YOU’RE SEXIST
Axed star Jess claims British Cycling chief told her to ‘go and have a baby’
CYCLIST Jess Varnish has alleged she was told to ‘move on and get on with having a baby’ by British Cycling chief Shane Sutton after he shattered her Olympic dream.
Varnish, a world, European and Commonwealth Games medal-winner, is furious at what she claims is a ‘ hugely sexist’ comment aimed at an elite athlete.
The 25- year- old, who was recently dropped from the Olympic programme after the British women’s sprint team failed to qualify for the Rio Games, claims that she was also judged to be ‘too old’.
Varnish says she has had to listen to a ‘long list’ of comments about her figure — including observations about the size of her ‘ass’ — and on occasion she felt ‘ uncomfortable’ around the male-dominated coaching team.
Varnish told Sportsmail: ‘Don’t get me wrong, the boys don’t get it easy, but I can’t imagine him (Sutton) saying something to one of the men about their body shape or telling them to go off and have a baby.’
Varnish, alongside Victoria Pendleton, was disqualified from the team sprint at the London Olympics but had been focused on Rio.
‘After 2012 I wanted to diversify,’ she said. ‘I was told that “with an ass like mine I couldn’t change position within the team sprint”.
‘I’ve got a list as long as my arm about comments I’ve had about my figure and it’s not right.’
Last night British Cycling and Sutton both denied any wrongdoing.
BRITISH cyclist Jess Varnish alleges she was told to ‘move on and get on with having a baby’ by British Cycling technical director Shane Sutton after he effectively ended her Olympic dream.
In a two-minute telephone call last month, British Cycling’s head coach Iain Dyer informed Varnish her contract on the Olympic podium programme would not be renewed and said the decision was on performance grounds alone.
The news came nine days after Varnish had angered Dyer and Sutton by publicly criticising coaching decisions after the British women’s team sprint pair failed to qualify for the Rio Olympics.
When Varnish questioned the decision not to renew her contract, she alleges Sutton told her that, at 25, she was ‘too old’ and she should ‘just move on and get on with having a baby’.
She also describes a very macho culture within British Cycling; an environment in which Varnish says she was once told her ‘ass’ was too big. Varnish says she has been completely cut off from the British Cycling programme since being axed.
‘Don’t get me wrong, the boys don’t get it easy,’ she says, ‘ but I can’t imagine him (Sutton) saying something to one of the men about their body shape or telling them to go off and have a baby. After 2012 I was told that, “with an ass like mine I couldn’t change position within the team sprint”. It basically implies the stronger woman has to go in “man one” position because I’m quite glute dominant, shall we say.’
Varnish, who was disqualified from the team sprint alongside Victoria Pendleton at the London Games, had been working towards Rio.
Last month, she and team-mate Katy Marchant finished fifth at the World Championships in London, narrowly missing a Rio qualifying slot. Varnish suggested the failure could be down partly to selection decisions by the coaches during qualification.
‘Iain Dyer heard my interview,’ says Varnish, ‘ and he shouted, “This is bull***, Jess”.
‘It was not personal. I was stating facts but I was pretty distraught. I then went to see Shane and he showed me a message from Iain saying, “I’ve just given Jess both barrels”.
‘My coach gave all the riders a week off before we were due to travel to Valencia for a training camp. I was called the morning of that day to be told I wasn’t going.
‘Then I got a text from Iain to say I had to come in for a meeting. I wanted to prepare myself because I’ve been in many meetings with British Cycling with eight or nine members of staff — predominantly male — and felt quite uncomfortable. I asked what the meeting was about and within two minutes (over the phone) he told me I was no longer part of the programme because my performance wasn’t good enough.’ Varnish says it was the first time she had heard any suggestion her levels of performance in training or competition were below standard. ‘Being on an elite programme you’d hope if you weren’t improving you’d be told straight away that you need to hit these targets, otherwise your place in the programme is in jeopardy,’ she says, ‘but I had nothing.’ Varnish sought out her performance data, which details her speed and power in an attempt to see evidence of why she was being dismissed. ‘It’s my data, and I felt I should be entitled to that,’ she says. ‘I contacted members of staff to collect it but before I could get any, Shane phoned me and said, “How dare I call his staff” for my information. A meeting we had scheduled to further explain why my contract hadn’t been renewed was cancelled.’ When Varnish, whose boyfriend is top BMX rider Liam Phillips, then went to the Manchester Velodrome, where British Cycling is based, to collect personal belongings — including a helmet and cycling shoes — she says she was subjected to another outburst from Sutton. ‘I saw Shane and Iain and asked if I could have some of the information,’ she says. ‘They couldn’t give it to me and said I’d been on the programme too long, that I was too old at the age of 25. Shane said that I should just move on and go and have a baby.
‘Other than it being hugely sexist, my boyfriend is about to compete at the Olympics for Shane’s team. I’ve got a list as long as my arm about comments I’ve had about my figure and it’s not right.’
Life within the British Cycling bubble, Varnish suspects, would have been much easier if she was a ‘yes woman’, agreeing with everything she was told to do, but that is not the way she is made.
‘ I see things that are right and wrong and have done since I was in reception class,’ she says, ‘and there are things going on in British Cycling that are wrong.
‘There’s going to be a lot of people who aren’t strong enough to deal with what I have. I was called a bully many times.
‘I was told I was bullying my teammate, who was a really close friend. They’re like my brothers and sisters and we’re going to fight but I’ve never bullied anyone.
‘There’s a common trend here. Victoria Pendleton was accused of bullying me and it’s not right to throw that word around. It would have made my life a lot easier if I’d just gone in there every day and just said “yes” to everything they said.
‘I take my hat off to people who can do that but I don’t want to give up my personality and my morals to be on that team. It’s not worth it.
‘I’d like to find a way to go to the Olympics but my primary aim is to help get Liam to Rio fit and with the best possible chance of doing well.’
A statement from British Cycling said: ‘Following a review of every rider, the decision was made not to renew Jess’s place based on performances in training and competition, and on a projection of capability for a medal in Tokyo.
‘The decision was upheld by an evaluation committee following an appeal by Jess. At no point in the performance review, the appeal process or in subsequent correspondence did Jess raise concerns about sexism, or any other form of discriminatory behaviour, in the GB team. ‘However, we are fully committed to the principles and active promotion of equality of opportunity. As such, we treat any such allegations with the utmost seriousness and we will be contacting Jess to offer to discuss her concerns in full.’ Shane Sutton said in a statement: ‘I wholeheartedly deny that I said or did anything other than act with complete professionalism in my dealings with Jess. ‘As with all other riders on the track programme, she was subject to a performance review following the worlds. The data did not justify Jess retaining a Lottery-funded place on the podium programme as an athlete with medal potential in this Olympic cycle or the next. She was given every chance to succeed, including the opportunity at the worlds to use better equipment than other riders. ‘Jess has been a great athlete to work with and it’s important to me that the valuable contribution she made to British Cycling and women’s cycling during her time on the GB team is not forgotten.’