cut you are discarded for someone else who can.  Judging by the performances on track and road, it can hardly be questioned that British Cycling was doing something very right.  Some people react well to harsh criticism, some don't.  I think it's clear that Shane Sutton was very much in the former category, but given his involvement with BC has gone back many years clearly this approach has worked.  

My abiding feeling from this is that the whole thing started in the Daily Fail and has now turned into their personal witch hunt.  What I think matters here is that athletes are getting funding to improve their performances.  We absolutely shouldn't go back to the days where some of these athletes were basically playing at what they were doing safe in the knowledge that they'd get money for mediocre results.  World class sport is for exceptional athletes who are prepared to put everything in to winning.  If you aren't good enough then feel free to pursue it as a hobby but don't expect world class athlete support.

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Awavey replied to WDG | 7 years ago
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WDG wrote:

I feel for the individuals who felt victimised, but would question whether they were cut out for top line sport.  This is all about winning.  Results are what matter.  If you don't make the cut you are discarded for someone else who can.  Judging by the performances on track and road, it can hardly be questioned that British Cycling was doing something very right.  Some people react well to harsh criticism, some don't.  I think it's clear that Shane Sutton was very much in the former category, but given his involvement with BC has gone back many years clearly this approach has worked.  

My abiding feeling from this is that the whole thing started in the Daily Fail and has now turned into their personal witch hunt.

no it started in the Telegraph,when Shane decided to candily discuss team selection matters that werent yet in the public domain, the Mail was simply the follow up to give the rider side of that candid discussion, and its simply snowballed from there

we'll get to judge the performance on track at the Olympics, I dont see anyone predicting the team will "medal" in every event they have qualified for,and its not even sure in those events people think theres a good chance of winning a medal, that it will even be the top step.

Equally prior performance neednt be because of the regime, it might be simply talented individuals working outside of it, Nicole Cooke won gold in Beijing no one could seriously claim she benefitted at all from British Cyclings help, and also note things like the mens team are relying on Wiggins in team pursuit, and that Cavendish is a serious contender for an Omnium place simply because in the 8 years since either were on the Olympic track programme, no one has come through to stake a nailed on better claim for a place.

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LarryDavidJr | 7 years ago
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Sounds like she's already decided everythings fine so whats the point?  Whitewash coming up.....

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FerrisBFW | 7 years ago
2 likes

I come from a club rowing background and all the good coaches are terrible.  Total loons some of them!!

Whole crew hated them but they did get results.  What do you want a fair and nice environment or results?  I have never personally experienced both...

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