King considers BC return

Former BC chief says he may stand for election to the board

Former British Cycling chief executive Peter King has said he may consider standing for election to the national body’s board to help it move on from a year of turmoil.

King’s comments come a week after the publication of a review into the culture of BC’S elite programme found that had King’s own warnings in a report he wrote in 2012 been heeded, the issues of a “culture of fear” and poor management would have been tackled sooner.

British Cycling is set to reappoint a raft of directors at the end of this year if controversial changes to its management that will weaken members’ power are voted through.

When asked by CW if he might stand, King said: “There are going to be people

elected to the board aren’t there, so it’s a possibility.

“One doesn’t do anything unless one feels they can make a difference. I might consider it. I wouldn’t just do it for the sake of it.

“I probably know more about the various aspects of BC than most people do.” King said that he didn’t believe the board had deliberately not acted on his recommendations in 2012 but that they were ultimately responsible for the organisation’s failure to do so. “In some respects it could be argued that what my report was doing was drawing to the attention of the management the perception of the people I had spoken to [King interviewed over 40 people]. Maybe they felt that perception wasn’t fair or maybe they did do something to address it but the outcome wasn’t effective,” he said. “I think it’s disappointing to see what has happened in the last 12 months and it would be good to see things improving over the next two to three years,” he said. King was one of the architects of BC’S success. He took up the post of chief executive in 1997 as the board saved the organisation from near bankruptcy. He stayed in the role until 2008. “It still does touch me on a personal level. It had 12 years of my time,” he added.