Drama in British Cycling

[kosmonooit]

Amid allegations about sexism  and derogatory remarks about para cyclists, Shane Sutton has now resigned from British Cycling.

 

 

 

 

http://www.skysports.com/cycling/news/12040/10260102/shane-sutton-to-leave-british-cycling-post-sky-sources

 

"The discrimination row and Sutton's departure leaves the organisation in turmoil with just 100 days to go to the start of the Olympic Games in Rio."

 

 

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/shane-sutton-resigns-amid-sexism-and-discrimination-claims/

 

If only JZ would do the same huh.

[DJR]

He should've asked Lance Armstrong.......you can dope and cheat, you can even be an asshole.......but you simply CANNOT call a woman fat! If you do that lady Karma will give you a klap that will make you time travel!   

[JXV]

He he he.... mate of mine appeared at work looking rather down a few years back. He'd been sleeping on the couch for a week. His wife innocently asked him 'Do these jeans make me look fat?'

 

Apparently 'It's not the jeans' was the wrong answer to that question.....

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

[kosmonooit]

According to Victoria, she had to put up with his and others dismissive views of women as well, and she's kinda fit you might say..

 

http://img.thesun.co.uk/aidemitlum/archive/01566/_Victoria_Pendleto_1566046a.jpg

 

 

Retired riders Victoria Pendleton and Nicole Cooke have both claimed that there is sexism within British Cycling. The remarks come days after Jess Varnish made allegations relating to her treatment at the hands of the national federation. British Cycling has denied the allegations but has stated that they will seek talks with Varnish.

Pendleton, who retired on the back of the London 2012 Games, rode with Varnish in the women's team sprint and leapt to the defence of her former teammate in an emotional interview with The Telegraph's Tom Carey.

"I have never spoken out before. But I have to do it now. I would not be able to live with myself if I sat back and let people try to discredit [Varnish's] character. Not when I wholeheartedly believe her. My experiences [at British Cycling] were very similar. And I know exactly how miserable they made me," she told the British newspaper.

Varnish's allegations over sexism centre around two main claims. First, that she was told by a British coach that 'with an ass like mine I couldn't change position within the team sprint'. Upon being dropped from the Olympic track programme, she also states, according to the Daily Mail, that she was told to 'move on and go and have a baby' by Shane Sutton. Both the coach and British Cycling deny that such a comment was made and that Varnish was dropped for performance reasons. British Cycling deny that the rider's contract was not renewed because she spoke out over the management of the track programme during the World Championships in March.

"Of course they'll say, 'Oh it's just sour grapes' and, 'Get over it, we get results'," Pendleton added.

According to the multiple Olympic medallist, the culture within British Cycling was dominated by men and she pointed to a lack of female representation at management level as part of the issue.

"I never really felt I had the same respect as my male teammates. My opinion wasn't worth as much. I used to sit quietly in meetings and not say anything as I knew my opinions would be disregarded. And that's after I had become Olympic champion and multiple world champion.

"You have to wonder why there isn't a single woman in a position of leadership in the organisation. If there's a 50-50 split in terms of athletes, why isn't there in terms of staff? Although that's something that needs to be addressed in sport as a whole."

Varnish and Pendleton were partners on the track for several seasons and the pair struck up a strong relationship. Having read Varnish's comments to the Daily Mail last week, Pendleton felt that she had to speak up.

"Knowing Jess and having worked with her for several years, she is by no means a liar. I think probably it is her truthfulness which got her into trouble in the first place. I would wholeheartedly believe what Jess told me."

Cooke, on the other hand levelled criticism not just at British Cycling but also the UCI. Writingexclusively for The Guardian, the former Olympic road race champion painted a picture of sexual discrimination that acted a backdrop throughout her career, stating that there was "sexism by design" within British Cycling. She, like Pendleton, retired several seasons ago but her comments looked at both regimes during and after she hung up her wheels.

"Rather than attempt to dissect what might or might not have been said, let's look at a few facts that cannot be disputed and then see how the statement stands up," she wrote on The Guardian.

"The team management told Varnish your performances are not good enough to make you a favourite for a medal anyway, with the implication public money should not be spent on giving her a holiday. Strangely, the men in charge never seem to see it this way when it comes to the men's team. In 2008 when I won Olympic gold in Beijing, the day before, in the men's road race, every single one of the four men riding for Team GB failed to finish. In 2006, Welsh Cycling sent me to defend my Commonwealth Games road race title as a team of one while fielding a full team of six male road riders. None of the six finished."

