The owner of this bike shop that Shane Sutton lived over rent free for 10 years has said it never dealt with him when sourcing any of the Team GB rider's bikes and kit it sold on eBay.
A bike shop in the UK that former British Cycling technical director Shane Sutton lived over has insisted there was nothing untoward about how it came into the possession of the Team GB kit and bikes it sold.
Wills Wheels in Stockport, close to the Manchester velodrome where Sutton was based with British Cycling, said it first started selling kit used by Team GB riders back in 2003.
It said it sourced the kit in sales British Cycling had when the kit became out of date, as seasons and sponsors changed.
Shop owner Will Wright also said his shop fixed bikes for British Cycling when it needed to outsource some of that work during busy times.
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And it said it sometimes received kit and components as payment, with British Cycling supporting that assertion.
Wright told The Guardian while Sutton had lived in the flat over the shop rent free, he never dealt with Sutton on any Team GB kit.
He also said while Sutton lived on the premises - rent free for about a decade until three years ago; he was not the only member of the cycling community to do so.
Currently a German cyclist was living there rent free and the arrangement was “a mate’s thing” within the cycling community. Wright is a former Welsh international and was once coached by Sutton.
“We’ve been selling genuine British Cycling team kit since about 2003,” Wright told The Guardian.
“Initially it was stuff we purchased from the GB Stores (within British Cycling) when they changed sponsors and the old kit was no longer useable.
"We got quite a sizeable batch 18 months to two years ago in January when there was a jumble sale at British Cycling.”
Wright said he had also sold the squad’s cast off used bikes, but this was part of the payment for building and fixing bikes at times for British Cycling.
“We invoice British Cycling for the labour and sometimes we get team kit or frames or handlebars in return. Sometimes a broken wheel: stuff we know we can repair.”
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And Wright did not believe Sutton was a bully, saying he was always supportive to people when they needed a lift.
While British Cycling backed Wright’s account of how his shop had come into the gear it has been selling online, it has also said its relationships with the company would form part of the inquiry – requested by UK Sport – into how British Cycling’s clothing and bikes were sold.
British Cycling statement on kit, bike sales
There is an ongoing investigation into the information provided to us by UK Sport this week. We are unable to comment on the details of this while the investigation continues.
The kit and equipment used by Great Britain Cycling Team riders and staff is supplied in one of two ways: performance equipment developed and funded wholly by UK Sport’s Research and Innovation programme, and equipment and clothing supplied free-issue by British Cycling’s commercial partners as value-in-kind.
British Cycling keeps a detailed and exhaustive inventory of all UK Sport-funded equipment - going back over 10 years - and can categorically state that no kit or equipment provided by UK Sport is, or has ever been, given away or sold on for profit, or has even left the National Cycling Centre, in Manchester.
The Research and Innovation programme benefits all national governing bodies, and is something which British Cycling views as integral to our continued success.
Our commercial partnerships are negotiated solely by British Cycling, and are designed to enable our athletes to train and compete at the highest levels at all times. Any equipment supplied in this way is booked in and out via a stock management system.
New kit is issued to athletes on the programme every 12 months. At the end of every 12-month cycle, kit or equipment is recycled, or scrapped if damaged. Records are kept, which include every item of kit.
When kit is issued, riders are informed that it is the property of the Great Britain Cycling Team, is not their personal property and should be returned when they leave the programme or when requested.
Non-current, unworn kit is also occasionally sold at ‘cycle jumbles’ – in cases where consent is provided by the commercial partner involved – and the money raised from these sales is then used to further support the Great Britain Cycling Team. Once sold, we are obviously unable to guarantee what individual buyers will do with the kit they have purchased.
In addition, British Cycling also has a long-standing relationship with an independent bicycle dealership who perform mechanic services for the Great Britain Cycling Team. They have received payment in kind with equipment which is no longer of use to the team.
The uppermost concern in our minds has always been to ensure that equipment funded by UK Sport or supplied by our commercial partners can be deployed as effectively as possible, thereby furthering the chances of success for our Olympic and Paralympic athletes.
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