British Cycling will form an independent review of its performance programmes following allegations of discrimination by rider Jess Varnish, the governing body said on Tuesday.
England's Jess Varnish waves after winning the bronze medal in the
women's sprint finals cycling race at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in
Glasgow, Scotland, July 27, 2014. REUTERS/Andrew Winning
LONDON: British Cycling will form an independent review of
its performance programmes following allegations of discrimination by
rider Jess Varnish, the governing body said on Tuesday.
"We are fully committed to the principles and active
promotion of equality of opportunity and we must take any such
allegations seriously," a statement said.
Varnish, a former European champion in the team sprint, was
dropped from the British Cycling performance squad after she failed to
qualify for the Rio Olympics at this year's world championships in
London.
The 25-year-old Varnish and Katy Marchant had needed to
better France by three places at the worlds to make Rio, a feat they
failed to do, prompting Varnish to blame mistakes by British Cycling's
coaches.
She has since hit out at British Cycling's technical
director Shane Sutton, accusing him of sexist remarks - claims the
Australian strongly denies.
In a statement on Tuesday, Varnish claimed other people had
experienced similar behaviour and said "a culture of fear" existed at
British Cycling.
The terms of the review, conducted in conjunction with UK Sport, are yet to be announced.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Toby Davis)
- Reuters
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