Reports of sexism in British Cycling - Sutton suspended
Discussion
Seems to be related to the para athletes as well.
I don't condone this sort of alleged behaviour.
BUT...
We are within a few months of the Olympics. Everyone at British Cycling has got more important things to concentrate on right now.
IF suspending Sutton now helps the athletes for Rio, then fine, but if it just causes problems, couldn't this whole problem wait until after the Olympics?
I don't condone this sort of alleged behaviour.
BUT...
We are within a few months of the Olympics. Everyone at British Cycling has got more important things to concentrate on right now.
IF suspending Sutton now helps the athletes for Rio, then fine, but if it just causes problems, couldn't this whole problem wait until after the Olympics?
After seeing and being involved with the BC revolution from 1998 its very interesting to see whats starting to happen . Its a much bigger picture than the outing of Shane because of his personality .
With us being on a Olympic year & funding is linked to medals, less medals = less money. UK Sport is cutting budgets. Sky leave soon, BC is on a downwards .... The Bubble is starting to burst on the 2000's era of everyone getting into cycling .
OK , Shane is not Mr PC and overall i don' think he should throw insults like that around ... But he has proven he brings in the medals better than others. 'If' the GB track team flops at Rio, budget is going to massively be cut. ££ = Success, BC is proven this massively.
Its a very interesting time with this Soap Opera style team and IMO they are on a HUGE knife edge.
With us being on a Olympic year & funding is linked to medals, less medals = less money. UK Sport is cutting budgets. Sky leave soon, BC is on a downwards .... The Bubble is starting to burst on the 2000's era of everyone getting into cycling .
OK , Shane is not Mr PC and overall i don' think he should throw insults like that around ... But he has proven he brings in the medals better than others. 'If' the GB track team flops at Rio, budget is going to massively be cut. ££ = Success, BC is proven this massively.
Its a very interesting time with this Soap Opera style team and IMO they are on a HUGE knife edge.
It sounds like it is more than just one person though: http://singletrackworld.com/columns/2016/04/pro-xc...
I tend to have the default position of all these sporting bodies being corrupt though, FIFA, IOC, FIA UCI, British Cycling etc.
I tend to have the default position of all these sporting bodies being corrupt though, FIFA, IOC, FIA UCI, British Cycling etc.
Jumped before pushed is one way of looking at it, realising he's been out of line means he had only one choice.
Staying on would only have had a negative result on what he has been helping to achieve, regardless of his methods or Jurassic opinions.
Staying on would only have had a negative result on what he has been helping to achieve, regardless of his methods or Jurassic opinions.
Edited by JustinF on Wednesday 27th April 22:20
I used to have an excellent athletics coach (he coached over 40 GB international athletes) who was very abrasive and non-PC. He'd shout abuse at us across the track if he though we weren't training properly, had inappropriate nicknames for us, generally offended everyone. Some athletes respond well to that sort of coaching, some don't. That coach was never an establishment figure in British Athletics, but was well-known as an innovative and effective coach for athletes that respond well to that style of coaching.
IMO British Cycling's mistake wasn't in employing Sutton, it was in making him the head of the program. Athletes who don't respond well to his abrasive style need to have another option, not just the choice of putting up with it or quitting - neither of those produces the best outcome for the team.
IMO British Cycling's mistake wasn't in employing Sutton, it was in making him the head of the program. Athletes who don't respond well to his abrasive style need to have another option, not just the choice of putting up with it or quitting - neither of those produces the best outcome for the team.
Craikeybaby said:
It is interesting that downhillers don't seem to have much to do with British Cycling and we've got the top 3 girls in the world.
Some of the top men too!British Cycling has never cared at all for downhill or trials, a bit more niche but UK rider Jack Carthy is 2nd in world rankings, in recent years.
Sometimes BC not being involved is a good thing, it allows the sport and the riders to develop the sport themselves without the red tape and bureaucracy that BC enforce, tracks would be sanitised, rules strictly enforced and people would begrudge the fact that BC got involved. As far as I am aware, the BC issue with MTB has always been insurance but I dont know much more that that. It makes events more expensive as organisers have to find alternative insurance providers but they also stay clear of that red tape. BC have always been more focussed on road/track, having witnessed BC bureaucracy first hand though, why MTBers would want in on that is a mystery! For all we know, BC approached the Atherton's et al but they said no thanks, we are ok doing what we do our own way, it certainly gets results. IMHO you cant really train the psychological elements of DH, its something you can either do or you cant. I know I cant and no amount of training would help me ride down a black run....
As for the Sutton thing, my opinion is six of one etc etc, its a pressure cooker environment, you sink or swim. Didnt Kenny make remarks before the Worlds that they were treated like children? I think it was after Colclough or Barker had that motorbike accident? There is no place for bullying in coaching but Varnish must have known that her position was under scrutiny based on her results and times in the last 18 months. Its a privilege not a right to be an Elite sportsman/woman in GB and be paid a salary to do what you love, there are hundreds more ready to commit to the training behind Varnish et al. Its funny, if you read Pendleton's book, the whole GB coaching team were obsessed with her arse as thats where her power came from!
100 days before Rio isnt good timing but we are taking an experienced, strong team and should come back with some medals from the mens teams, I cant see much from the women though.
