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Jess Varnish and Becky James, Cali 2014 (copyright Britishcycling.org.uk)Jess Varnish dropped from Olympic programme
Jess Varnish has been dropped from British Cycling’s Olympic podium programme. The sprinter was critical of the organisation after the track world championships in London, but technical director Shane Sutton said the decision had been taken “purely on performance grounds.”
Varnish and team sprint partner Katy Marchant were highly critical of their coaches after failing to qualify for the Rio Olympics in that event. Speaking to the BBC at trackside, Varnish took issue with how the team’s management had tinkered with the squad.
“I feel sick. We have been basically playing catch up through bad decisions and bad luck. How many more times can I keep putting my life on hold, making these choices for my career, if it’s not going to pay off, through no fault of our own?
“There’s been people put out for races, say the European Championships last year … it’s great they’ve been given an opportunity in major championships and to try to qualify the ‘A team’ for a place at Olympic Games, but they’re not there yet.
“It should not be their job. To have to qualify for the Olympic Games, it should not be a development programme. It should be A team, A team, A team. It’s not happened.”
Speaking to The Telegraph, Sutton said:
“The evidence doesn’t lie. There were 10 events which counted [towards qualification]. Jess participated in eight, Katy in seven. They went head-to-head on five occasions with the French team who beat them overall by three points, and the French beat them on four occasions. So they didn’t deserve the place. She [Varnish] had a golden opportunity to qualify. But then because she didn’t she looked to blame everyone else.”
Varnish had however still harboured hopes of being entered for the individual sprint events but has not had her contract renewed and has ceased training at the national velodrome in Manchester.
Sutton said that if anything her performances had deteriorated in recent years.
“Jess is 25. She has been with us a long, long time. She qualified 17th in the match sprint [in London] so her chances of medalling in Rio were very very slim if not none. And she hasn’t gone as quick as she went three years ago … There is no point carrying on and wasting UK Sport’s money on someone who is not going to medal going forward.”
Sutton has also felt it necessary to speak with Varnish’s boyfriend, 2013 BMX world champion, Liam Phillips, about not renewing her contract.
“I had a long chat with him to try to make him understand that we don’t take these decisions lightly. It wasn’t as though we ‘got rid’ of Jess. It’s just that it was up for renewal and we didn’t renew it.”
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
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28 comments
Standard Australian attitude?
As others have said, reading Nicole Cooke's book make you see this in a different light.
It may seem reasonable to set a high bar for performance given the money that is being spent, and if you are not making the grade then you're out. The concern is that this bar is not set equally, and if you are female and/or outspoken appears to work against you.
Reading an autobiography only gives one side of the story of course.
Mr sutton didn't get on to well with Wendy Houvenaghel either. Do these issues come up in the mens squad?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/19147279
No they don't; but he does come from an era where women should be in the kitchen so who knows? This is what Victoria Pendleton said in 2015 http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/31557464
Even if Sutton is correct, he comes accross as a jumped-up middle management prick. Expected in many walks of life, slightly disappointing that cycle sport is no different.
I believe Sutton is being disingenuous and evening the score over her criticisms.
Varnish had a back injury for a while that has inhibited her progress but is now back to full fitness. BC has used her in a specialist role as starter in the team sprint and this has undoubtedly affected her abilitiy to develop in the sprint and Kieron. They should have given her more time to switch disciplines; she has the talent and will or would have developed the speed.
Pendleton won her fiest world title at 25/26; there is no good reason to discard Varnish when her prime years are ahead of her!
Some strange decisions being made by Shane and Ian at the BCF. The BCF supported BMX squad for this years world champs has recently been announced. 9 BCF places up for grabs and they're sending... 3, yes only 3. Not only that but some of the Elite riders on BCF's development programme who are eligible to attend and race have been told that not only will they not be supported, they're also barred from entering. Even if they self fund and get themselves to the event, they still would not be able to race. Totally absurd!
http://bmxtalk.com/news/squad-announced-world-championships.html
Sutton is right, you can't sit in the gravy train forever, Aussies hate non triers, it's in their DNA. It's also why, as a small nation, they punch above their weight in all sports.
I assume you are a troll; nobody has ever accused Varbish of not trying. Your clealry a student of Aussie sport.... not; they lost there way severly in the 2000's for a number of years and punched nowhere near their weight.
