Tuesday 1 November 2016 17:24, UK
Jess Varnish has spoken of her relief after a British Cycling investigation found its former technical director Shane Sutton had used sexist language towards her.
Former European team sprint champion Varnish was subjected to "inappropriate and discriminatory language" the internal investigation revealed.
Varnish alleged in April that Sutton had told her to "go and have a baby" and that her "ass" was too big in the wake of her being dropped from the Great Britain Cycling Team.
Sutton denied the claims but was suspended following further allegations and then resigned from his role in April, 100 days before the start Olympics.
"I spoke out because I wanted to shine a light on the culture at British Cycling, a culture that in my mind was incorrect," Varnish said. "I'm relieved that the British Cycling board have acknowledged that the language used towards me was inappropriate and discriminatory and I would like to thank those involved and those that contributed to the investigation for their time and effort.
"I've always believed in standing up for yourself, especially when you know things are wrong. It wasn't easy for me to talk about this experience and I could've quite easily said and done nothing, but that isn't me.
"I've always given 100% to my sport, and am still in love with cycling, so I hope that British Cycling can use this investigation as a way to improve and create a better environment for the Great Britain team."