As for the Sutton thing, my opinion is six of one etc etc, its a pressure cooker environment, you sink or swim. Didnt Kenny make remarks before the Worlds that they were treated like children? I think it was after Colclough or Barker had that motorbike accident? There is no place for bullying in coaching but Varnish must have known that her position was under scrutiny based on her results and times in the last 18 months. Its a privilege not a right to be an Elite sportsman/woman in GB and be paid a salary to do what you love, there are hundreds more ready to commit to the training behind Varnish et al. Its funny, if you read Pendleton's book, the whole GB coaching team were obsessed with her arse as thats where her power came from!
100 days before Rio isnt good timing but we are taking an experienced, strong team and should come back with some medals from the mens teams, I cant see much from the women though.
Edited by anonymous-user on Thursday 28th April 12:02
These reports have been kicking around for some time, but its the first time its got to this stage.
I do think there is something fundimentally wrong within the Elite setup at BC especially for women, and its getting worse.
I personally think, favoritism plays a huge roll in BC selection, and they only care about track results, road is a distant 2nd, and they wish MTB would drop off the planet. It appears to me, once you are out of favour, then you stay there and selection is nigh on impossible.
They keep sending female XC riders to road races, inc the Road world champs, yet Dani King was there for Wiggle Honda in the TTT, the team was short of riders to support Lizzie, yet they ignored her offers to ride and left her on the side lines. MTB are still 500 odd points short of Rio qualification too, and the men 200 points off.
Rio squad selection could be very interesting.
I do think there is something fundimentally wrong within the Elite setup at BC especially for women, and its getting worse.
I personally think, favoritism plays a huge roll in BC selection, and they only care about track results, road is a distant 2nd, and they wish MTB would drop off the planet. It appears to me, once you are out of favour, then you stay there and selection is nigh on impossible.
They keep sending female XC riders to road races, inc the Road world champs, yet Dani King was there for Wiggle Honda in the TTT, the team was short of riders to support Lizzie, yet they ignored her offers to ride and left her on the side lines. MTB are still 500 odd points short of Rio qualification too, and the men 200 points off.
Rio squad selection could be very interesting.
King and Armitstead are light years apart, there was no point putting King in the road race as only Vos and Johannson can realistically stick with Armitstead but I do agree that the women appear to be suffering at the moment. Obviously to some extent its cyclical, 2012 was the high point of a training peak for the athletes and they delivered, Trott, King, Rowsell, Pendleton all did the job. Four years later and the rest of the world have caught up again, Aus in particular look super strong, as do China, we're on the downward curve or back on the up, either way GB women are not at a peak. Whether its an issue with training, motivation coaching or attitude is something only the coaches and riders can know though.
After racing through youth and junior XC you would get dad's behaving pretty badly but he sounds like the pushy dad from hell.
The abuse is not acceptable even if it is an Olympic year. He had to go.
The BMX national champ hasn't been selected for Olympics. We only have Liam Phillips - why can't we have two? All they care about is track. Yet so few people do it. Yet a lot of us pay memberships and I'm not sure what for.
In fact the Olympics is a bit of a poison chalice imo with the way funding and BC work. I think it would be useful if this did affect results
Personally I hope that some major reorganisation occurs.
The abuse is not acceptable even if it is an Olympic year. He had to go.
The BMX national champ hasn't been selected for Olympics. We only have Liam Phillips - why can't we have two? All they care about is track. Yet so few people do it. Yet a lot of us pay memberships and I'm not sure what for.
In fact the Olympics is a bit of a poison chalice imo with the way funding and BC work. I think it would be useful if this did affect results
Personally I hope that some major reorganisation occurs.
Surely the way that British Cycling is funded is down to how it's run.
As I understand it, Olympic medals pretty much drive the funding. (Happy to be proved wrong.)
There is the Road Race and Road TT, BMX and Cross Country, so 4 events. And 5 events on the track. (M and F in each, so 18 medals in total.)
So naturally, they spend most of their effort on getting the track ones.
I think the ratio of cycling medals at the Olympics is about right, (personal opinion.) I say this because the Olympics kind of should be the chance for the lesser known sports to come to the front, and get exposure to the general public.
Once every 4 years, the general public sit up and give a s
t about water polo, rowing, track cycling, gymnastics, field hockey etc. It gives these marginal sports their bit in the spotlight, and that is right, (in my opinion.)
I may have gone off topic now.
Victoria Pendleton.
As I understand it, Olympic medals pretty much drive the funding. (Happy to be proved wrong.)
There is the Road Race and Road TT, BMX and Cross Country, so 4 events. And 5 events on the track. (M and F in each, so 18 medals in total.)
So naturally, they spend most of their effort on getting the track ones.
I think the ratio of cycling medals at the Olympics is about right, (personal opinion.) I say this because the Olympics kind of should be the chance for the lesser known sports to come to the front, and get exposure to the general public.
Once every 4 years, the general public sit up and give a s
t about water polo, rowing, track cycling, gymnastics, field hockey etc. It gives these marginal sports their bit in the spotlight, and that is right, (in my opinion.)I may have gone off topic now.
Victoria Pendleton.
I agree with all of that.
But then you hear about all the instances of non-British Cycling funded riders being left out of national teams, even if they are the national champion. surely that is wrong - if they have proved to be the best rider in the country for their discipline they should be able to represent the country.
Obviously If the British Cycling schemes were working as intended the national champion would be in their squad already...
But then you hear about all the instances of non-British Cycling funded riders being left out of national teams, even if they are the national champion. surely that is wrong - if they have proved to be the best rider in the country for their discipline they should be able to represent the country.
Obviously If the British Cycling schemes were working as intended the national champion would be in their squad already...
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