British Cycling forced to climb down over ‘threat’ to riders following claims of bullying, sexism and discrimination – Telegraph.co.uk

British Cycling’s interim performance manager, Andy Harrison, was forced to issue a swift apology and ‘clarification’ to his riders after appearing to suggest that their places at this summer’s Olympics might be in jeopardy if they spoke negatively to the media about their experiences on the programme.

In an email at 5.05pm on April 29, at the end of the week in which technical director Shane Sutton resigned amid claims of bullying, sexism and discrimination, Harrison wrote to his riders to say they were “free to say yes or no to interviews, but how you respond will be a big factor in our ability to support you as the current season unfolds”.

It went on to suggest possible responses to media enquiries, including:

 “The specific allegations that have been circulating in the media over the past week are extremely serious and I’m pleased to see that British Cycling and UK Sport are launching a full enquiry.”

and

“I’m confident that they will get to the bottom of these allegations and that British Cycling will emerge stronger as a result.”

British Cycling says Harrison was immediately contacted by one of the riders to ask what exactly he meant by the line regarding British Cycling’s “ability to support” riders depending on what they said publicly.

Harrison then sent out a second email at 6.21pm, saying: “I want to apologise if the first line of the email is misleading. The intention of the sentence was to highlight that I want my (and the staff’s) time to be focussed upon supporting you … My hope is that I can spend less time reacting and more time supporting the programme. I apologise if this genuine sentiment has been lost in a poorly constructed sentence.”

Both emails have been seen by Telegraph Sport.

A British Cycling spokesman said: “Andy immediately apologised and issued a quick clarification as riders have been told throughout recent weeks that they are free to speak of their own experiences to the media. Andy’s note was intended to ask the riders to consider the independent review as the best forum for raising concerns about behaviours in the team.”

Although only a limited number of current riders have spoken publicly since the furore erupted, they do not appear to have been gagged. Liam Phillips, the BMX rider, for instance, gave an interview to Telegraph Sport last week in which he was critical of both Sutton and aspects of British Cycling.

Geraint Thomas, meanwhile, has signed a two-year contract extension with Team Sky until 2018. The Welshman has contributed much to their success since they were established in 2010 and is again expected to be influential in the team’s pursuit of a fourth Tour de France title in July.