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"Fit to govern" ... ? British Cycling's leadership reportedly condemned by independent review

Report commissioned by funding agency UK Sport also said to highlight a "culture of fear" among country's top riders...

The independent review into British Cycling ordered in the wake of Shane Sutton’s resignation last year asks whether the organisation’s leadership is “fit to govern,” according to a draft of its report seen by the Daily Mail.

It is also said to highlight a “culture of fear” within the highest levels of the sport in this country, and is scathing of Sir Dave Brailsford and Shane Sutton, the men credited with overseeing the country’s success over the past decade or so.

UK Sport, the government agency that provides the governing body with most of its funding, set up the independent review last year after Sutton resigned following allegations of bullying and discrimination.

The report was initially due to be published last autumn after the Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games, but has been delayed in part because of the sheer number of people who came forward to testify.

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It is due to be published next month, although British Cycling has said that it received a draft copy in late December, and last week the governing body briefed riders and staff on its action plan to overhaul its procedures in response to the report’s findings.

Led by British Rowing chairman Annamarie Phelps, the independent review was ordered in the wake of allegations of bullying and discrimination by track sprinter Jess Varnish and multiple Paralympic champion Darren Kenny – stories that were both first broken by the Daily Mail.

The same newspaper was also first to report on the missed anti-doping controls that saw former road world champion Lizzie Armitstead risk a ban, and on the mystery medical package that has seen Team Sky and Sir Bradley Wiggins come under intense scrutiny in recent months.

So, in stories about cycling at least, the newspaper – and chief sports writer, Matt Lawton, who wrote its latest report – have credibility.

The independent review is said to have found that British Cycling’s board “reversed” some of the findings of an internal investigation by its grievance officer into the allegations of discrimination made by Varnish against Sutton last year, and that it “sanitised” the subsequent report.

It describes the termination of Varnish’s funding on the Olympic programme as an “act of retaliation” for her criticism of Great Britain failing to qualify a women’s track sprint team for the Rio Olympics.

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Four months after Sutton’s departure, several gold medal-winning Team GB riders at Rio credited the Australian coach, who took on the role of Great Britain Cycling Team technical director in 2014 when Brailsford decided to concentrate full-time on Team Sky, as being the man behind their success.

According to the Daily Mail, that view was also shared by British Cycling’s management, with the newspaper saying that the independent review believes that the findings of the grievance officer were overridden because the British Cycling board wanted to reinstate Sutton due to his “innate ability to coach riders to medal-winning performances.”

The report is said to add: “The apparently deliberate reversal of the grievance officer’s draft outcome by the British Cycling Board gives every impression of it trying to achieve that aim.

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“The actions of the British Cycling Board in that regard are shocking and inexcusable. They also call into serious question whether the composition of the British Cycling Board is fit to govern a national sporting body.”

“Since the late 2000s cracks in terms of the climate and culture have been present. Instead of being repaired as they should have been, those cracks were ignored in pursuit of medal-success.”

The report of the independent review is said to be highly critical of British Cycling’s decision to make Sutton – described as having a “blunt and aggressive coaching style” – the de facto successor to Brailsford, despite earlier “allegedly unacceptable behaviour.”

It also says that some members of staff were “treated like children,” and says there was a "blurring of the boundaries” between the national team, and Team Sky.

The report apparently describes Brailsford as “untouchable,”and says that the environment at British Cycling, according to some elite cyclists, was “characterised by fear and bullying from leadership figures.”

The Daily Mail says that the independent review recommends that a “systematic overhaul” of leadership at the organisation, a process that has already begun with Bob Howden, who remains president, relinquishing his role as chair to be replaced by Jonathan Browning, and Julie Harrington confirmed earlier this week as replacing Ian Drake as CEO.

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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15 comments

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Martin1857 | 7 years ago
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Shock horror, hold the front page. Elite athletes in the pursuit of Olympic gold/World Records live and work  in intense, somewhat dysfunctional environments. What next, the SAS and Navy Seals selection and training to be exposed as abusive bullying. Crikey, the BBC even shows this sort of thing as entertainment.

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beezus fufoon replied to Martin1857 | 7 years ago
1 like

Martin1857 wrote:

Shock horror, hold the front page. Elite athletes in the pursuit of Olympic gold/World Records live and work  in intense, somewhat dysfunctional environments. What next, the SAS and Navy Seals selection and training to be exposed as abusive bullying. Crikey, the BBC even shows this sort of thing as entertainment.

sure, but by that logic the appropriate response to Varnish's criticism should be equally straightforward

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JeevesBath | 7 years ago
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dottigirl | 7 years ago
4 likes

Yep. I had my reservations about the source, but Lawton is getting the stories out, and the other sources are just reporting secondhand.

