British Cycling Chair Jonathan Browning will "step down after only nine months in the role," conceding the organization "needs a new leadership team," according to Sean Ingle of the London GUARDIAN. The 57-year-old, who replaced Bob Howden in February, insisted that he had steered British Cycling out of the "depths of a crisis" following allegations of "bullying, sexism and abuse of Para-athletes last year" -- as well as the "continuing fallout from the mysterious jiffy bag that was delivered by an employee to Bradley Wiggins" in '11. However, "Browning's position had long been seen as untenable by insiders" because he was a non-exec director of British Cycling from '14, "which meant he was on the board" during a period when the organization "was widely considered not fit for purpose." Under the new code for sports governance, Browning "had to reapply for the job as independent chair but -- having initially done so -- he decided to withdraw his candidacy before a board meeting on Wednesday" (GUARDIAN, 11/7). The BBC's Dan Roan reported Sport England "had threatened to withdraw crucial funding unless British Cycling had an overhaul of its leadership." Browning: "I have a passion to see through the transformation that we started, and have been encouraged by others to continue this work. ... However as I went through the process, it became clearer to me that British Cycling would benefit from a new leader to see it through the next stage of its development, particularly as British Cycling reshapes its relationships with its public funding partners." Browning "will now resume his previous role" as a non-exec director (BBC, 11/8).
ON THE RIGHT TRACK: In London, Tom Cary reported although part of the board which was panned by the Cycling Independent Review, Browning has led "what has been a pretty strong reaction from British Cycling this year." He said that he was "very proud of what had been achieved since he took over nine months ago," particularly given British Cycling’s new CEO, Julie Harrington, and new performance director, Stephen Park, "had not yet taken up their roles." Browning described the non-remunerated position as "24/7" in the early days, comparing it with being "an A&E doctor coming in and taking some pretty urgent action to treat some acute needs." Browning said that the 39-point "action plan" which British Cycling drew up in the wake of the CIR was "well underway, with 34 of those points due to be completed by the end of the year" (TELEGRAPH, 11/8).
