British Cycling has much to address about its alleged culture of fear, its future structure, the role of Dave Brailsford and what it means for the Rio Games

Why was Shane Sutton’s behaviour ignored for years?

It is important to note that, had the sprinter Jess Varnish not opened the floodgates a week ago, Sutton would probably still be in post. Famously British Cycling is not a comfortable place to be as an athlete but there is a fine line between robust coaching based on direct speaking and actual bullying based on verbal abuse and the past week has indicated that Sutton stepped over that line at times.

For most of his long spell at British Cycling his approach was tempered by the people around him: Chris Boardman, Sir Dave Brailsford and Steve Peters between Athens and Beijing; Brailsford and Peters leading up to London. Latterly he has lacked their restraining influence and their presence to paper over the cracks but also, since being put in charge of the entire programme in the past two years, he has not been able to choose whom to work with but has had to work with every athlete to a greater or lesser degree. That in turn will have led to more confrontation.

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His behaviour was flagged up on various occasions, notably, according to several sources, in the post-London review, and also after Beijing when he was briefly sacked, but he was accepted – or tolerated, depending on how you look at it – because he was, and remains, an excellent trackside coach, whose commitment to those charges he feels closest to is hard to match. Briefly put, medals mattered more than the feelings of riders and staff.

Is there a culture of fear at British Cycling or is this sour grapes?

Where confrontational behaviour occurs, it can be hard to speak out; those on the receiving end feel their opinion will count for nothing and in an environment where team selection is taking place the pressure to keep quiet for fear of being branded a troublemaker is obvious. Insiders point out that Sutton will have had confrontations of varying degrees with pretty much every staff member and rider over the years. That in turn will have left any number of people willing to speak out once the spell had been broken. They will have had a variety of background reasons for doing so but the main one, now, is this: they finally feel they can.

What is the nature of Sutton’s role with Sky and is he still being paid?

Sutton and Brailsford worked closely on setting up Team Sky although the Australian’s input there waxed and waned; out early on, back in from summer 2010 through 2012 alongside Sir Bradley Wiggins, out again from 2013. Sutton stepped down as head coach in 2013 but is receiving a retainer from Sky for what are described as “occasional services”. It is unclear what this entails.

How much did British Cycling know about Sutton’s arrangement with Sky?

Curiously it is unclear whether British Cycling knew about it and this could be a key question for the forthcoming investigation. On Wednesday British Cycling’s chief executive, Ian Drake, denied any knowledge of Sutton’s Team Sky payment in an interview with the BBC, only for Sky to confirm that Sutton was indeed providing an “occasional advisory role”.

What are the terms of Sutton’s pay-off from British Cycling?

These are unclear but are rumoured to be six figures with a gagging clause that prohibits him from working for the opposition at least until after Rio.

How will the cycling team regroup pre-Rio?

Given Sutton’s strong influence over the squad, it is hard not to see him acting as an informal sounding board in the run-in to the Rio Olympics for those members who feel closest to him. They may not be permitted to speak face to face but there are always less formal channels. Where Sutton will be missed is in his capacity for close support of key athletes such as Laura Trott and Becky James and for rapid decision-making based on gut instinct. With key questions about the Rio squad still to be decided it is possible to imagine the set-up becoming bogged down due to fear of another kind – fear of hurting feelings and not following due process to the letter.

Where does Sir Dave Brailsford fit into this?

Brailsford was the performance director at British Cycling from 2003 to 2014 and worked alongside Sutton throughout, apart from brief periods when the Australian was on gardening leave. The pair have always had a close if essentially dysfunctional relationship, constantly falling out and making up. Quite how much Brailsford knew, what warnings he received and what actions he took should figure in the independent reviews currently being set up.

Who could take over from Sutton?

At present the stand-in is Andy Harrison, the programmes director, who was appointed alongside Sutton in April 2014 to lighten the logistical load on the Australian. He will work closely with the head coach Iain Dyer, who deals with day-to-day coaching matters.

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Long term it is unclear who will step in as performance director but this is unlikely to be taken in hand until after Rio. There is a long list of experienced coaches who have left British Cycling over the years who might fit the bill subject to contract negotiations, although all have yet to express any interest. They include Dan Hunt, currently head of elite performance at the Premier League; Simon Jones, head of performance support and innovation at Team Sky; Rod Ellingworth, now Team Sky’s head of performance operations; Matt Parker, formerly Stuart Lancaster’s right-hand man at England Rugby. From in-house the current endurance coach Heiko Salzwedel has run national programmes and has extensive knowledge of British cycling from three stints at the team.

When will the inquiries report?

Two separate inquiries were launched this week, one an independent review by UK Sport into behaviour within the cycling programme following initial allegations against Sutton by Varnish, the second an internal BC inquiry into other allegations against the former technical director. The independent review is chaired by the British Rowing head Anna-Marie Phelps, who will appoint a panel supported by Liz Nicholl, the chief executive of UK Sport, and Marian Lauder, a nonexecutive director of British Cycling. The review is expected to report after the Rio Olympics.

What will Sutton do next?

He is only 58 but has had health problems in recent years and has often threatened to step back from the limelight, although it is hard to imagine him turning down coaching posts simply because of the obvious passion he has for trackside work with athletes. The smart money should be on freelance coaching and consultancy in the long term, probably with a book deal somewhere along the way. Given his closeness to some of his former charges and colleagues, his elephantine memory – and the fact there are now a few scores to be settled – that could be an intriguing read once the libel lawyers have had their way with it.