Former cycling 'golden girl' Victoria Pendleton has weighed in on the sexism row engulfing British Cycling, saying she experienced the same problem as well as suffocating bullying.
Following claims by former international cyclist Jess Varnish that she was told by British Cycling technical director Shane Sutton to “go away and have a baby” after she was dropped from the Olympic team, Victoria Pendleton has weighed into the row.
The Olympic and World Championships gold medalist has said a climate of sexism and bullying exists in British Cycling. She described the bullying as “suffocating”.
She added she was speaking out in defence of her former sprint partner Varnish because she could not sit back and see her discredited when she knew the allegations Varnish has made were true.
Pendleton also pointed to the fact there were no women in key positions in British Cycling, suggesting it was indicative if a culture in which female voices were not welcome.
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“I have never spoken out before,” Pendleton has told The Telegraph.
“But I have to do it now. I would not be able to live with myself if I sat back and let people try to discredit (Varnish’s) character. Not when I wholeheartedly believe her.
"My experiences (of British Cycling) were very similar. And I know exactly how miserable they made me.
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“Of course they’ll say, ‘Oh it’s just sour grapes’ and, ‘Get over it, we get results’.
“But how wrong is that? Just think how good it could be if you felt supported. We are all totally committed as elite athletes.
“To think that pushing people around and bullying them is the best way to get results out of them is just ludicrous.
“I never really felt I had the same respect as my male team-mates,” she added.
“My opinion wasn’t worth as much. I used to sit quietly in meetings and not say anything as I knew my opinions would be disregarded. And that’s after I had become Olympic champion and multiple world champion.
“You have to wonder why there isn’t a single woman in a position of leadership in the organisation."
She also believe it was not good enough to dismiss the allegations as the price of success or simply don’t to the blunt manner of Sutton.
“I know everyone will say, ‘Oh, that’s Shane, that’s how he works’. But it doesn’t make it OK. If it is proved, I would be surprised if there weren’t calls for him to go.”
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