Jess Varnish has been dropped from the Great Britain cycling team weeks after suffering Olympic disappointment for a second time.
The 25-year-old from Halesowen was told in March she would not be considered for selection for August’s Olympics in Rio after failing to qualify in the two-woman, two-lap team sprint.
Varnish, who was disqualified from the event alongside Victoria Pendleton at the London 2012 Games, and Katy Marchant finished fifth at the Track World Championships in London on 2 March, but it was not enough to advance to Rio.
British Cycling’s technical director, Shane Sutton, said on Wednesday: “Following on from our annual post-Track World Championships performance reviews, the decision was made for Jess to leave the sprint programme.
“Since her gold medal at the London World Cup in 2012, Jess had not made the necessary gains in performance compared to the rest of the world. The decision was based on a projection of medal competitiveness at Olympic Games level. We wish Jess the best of luck in the next stage of her career.”
Britain will have two individual sprint places and one keirin place at the Olympics, with the 2013 double world champion, Becky James, almost certain to go after recovering from illness and injury. James took bronze in the Keirin in London. Marchant is expected to get the other sprint berth.
Varnish and Marchant were furious with the British Cycling coaches for their selection decisions in the two-year qualification window, which contributed to the failure to advance to Rio. “I feel sick,” Varnish said. “How many more times can I keep putting my life on hold, making these choices for my career, if it’s not going to pay off, through no fault of our own?”
Varnish had focused on the specialist starting lap in the lead-up to London 2012 when teaming up with Pendleton. She recorded a personal best of 18.792sec at the London Track World Cup in February 2012 – a time that still stands as her best.
Varnish had planned to diversify after the London Olympics but she repeatedly returned to the specialist starting position, with the uncertainty surrounding James a contributing factor.
Racing in the “man one” position, she clocked 18.857 – slower than four years previously – as her Rio dream came to an end.