I'm currently reading Nicole Cook's book & Mr Sutton doesn't come out of it well. Seems to run hot & cold with people and ideas. As said though he is tough and blunt. His wording as reported herein is unpleasant and could have been done far more sensitively. But then if it wasn't for Shane no one else would have given Brad Wiggins the kick up the arse he needed after his first season of coasting at Sky.
Damn you 1961BikiE .. was just about to comment the same (only halfway through the book though) ... BTW a book that demonstrates that you can (could) be a world-class athlete and still not get proper support and guidance from BC, and even be actively blocked. That many (not all) of Cooke's issues occured before Sutton was in place is neither here nor there .. and doesn't mean that vindictiveness cannot continue to happen in the coaching of womens cycling.
Send all the guys who aren't as successful as Sir Chris Hoy packing.
We've got a performance director who isn't as successful as Dave Brailsford so he should be sack too, after all there's no point in wasting money on him is there?
You can also look at it that Jess has 'stopped' someone else coming through the BC programme.
Now we'll see someone else get the chance.
There's no glossing over the fact she's not quick enough.
Maybe a career on the road would work. Age is still on her side.
The fact that Sutton thinks the appropriate way to deal with an athlete is by speaking to her boyfriend says a lot about his attitude.
Would he have taken a similar approach with Wiggins or Cav?
'I've had a word with Peta...'
Without know all the facts, which i doubt we will ever get, then we should not cast judgement.
Maybe Jess did not attend meetings where she would have been told in person. Maybe she did. Maybe the chat with her partner was to clear the air and make sure the Team GB side was given.
I agree but that doesn't stop people sounding off. Perhaps some posters on here are secretly in the Manchester velodrome all week, timing the athletes and have seen Jess knocking out brilliant split times without Shane realising.
@Matthewjb - where does it say that he spoke to Liam Phillips before speaking directly to Jess? There's no point making things up.
I'd not want Sutton's job. The buck stops with him in the end and no medals could mean no job in September.
[/quote]
Without know all the facts, which i doubt we will ever get, then we should not cast judgement.
[/quote]
Errrr .... but then it wouldn't be the internet. Anyway, I think we have enough facts to cast judgment on Sutton's (wo)man management skills. (Although the newspaper may have set him up - a coach v players rift story sells.) "Her performances over the assessment period have not met the criteria for Olympic selection and accordingly she won't be going to Rio" would have been enough. The rest of Sutton's comments make him look like an egomaniac who has had it in for Varnish for some time. He would have been better advised to keep his mouth shut.
except if you go down that path, it would be torn apart quicker than a dodgy dossier from the treasury, as the complete load of old tosh that it is.
Jess is ranked in the top 20 elite women sprinters in the world, she is the top ranked GB women sprinter on the UCI Olympic rankings which covers the whole olympic track cycling qualification period.
she was the top GB womens sprint finisher at the most recent World Championships, and in qualification she was only 6 hundreths of a second off Katy Marchants time after focussing specifically on lead out for the team sprint discipline, in her 3rd day of competition.
this is not a performance issue at all, or even a unlikely to medal issue, because TeamGB will send track cyclists to Rio who do not have a chance of winning a medal & we will not bring back 10 medals from 10 events, so Sutton can bleat all he likes claiming its nothing to do with Jess's post team sprint criticism, I simply wont ever believe him.
That's not really a fair comparison as neither Ms Wiggo or Ms Cav are on the GB program. I think this was actually a mature thing for Sutton to do, after all it's going to have an affect on his rider - Liam
Maybe she just lost her shine.
She needed more polish.
Shane just tells it as it is, it is his way.
I like his bluntness, there's no point trying to sugar coat it.
Also, Jess Varnish has NOT been anywhere near as successful as Victoria Pendleton.
If that is the standard then we might as well just send the whole team home.
That's like dismissing someone's football ability because they are not as successful as Pele. Pendleton is one of the best track cyclists ever.
Apologies, but my remark was in response to the first comment (the one directly above mine) not as a coment on the article as a whole.
Also, people asking why he had to speak with Liam Phillips. This is probably because he has to work with him at points too, or at least in the same building as him. I doubt he'd have to have the same conversation with Peta as Shane doesn't work with her.
Shane Sutton does not come out well from this, at least not from what has been reported. It's at least an undignified ending of the career of someone who has done her country proud, and potentially veers into the spiteful. Especially the comment on wasting money could and should have been more tactful.
Shane Sutton might need to think about some marginal gains in the tact department.
I wish Jess Varnish all the bext and hope that she will be able to reinvent herself as successfully as Victoria Pendleton has done.