Friday 29 April 2016 11:47, UK
British Cycling will contact Jess Varnish to discuss accusations of sexism she made in the wake of being dropped from the Olympic programme.
Varnish was told last month that her contract would not be renewed following a performance review.
The 25-year-old subsequently claimed in an interview with the Daily Mail that British Cycling technical director Shane Sutton had told her to "go off and have a baby".
She also alleges that she had been subjected to a "long list" of comments about her figure, including that she couldn't change position within the team sprint "with an ass like mine".
However, Sutton has strongly refuted the claims in a British Cycling statement.
He said: "I wholeheartedly deny that I said or did anything other than act with complete professionalism in my dealings with Jess."
The statement added: "At no point in the performance review or the appeal process did Jess raise concerns about sexism, or any other form of discriminatory behaviour, in the Great Britain Cycling Team.
"However, we are fully committed to the principles and active promotion of equality of opportunity. As such, we treat any such allegations with the utmost seriousness and we will be contacting Jess to offer to discuss her concerns in full."
Varnish and Katy Marchant failed to qualify for the team sprint at the Olympic Games when the pair finished only fifth at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in London last month.
They subsequently launched a scathing attack on British Cycling coaches, accusing them of rotating the team too much and having no clear plan.
Varnish was told her contract would not be renewed nine days later.
