Victoria Pendleton has rejected Shane Sutton's claims that he "held her" in his arms when she "capitulated" in the track centre, which the former British Cycling technical director made after his suspension from the governing body.
Pendleton supported Jess Varnish's claims of sexism within British Cycling, in which Varnish said Sutton told her to "go and have a baby". Pendleton revealed that she thought her opinions when in the programme were not as well respected as those of the men.
In response, Sutton told the Times that he was disappointed that the Olympic gold medallist had spoken out, saying he comforted her many times and even stayed up until 3am painting her house in the run-up to the Beijing 2008 Games.
Pendleton told The Times: "Apparently he has held me in his arms many times. I can tell you Shane has never thrown his arms around me."
As for him helping decorate her house, she said: "That was Shane on a good day. My relationship with Shane was good before Beijing but notice he was talking about the lead-up to 2008. It would be interesting to ask how he was with me in the lead-up to London. That might be a different story.
"It's all very well being supportive some of the time, but when you trust someone and they turn their back on you it's the most heart-breaking thing they can do. Shane can be a great bloke, but not all the time and it's a toss of the coin which side you get."
Sutton resigned his position as technical director soon after his suspension. He was also accused of discriminating against para-cyclists in the Great Britain set up.
-
-
Tokyo 2020 Olympics: Everything you need to know about Jason Kenny
The British rider has six Olympic gold medals to his name and will be looking to add to his tally in Japan
By Tim Bonville-Ginn •
-
'For the first time, I felt I didn't belong': Breaking down the barriers to cycling
From the outside, the world of cycling can be hard to break into - Myles Warwood goes in search of the stories behind the barriers
By Myles Warwood •
-
Rapha and British Cycling team up to create 'City Academies' diversity fund
This new initiative is said to be integral to British Cycling's push to make the sport more inclusive
By Jonny Long •
-
British cycling and its biggest riders taking on the Government is a major deal
Britons can only spend three months within any six month period in an EU country
By Chris Marshall-Bell •
-
New British Cycling campaign hopes to reinvigorate grassroots bike racing
The national governing body says that millions of adults are ready to start racing
By Alex Ballinger •
-
European Track Championships cancelled after ‘hijacking’ of Ryanair flight in Belarus
The European Championships were the last major event before the Tokyo Olympics
By Alex Ballinger •
-
British Cycling concerned about ‘substantial breach of privacy’ over Dame Sarah Storey’s backdated TUE for salbutamol
The governing body said it is worried about how the revelation could impact athletes who require medical treatment
By Alex Ballinger •
-
British Cycling joins social media boycott to protest online abuse towards athletes
British Cycling will join the upcoming social media boycott to protest the online abuse athletes face.
By Alex Ballinger •
-
Richard Freeman permanently struck off over testosterone delivery
Richard Freeman has been permanently struck off after ordering a testosterone package delivered to British Cycling headquarters in 2011.
By Alex Ballinger •
-
Cycling groups ask for urgent clarification over ‘stay local’ guidance during lockdown
Cycling groups have written to the government for urgent clarification over the ‘stay local’ guidance for exercise during the coronavirus lockdown.
By Alex Ballinger •
