The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Stewart in GB squad as funding cut hits group Olympic programme support for Dundee track star
Dundee’s Mark Stewart has been named in Great Britain’s cycling squad for the build-up to the Tokyo Olympics but a £4 million cut in funding has seen the group fall from 110 riders to 87.
Stewart, who competed in the recent World Championships, is one of seven men’s track endurance cyclists getting top level Olympic Podium Programme support.
Funding agency UK Sport announced in December that British Cycling would be getting £26 million for the four-year Tokyo cycle, down from £30 million for its Rio preparations.
UK Sport also specified it would only be funding five male BMX and four female mountain bike riders, with the women’s BMX and men’s mountain bike programmes dropped.
Overall, the reduced package for British Cycling, which came as a shock for the Manchester-based sport after another hugely successful Games in Rio, means only 92 athletes can be funded by UK Sport, meaning there are still five places available.
In a press release, new performance director Stephen Park thanked UK Sport for its support but admitted the reduction has led to some “tough decisions”.
British Cycling has been under extreme scrutiny for how it makes decisions about which riders to back and its coaching culture ever since former GB rider Jess Varnish was released a year ago.
The controversy surrounding that decision – and the subsequent allegations of bullying and discrimination – has had enormous consequences for the sport, including wholesale changes in senior staff and an overhaul of the governing body’s HR policies.
Park said: “We’ve been working closely with all riders throughout, taking a personalised approach to the support we’ve offered.
“Any riders facing a non-renewal of programme membership were given three working days to make an appeal (and) all have been given a ‘notice period’ of three months ... including full athlete medical scheme cover and support with an exit and transition plan as required.”
Jason and Laura Kenny have been named in the squad. Team GB’s golden couple have won 10 Olympic titles between them but Laura, who turned 25 yesterday, is expecting their first child this summer and there has been speculation that six-time champion Jason Kenny, 29, was considering retirement.
He is understood to have barely touched his bike since winning three more golds in Rio last August and his wife added to the doubts about his future in an interview with the BBC earlier this month when she said he was “giving himself a bit of time” to decide what he wanted to do.
But the presence of both their names in the otherwise much-changed GB cycling squad will boost hopes at the National Cycling Centre that these two superstars will try to add to their incredible haul of Olympic medals.
The new funding approach means riders such as Team Sky stars Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas remain on the GB road squad but Mark Cavendish and twin brothers Adam and Simon Yates do not, although they could still be selected for the annual road world championships, as well as Tokyo in 2020.
Looking at the whole list of riders, the squad is still packed with Olympic and world champions, including Hong Kong winners Kate Archibald and Elinor Barker, and the pipeline looks well stocked, but there are some notable retirements, not least Shanaze Reade, Joanna Rowsell Shand and Sir Bradley Wiggins