The name has changed but the directness remains the same. “It was ruthless and it is still ruthless,” is Lizzie Deignan’s assessment of British Cycling, and the 28-year-old is well versed in the intricacies of a system in which she first made a name for herself and which has long been immersed in a bullying row.

The headlines have made for painful reading, only briefly paused with the latest medal rush at last week’s World Championships.

For Deignan, Armitstead until marrying the Team Sky rider Philip Deignan in September, her track career was not always a happy experience.

Despite world titles, she fell out of love with the discipline and headed for the road aged 20 but her message about British Cycling goes against the grain. A leaked report of the independent investigation into British Cycling, which has yet to be made public, found a “culture of fear” within the organisation.

“For me, it wasn’t a bullying place or a sexist place,” she says. “It was ruthless and really hard but it was professional. It’s in the business of medals and that’s ruthless.

“You have to differentiate between elite and amateur sport. Elite sport is ruthless as you’re trying to be the best in the world and, if you aren’t, there’s someone snapping at your heels.

“I suppose with my experience, I’ve realised you have to read beyond the headlines, and unfortunately the negative voices are often louder than the positive voices. I think it’s brave to stand up and be positive if you believe in something.”

The personal experience alluded to began in a Swiss court after a third missed doping test led to a ban just days before the Olympics. The ban was overturned but it turned Rio, for which she had planned meticulously for gold having been pipped to the line at London 2012, into a nightmare.

Looking back, she says, “I felt like the victim, now I don’t,” still slightly disbelieving at the vitriol she received on social media.

But nearly nine months after the event, does she not see how three strikes appear from the outside?

“I can understand people’s point,” she says. “If I was someone that didn’t know how many times I’d been tested and didn’t know what was going on in my life, I would be the same ‘how on earth can you let that happen?’

“That’s been a harsh lesson, that people’s lives sometimes unravel quicker than they can control it.”

There is a sense, though, she is still fighting to restore her name and reputation, which began with her first notable result of this season, second at last weekend’s Amstel Gold Cup.

Following a season of stomach problems – initially set off by a bout of gastroenteritis – and a hip injury, on the bike it was the first obvious bit of post-Rio positivity for Deignan.

“For the first time in a long time I was riding with pain in my legs and not in my stomach,” she says. But Deignan knows she remains in reparation mode for now.

“It doesn’t particularly bother me whether you like me or not but I like to be respected so people losing respect for me because of it was hard to take,” she says. “It’s painful being accused of doping as it’s a criticism of your entire character and values. I was being attacked for something I’ve never done, would never do but it’s water off a duck’s back now.

“You get more perspective as you get older and the fear of having that taken away makes you appreciate it even more.”

Steadfast by Lizzie Armitstead is out on Thursday RRP £20 (Blink Publishing)