Friday 4 March 2016 07:05, UK
Victoria Pendleton has defended Jess Varnish and Katy Marchant over the criticism they aimed at British Cycling coaches in the wake of their failure to qualify for the team sprint at the Olympic Games.
Varnish and Marchant needed to better France's result by three places at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships on Wednesday in order to earn a spot in Rio but could only beat them by two.
In an angry and emotional interview straight afterwards, the pair blamed British Cycling's coaches for experimenting with unproven riders earlier in the qualification process.
Pendleton, who Olympic sprint gold medals at Beijing 2008 and London 2012, told skysports.com: "I agree with them. If you look at the men's team sprint today, the Kiwi team who won train together solidly and feel reassured in their positions. They know they are going to be part of that team, they train together and they looked so cohesive - and that's what's important.
"I often felt that I didn't train and race enough team sprint to get it right. You need to know that you've got a place to have that continuity of results. Am I in? Am I out of this one? That's tough."
Pendleton also refused to condemn Varnish and Marchant for the bitterness of their reaction.
"None of their comments should be over-analysed, because when something means so much to you, like qualifying for the Olympics, you can't hide how you feel in the moment," Pendleton said.
"I used to have a rant all the time when things went wrong, at everybody around me, because you just have to get the frustration out. They will have calmed down in a couple of days - and I know because I was the worst culprit for it."
Pendleton sympathises with Varnish in particular, having ridden the team sprint with her at the London 2012 Olympics, only to be disqualified at the semi-final stage.
"I feel for Jess because she has had disappointments before, but I know she has got the ability to be an Olympic champion," Pendleton added.
"I just hope she can use this to ensure something like this doesn't happen again. This has to be a fire in the belly for her.
"Setbacks ultimately helped my career and I didn't win my first Olympic gold medal until I was 28, but Jess is only 25, so she has time."
Britain's men's sprint team also failed to progress past the qualifying round on Wednesday as the country's recent struggles in sprint events continued.
Pendleton believes it is natural that performances have dipped and backed Britain to regain their status as the world's No 1 sprint nation soon.
"It's an evolution. The same team doesn't always dominate and it goes in cycles," Pendleton added. "Right now is a tough time for Britain but it's a normal process and it will come back around again."