I think it should be compulsory for everyone to read this from the findings:

Quote:

The British Cycling board ‘sanitised’ the investigation into Jess Varnish’s allegations against former technical director Shane Sutton, ‘reversing’ the initial findings to suit their own agenda. Varnish lost her funding ‘as an act of retaliation’ for criticising coaching staff and was ‘simply removed’ from the programme instead of being warned about her performance.

and let it sink in. How rotten a group of people to allow this to happen to a young girl? To anyone?

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earth | 7 years ago
1 like

This just looks like an organised attempt to destroy our successful cycling program simple because it is so successful.

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SingleSpeed replied to earth | 7 years ago
5 likes

Meanwhile in 2007:

This just looks like an organised attempt to destroy our successful US Postal cycling program simple because it is so successful.

 

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earth replied to SingleSpeed | 7 years ago
1 like

SingleSpeed wrote:

Meanwhile in 2007:

This just looks like an organised attempt to destroy our successful US Postal cycling program simple because it is so successful.

 

 

There you go, it's not just doping that is being alleged.  They are throwing everything at it.  It's nice to defend the atheletes from those nasty bullies but a lot of people don't like cycling and British Cycling are an easy target.  Once they are brought down the anti cycling lobby will move onto cycle lanes and infrastructure.  One bit at a time.

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Morat | 7 years ago
2 likes

Of course, one might imagine that the Mail was utterly delighted to find a can of worms at BC. Because they're investigative journalists seeking truth and justice, of course. Not because they hate cycling in all its forms.

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Jackson replied to Morat | 7 years ago
2 likes
Morat wrote:

Of course, one might imagine that the Mail was utterly delighted to find a can of worms at BC. Because they're investigative journalists seeking truth and justice, of course. Not because they hate cycling in all its forms.

Matt Lawton has been the only newspaper (I.e. non cycling press) journalist covering this story properly and he's done a thorough and professional job. Discount this because of his employer all you want but it doesn't make what he's uncovered any less true.

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davel | 7 years ago
2 likes

Unfortunately the Mail's been at the forefront of this. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day...

I'm usually skeptical about the criticism of the press knocking success. However, in the case of the Mail, I don't think it requires a conspiracy theory to suggest that finding genuine failings in the success that has been British Cycling fits their swivel-eyed worldview, formed from their aspirational Merc-sat-in-the-middle-lane-with-cruise-control-at-75.

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Edgeley replied to davel | 7 years ago
2 likes

davel wrote:

Unfortunately the Mail's been at the forefront of this. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day... I'm usually skeptical about the criticism of the press knocking success. However, in the case of the Mail, I don't think it requires a conspiracy theory to suggest that finding genuine failings in the success that has been British Cycling fits their swivel-eyed worldview, formed from their aspirational Merc-sat-in-the-middle-lane-with-cruise-control-at-75.

 

The Mail's sport team are actually quite good.   Just becuase the rest of the paper is a hate-filled insult to modern life doesn't mean they aren't correct here.

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Simon E | 7 years ago
1 like

The Guardian says (among other things): a “culture of fear”, with riders and staff bullied and a “dysfunctional leadership” allowed to flourish.

Will all the knuckle-dragging sexist wankers who used the BC whitewash release as an excuse to abuse Jess Varnish swallow their pride and apologise? If only...

Disappointing that road.cc continues to provide links (and therefore revenue) to the Hate Mail. Other media outlets are available.

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Simon_MacMichael replied to Simon E | 7 years ago
0 likes

Simon E wrote:

The Guardian says (among other things): a “culture of fear”, with riders and staff bullied and a “dysfunctional leadership” allowed to flourish.

Will all the knuckle-dragging sexist wankers who used the BC whitewash release as an excuse to abuse Jess Varnish swallow their pride and apologise? If only...

Disappointing that road.cc continues to provide links (and therefore revenue) to the Hate Mail. Other media outlets are available.

It's the primary source of the story, so we link it - that's our policy. You don't have to click on the link. 

And as the story says, they have consistently been first to break the big stories in cycling in the UK over the past year, so irrespective of what anyone might think of the front two thirds of the newspaper, the sportsdesk deserves some credit for that.

 

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billymansell | 7 years ago
5 likes

Reading it in the Guardian I'm glad to see UK sport came in for criticism for their lack of oversight in the pursuit of medals, which, going back to Beijing has been the clear narrative for sport funding from successive sports ministers.

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tritecommentbot | 7 years ago
3 likes

Whitewash by the BC board as many suspected. Plainly ridiculous if there isn't a major reshuffle after this independent report is released. 

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