Olympic gold medallist Dani King has told Cyclingnews that she did not feel that there was a culture of fear at British Cycling while she raced on its track programme. British Cycling has been under the spotlight over the past year following several allegations of bullying and sexism.
Earlier this month, a leaked review into the practices of British Cycling gave a damning indictment of the body, citing a so-called 'culture of fear' and a 'dysfunctional leadership structure.' According to King, her personal experiences are not reflected in the allegations or report, and the only fear she felt was that another rider might take her place if she couldn't perform.
"I don't think that fear would be the right word," King told Cyclingnews in Bath at the unveiling of the city's Tour Series route. "Nobody was complacent at British Cycling. Nobody could sit back at British Cycling. There was a culture of working really hard. I wouldn't say that I was ever fearful at British Cycling.
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"I think it was a good thing because it meant that everybody was giving 100 per cent in every session that they did because they felt like someone might take their spot."
King also reiterated her comments from last year that she had not endured any sexism, saying that former technical director Shane Sutton – who was accused by Jess Varnish of sexist remarks – was tough on both men and women.
"For me personally, I never experienced any sexism," explained King. "With the likes of Shane Sutton, for me, my opinion was that he was a hard taskmaster, but he was a hard taskmaster for both men and women. While I was there, I got all the support that I needed to become the best bike rider that I could be."
The rising road
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