Cooke's opinion piece lists further examples of what she believes is ingrained sexism at the top of elite sport, including cycling's governing body. She pinpoints UCI President Brian Cookson, who was also the British Cycling President during several year's of Cooke's road career, as someone who should be held accountable.

"The world governing body has set the tone – women are second-class citizens. It runs all the way up to events like the Tour de France," she wrote.

She also pointed to Cookson's manifesto from his 2013 campaign to run for the presidency at the UCI.

"Brian Cookson was president of British Cycling throughout my career and nearly £77,000 of public money was spent on a PR campaign by UK Sport supporting his successful 2013 bid for presidency of the UCI. He had a manifesto pledge that within one year of his coming to office, there would be a minimum wage for women cyclists as there is for men. His advising "action" committee, packed with individuals whose business model only works when the majority of women team riders do not receive the minimum wage, were never going to "advise" him that it was practical; turkeys do not vote for Christmas. Three years later that minimum wage for women to match men riders remains as illusory as it was in 2012.

"While those are broader issues for cycling, closer to home it is a similar situation. I was defending Olympic road race champion for London 2012. In 2011 British Cycling was heavily involved when Locog and the UCI organised the test event for the London Games, a trial of the route and logistics. I was delighted – until I found out that it was organising the race only for the men. When I asked "What about the women?" I was told I could hitch a ride in a team car and watch. I declined the generous and thoughtful offer."

Cooke's comments paint a similar picture of the situation last year. The Olympic Games organisers organised a men's test event on the road but there was not an equivalent version for the women. Instead, Olympic hopefully Lizzie Armitstead was given the option to traveling and training with the men before taking a ride in the team car during the men's race.

In response to Cooke's piece, British Cycling released the following statement.

"A gold medal is valued by us, no matter who wins it and we are equally proud of all our Olympic and world champions.

"The medals won by the Great Britain Cycling Team are testament firstly to the dedication and talent of our riders but each of them are also a tribute to a significant investment in passion, commitment and resources by our performance staff."

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/pendleton-and-cooke-claim-british-cycling-is-rife-with-sexism/

[kosmonooit]

One of the issues was some of the team stood up to management at the recent Worlds in London because they kept on toying with the teams, which meant bad results, there was a groot public spat and egos came into play (him and his lads), after that Sutton told her (Jessica) she didn't have a contract anymore and was out to the Olympics team despite the fact (according to her) that she was turning in the fastest first laps on a continued basis so that's when Suttie told her she was done and  to go have  a baby, there was no performance review or any process, she got treated very badly.

 

He might be a good performance coach, but as a manager he sucked big time, there has been a  lot of bad vibes in the team. Contrast to this to his former boss Dave

[kosmonooit]

FYI

 

Full statement from Jess Varnish:

My contract was not renewed by British Cycling after the 2016 World Championships. I appealed the decision with the help of the British Athlete’s Commission and was unsuccessful. I received a termination email from Shane Sutton and within it it said that the door at British Cycling was always open if I met the criteria. He told me to prove him wrong. I asked for a meeting with Shane and Iain Dyer to discuss my data and the criteria but this was repeatedly declined. Despite this, and the comments made to me, I resolved to get my head down and continue training in the hope to show British Cycling that I was still good enough for Rio 2016 and beyond. To prove them wrong. I was also told by British Cycling that they did not comment publicly or announce when a rider’s membership isn’t renewed. I therefore made the decision not to discuss the decision publicly as well.

When Shane Sutton gave his interview to the Telegraph discussing my situation I was devastated. I wasn’t offered the chance to comment, I only found out about the interview once it had been published and he said in his interview that I was ’too old’ and 'not worth wasting UK Sport’s money’. It was at this point that I realised my career with British Cycling, in Shane Sutton’s eyes, was over, and that I would never get a fair trial or opportunity to compete for Great Britain again while Shane is the performance director. There was no longer any point in staying quiet. He told everyone that my Rio 2016 dream was over before telling me. This is why I decided to speak out, I obviously no longer have anything to lose and can no longer trust Shane or those in charge at British Cycling to be fair.

The comment that Shane Sutton told me ’to go and have a baby’ is true. I stand by all my statements in the Daily Mail interview and have examples of other comments made to me during my time at British Cycling by Shane Sutton dating back many years.

