British Cycling's 'culture of fear' and Shane Sutton management criticised in independent review
Thursday 15 June 2017 15:46, UK
A "culture of fear" existed within the Great Britain cycling team and Shane Sutton was not fit for management, an independent review has said.
The review has been published a year after it was commissioned after complaints by GB cyclist Jess Varnish that she was subjected to bullying and sexism by technical director Sutton.
The report and review, led by the chair of British Rowing, Annamarie Phelps, was leaked in March and the final version published on Wednesday has been dramatically watered down.
The report had found there was a culture of fear at British Cycling with a "perceived power pocket on Shane Sutton".
The review revealed how "cultural and behavioural issues" within the Great Britain cycling team had been known since late 2012, but addressing those was not prioritised due to the pursuit of medals.
It also found that good governance was lacking at board level and that Sutton was not fit for management.
"Although Shane Sutton has an innate ability to coach riders to medal winning performances, the Panel heard from numerous contributors that he did not possess the necessary skill-set to lead the World Class Programme, which was widely acknowledged at the time he was appointed Technical Director in April 2014," the report read.
