TIMELINE: HOW THE SCANDAL UNFOLDED...

APRIL 20

Jess Varnish dropped from the Great Britain Olympic cycling team after failing to qualify in the two-woman, two-lap team sprint. Shane Sutton says: ‘Jess had not made the necessary gains in performance compared to the rest of the world.’

APRIL 23

Varnish claims to Sportsmail that Sutton made sexist comments towards her after shattering her Olympic dream. He is reported to have told

the 25-year-old she was ‘too old’, should ‘move on and get on with having a baby’ and that her ‘ass’ was too big.

APRIL 24

UK Sport welcome an investigation into allegations by Varnish in the interview. British Cycling and Sutton fervently deny any wrongdoing.

APRIL 26

Victoria Pendleton backs up Varnish’s claims about Sutton, saying her experiences at British Cycling were very similar. Pendleton says she ‘wholeheartedly believed’ Varnish, saying she never felt she had the same respect as her male team-mates. Sutton is suspended by British Cycling following the allegations.

YESTERDAY

Sutton is alleged to have referred to paracyclists as ‘gimps’ and ‘wobblies’. The allegation comes from Darren Kenny, one of Britain’s most decorated paracyclists. Sutton then claims he supported Pendleton when she ‘capitulated’ on the track during her career. He says he was ‘hurt’ by her allegations. He also insists that Varnish was dropped solely on the basis of her performance on the track, calling her ‘a wonderful girl and a beautiful person’. Later, he resigns as technical director of British Cycling.