HR -I have been contacted by the HR Manager at British Cycling, following the Daily Mail article, but I am unsure as to what the purpose of the contact is. I have asked them to share with me the code of conduct they implement alongside the Athlete agreement we sign and also what processes are open to me as a member of British Cycling to pursue my complaints regarding Shane Sutton. I am awaiting their response.

Cooke, Pendleton - I have been amazed by the response and support shown to me since the Daily Mail interview. I have been contacted by other riders both present and past, to say that they have experienced similar behaviour at British Cycling. I am aware that some people at British cycling are afraid to come forward due to the culture of fear that exists, as they don’t want to lose their jobs. I am not alone in my experience and I’m glad that a few feel more confident to speak up as a result of my interview.

Performance - With regards to my contract not being renewed on performance grounds, I find this very hard to accept. Prior to the 2016 World Championships I was not once told that I was underperforming. We have monthly reviews and at no stage was I put under review, or set performance targets to keep my place on the programme. The first I knew that the coaches had an issue with my performance levels was 5 days after the 2016 World Championships, when I was told I wouldn’t be getting a new contract over the phone.

During the 2 year Olympic qualifying process, I gained more qualifying points than any other British female sprint rider. I was consistently performing in the top 5 in the World for Lap 1 times in the Team Sprint, and I have also qualified Olympic places in the individual Sprint and Keirin. Since 2012 I have won medals at the World & European Championships and Commonwealth Games.

At 25 years old I feel my best years are ahead of me. Sprinters such as Jamie Staff, Victoria Pendleton and Chris Hoy, all achieved success well into their thirties, so I refuse to believe that my career is finished.

I want a fair chance to compete for my country. I feel that chance is being denied to me unfairly. I also want to change the culture at British Cycling and their treatment of women. I hope that by shining a light on this culture, and sharing my experiences, the relevant people can investigate and make changes. If they do then this can only benefit all involved, who want to work hard and compete for Great Britain, in a safe and fair environment.

For now I remain open to sharing my experiences with both British Cycling and/or UK Sport, and will happily engage with any investigations into the comments that Shane Sutton has made to me, and other riders. I would prefer to do this privately, however to date this hasn’t been an option.

I also want to compete for Great Britain again. I am not too old. I am not a waste of UK Sport’s money. I can win more medals.

Jess

[Brickleberry]

Who thinks he said her ass wasn't very aero? ????

[mecheng89]

Brutal

[kosmonooit]

yeah ...

 

 

http://www.bbc.com/sport/cycling/36155942

[kosmonooit]

Gee responds:

 

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/thomas-responds-to-sutton-resignation/

 

Mixed legacy? Either loved him or hated him?

[Shebeen]

sexism in british cycling?? since when??

 

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5ntb3NMnClk/UDVzXd3hfhI/AAAAAAAARPY/pRuS91-4GwI/s1600/victoria_pendleton500.jpg

 

 

google image on her led to some NSFW pics very quickly!!

[kosmonooit]

is striking a pose without kit on, in a tasteful way (on or off a bike) sexist? Old skool feminists might say so, but in the broader context of the topic, I don't think that's a factor in this issue

 

 

Another one of Victoria... what a bod, what an athlete

 

 

 

 

And now Emma Pooley says Sir Dave should face questions

 

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/pooley-on-british-cycling-brailsford-should-face-questions

[kosmonooit]

[kosmonooit]

Take your choice ..

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/07/04/article-2168650-13CFEDCC000005DC-766_634x592.jpg

[kosmonooit]

Snot & drama contd...

 

Sky rider Pete Kennaugh has ventured into the fray of the British Cycling sexism scandal, criticizing Emma Pooley and telling her to “get over it.” The Manxman made two posts on Twitter Thursday afternoon, which were quickly deleted. However, both had already been often and widely retweeted. He temporarily deleted his Twitter profile.

 

Kennaugh later reactivated his Twitter profile to make a public apology for how his two deleted posts were worded, saying that he "came across like a total idiot".

 

 

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/kennaugh-hits-back-at-british-cycling-sexism-claims-news-shorts/

[Rocket-Boy]

Its hard to say whether Sutton is an absolute twit or if there are some bitter feelings from being dropped from a team.

Either way its nice to not have SA in the limelight for a change.