Statement from British Cycling
"Following a post-world championships review of every rider on the track programme, the decision was made not to renew Jess's place based on performances in training and competition, and on a projection of capability for a medal in Tokyo. The decision was upheld by a review panel following an appeal by Jess.
"At no point in the performance review or the appeal process did Jess raise concerns about sexism, or any other form of discriminatory behaviour, in the Great Britain Cycling Team.
"However, we are fully committed to the principles and active promotion of equality of opportunity. As such, we treat any such allegations with the utmost seriousness and we will be contacting Jess to offer to discuss her concerns in full.
“British Cycling has a strong record of working to create opportunities for more women and girls to take part in cycling at every level of the sport – from our Breeze programme of women-only led rides and Go-Ride, our development programme for young people, right through to the Great Britain Cycling Team where our riders are world leaders.
“Cycling does have an historical legacy of gender imbalance in terms of participation but through #WeRide, British Cycling’s strategy to get a million more women into cycling by 2020, we are on track to create a sport of which all our members can be proud.”
Statement from Shane Sutton, British Cycling technical director
“I wholeheartedly deny that I said or did anything other than act with complete professionalism in my dealings with Jess.
“As with all other riders on the track programme, she was subject to a performance review following the worlds and the data did not justify Jess retaining a lottery-funded place on the podium programme as an athlete with medal potential in this Olympic cycle or the next.
“Jess has been a great athlete to work with and it’s important to me that the valuable contribution she made to British Cycling and women’s cycling during her time on the Great Britain Cycling Team is not forgotten.
“I am proud that the Great Britain Cycling Team has been at the forefront of supporting a new generation of outstanding British sportswomen. At the last two Olympics, British women have won six cycling golds - a record which stands comparison with any sport in this country and with any other cycling team. I rank it among the programme's greatest achievements as well as a testament to the talent of the riders we have supported in my time here.”
