UK Sport has "welcomed an investigation" into allegations by Jess Varnish that British Cycling Technical Dir Shane Sutton told her to "move on and get on with having a baby" after being dropped from the Olympic performance team, according to Martha Kelner of the London DAILY MAIL. Varnish, who was told her contract would not be renewed 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, 25, says she was told her "ass" was "too big to ride certain roles on the team." Varnish said, "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. 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." British Cycling and Sutton have "denied any wrongdoing but promised to set up a meeting between Varnish and an independent staff member to discuss the allegations" (DAILY MAIL, 4/23). In London, William Fotheringham wrote Sutton "strongly denies" her claims and the team was "adamant that the allegations had not been not raised during a lengthy dismissal procedure." The "bigger question that needs to be asked is whether British Cycling has a specific problem with women." That "might seem a strange one for a programme that has consistently produced" women’s world and Olympic Medals since '05, with Nicole Cooke, Victoria Pendleton, Laura Trott and Lizzie Armitstead at the forefront. Asked if the team had had formal complaints in recent years similar to those raised by Varnish, British Cycling said that was "categorically not the case" (GUARDIAN, 4/23).
