British Cycling riders will not be prevented from consulting former technical director Shane Sutton, according to his replacement at the governing body Stephen Park. In an interview with the Telegraph, Park, who was appointed at the new technical director last December said it would be remiss of him not to ‘engage’ with his predecessor.
"Shane doesn't work for British Cycling at the moment. But equally, nobody's sending any messages to riders or staff saying they shouldn't communicate with him,” Park told the Telegraph. "Shane is clearly well respected for his coaching abilities, and he's got an incredible track record. So, it would be silly for me not to have some level of engagement with him, if that's possible and he's willing to do that.”
Sutton was part of the British Cycling set-up from 2002 after a stint as a coach with Welsh Cycling. In 2014, when Dave Brailsford stepped down from the position, he was promoted from performance director to technical director. Park understands that familiarity will be important for riders after spending much of their career with Sutton.
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"We've got other great coaches. The reality is time does move on in every sport. So for a lot of riders that might well be the case, and for riders that have worked with any individual over an extended period of time, they'll probably go back and refer back to them,” said Park.
After two years as technical director, Sutton was suspended from his role in April last year and resigned soon afterwards following allegations of sexism and bullying. Despite that, several athletes did continue to consult him in the build-up to the Olympic Games in Rio. An independent investigation was launched in the aftermath, and though the official publication of the report has been delayed until May, a version of it was leaked earlier in the year.
The leaked version heavily criticised the manner of Sutton’s departure and claimed that the Australian had been receiving a salary that was higher than what it would have been had he stayed at British Cycling.
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