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Shane Sutton shortlisted for Australian performance director role

Controversial coach one of seven candidates vying for the position

Shane Sutton, who resigned in April as technical director of the Great Britain Cycling Team, has been shortlisted for the role of high performance director at Cycling Australia, according to a report in the Guardian.

The controversial coach is one of seven candidates for the position, which has been vacant since the resignation of Kevin Tabotta since the country’s dismal showing at the Rio Olympics, where Australia won two medals, neither of them gold.

Last month, a British Cycling internal investigation upheld allegations made against Sutton by former team member Jess Varnish, who had accused him of sexism and discrimination. The Australian coach, who denies ever making such comments, has said he plans to appeal the decision.

> Shane Sutton to appeal British Cycling verdict

Those allegations, as well as others including that he called para-cyclists “gimps” and “wobblies” are the subject of a separate investigation commissioned by UK Sport, the body that provides the bulk of British Cycling’s funding.

Opinion over Sutton is fiercely split between some of the biggest names to have worked with him. Victoria Pendleton and Nicole Cooke are among those to have supported Varnish, while others including Sir Bradley Wiggins and Joanna Rowsell-Shand have backed Sutton.

Commenting on the search for a successor to Tabotta, Cycling Australia chief executive Nick Green said: “We are looking for the next person to be a really strong leader of a very strong cycling system.

“Australia and Great Britain are probably regarded as the two best high-performance cycling nations,” he went on.

“Great Britain are No1 and clearly our strategy is to knock them off in four years’ time.”

British Cycling is likewise recruiting a performance director to succeed Sutton, who took over the helm of the national team in early 2014 after Sir Dave Brailsford decided to focus full-time on Team Sky.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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9 comments

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alotronic | 7 years ago
0 likes

Replacing tolerant pro-feminist support of getting rid of Sutton with jingoistic anti-austrialian  attitudes instead - pure class! 

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PaulBox | 7 years ago
0 likes

Those aussies love a bit of casual sexism!

 

PS. anybody seen any stripey cycling knickers around here???

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SNS1938 | 7 years ago
1 like

Really?? The tallent pool is that shallow that Sutton is on the shortlist?

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The_Vermonter replied to SNS1938 | 7 years ago
1 like

I'm not condoning what he's accused of doing but his results are impressive. If Australia is willing to take on the his baggage, there are few better options.

 

SNS1938 wrote:

Really?? The tallent pool is that shallow that Sutton is on the shortlist?

Avatar
yupiteru | 7 years ago
3 likes

Perhaps he will tell riders to “go and have a barbie”. Ha, ha, might not get him into so much trouble.

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SoBinary | 7 years ago
8 likes

<sarcasm>I'm surprised that a nation with such a long track record of being politically correct would consider him.</sarcasm>

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brakesmadly | 7 years ago
0 likes

As a Brit - Oh bugger.

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Danger Dicko | 7 years ago
1 like

It'll be egg on British Cycling's face if he gets the job and Australia start to dominate.

Avatar
Huw Watkins replied to Danger Dicko | 7 years ago
10 likes

Danger Dicko wrote:

It'll be egg on British Cycling's face if he gets the job and Australia start to dominate.

Why?  The issue has not been his results, but the cost of doing so. 

It's exactly the same as the Jeremy Clarkson / Top Gear dilemma.  

 

 

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