British Cycling "sent an email to its riders that appeared to warn them that their place on the Olympic team would be under threat if they strayed from the official line on the the crisis engulfing the sport," according to Alyson Rudd of the LONDON TIMES. Riders were told in an email to "expect public and media scrutiny after the resignation of Shane Sutton, the technical director, but were warned that how they responded to questions about allegations of sexism and bullying would have a bearing on how they were supported as they bid for glory at Rio 2016." The riders were told, “You are free to say yes or no to interviews. But how you respond will be a big factor in our ability to support you as the season unfolds.” The email was sent by Andy Harrison, who replaced Sutton after the Australian’s departure four weeks ago, and "details how riders should respond to the various allegations." Riders were told what suggested responses "would be helpful," such as: "I'm confident that they will get to the bottom of these allegations and that British Cycling will emerge stronger as a result." The tone "did not go down well and one rider asked Harrison what he meant, precisely, by his comments about the team’s ability to support riders" and a second email was quickly sent out that apologized for his "poorly constructed" wording. In the second email, Harrison wrote, "I want to apologise if the first line of the below email is misleading. The intention of the sentence was to highlight that I want my (and the staff’s) time to be focussed upon supporting you (‘the riders’)." However, the "fact that a threat was implied in the first place has prompted anger." One cyclist on the program and therefore unwilling to be named said that the “toxic” culture inside British Cycling was "in danger of being airbrushed out of the narrative" and it was “depressing” to be part of it (LONDON TIMES, 5/24).