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Liam Phillips at Rio 2016 (copyright Alex Whitehead SWpix.com via British Cycling.org_.uk).jpgLiam Phillips tells Jess Varnish tribunal that GB cycling success came at "huge cost" to athletes
Liam Phillips, the former BMX world champion, has told an employment tribunal hearing a case related to his partner, Jess Varnish, that British Cycling’s success has come at “huge cost” to the riders.
The 29-year-old told the tribunal in Manchester yesterday that coaches were “jealous” of the earning power of cyclists after the Beijing 2008 Olympics – the first of three where Team GB dominated the cycling medal table – and that British Cycling blocked riders’ sponsorship opportunities.
According to the Guardian, he said that the “success of British Cycling had come at a huge cost to the athletes,” after Beijing when the “money started rolling in.”
He said: “Money distorted everything and it was divisive. The coaches became very aware of what each other were earning. They would see athletes’ earning opportunities and would get a bit jealous.”
Phillips spoke of how a £12,000 sponsorship deal between him and Bacardi in 2014 was vetoed by British Cycling, although Thomas Linden QC, representing the governing body, said that was on the grounds that it would not have been appropriate for a young rider to endorse an alcoholic drinks brand.
The cyclist also said members of the team had “severely restricted earning opportunities” and that Jason Kenny had complained to him about his kit making him look like a “walking, talking billboard, but he’s seeing none of it.”
He also gave examples of what Varnish had referred to as “extreme control” exercised over athletes, including being told when they could train and which social engagements they could attend, including an episode where his former housemate Philip Hindes, twice Olympic gold medallist in the team sprint, was invited to the royal box at Wimbledon.
He said: “The invitation was sent to the velodrome and the coaches opened it and threw it away, because they decided it would interfere with his training.”
When Hindes found out, he was said to be furious but when he raised the issue with coaching staff, he was told that if he went – which he did, anyway, against their orders – he would jeopardise selection for the European under-23 championships.
“It [British Cycling]is run more like a business whose aim is to make profit by being successful on the track,” Phillips said.
“It is no longer a purely sporting organisation. As the business model has developed the independence of the cyclists has been eroded until now they are very much cogs in the system, fully integrated, fully branded and ultimately controlled by British Cycling.”
Former track sprinter Varnish, 28, is attempting to sue British Cycling, which developed her from age 12, and UK Sport, which funded her, for unfair dismissal and discrimination but first has to demonstrate that she was an employee, not an independent contractor.
The case, which follows allegations of bullying and discrimination made by Varnish against British Cycling staff in early 2016 and her subsequently being dropped from the podium programme, could have far-reaching implications for how Olympic athletes are funded in future.
The tribunal is due to last until 17 December.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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8 comments
Right!!
I can't help feeling that I really don't care about Jess Varnish being dropped from the team as she wasn't fast enough.
BC have defo made mistakes here don't get me wrong, there's no room for nastiness, but this ongoing tribunal is just about money.
Maybe that makes me sound like a knob, but the fall out could be the nail in the coffin for british olympic hopes in years to come.
Rather like Brexit people have fallen for British Cycling's smoke screen that wafted off a huge pile of BS about Jess Varnish's times.
She has still not been given her preformance data and BC have still not justified why she was removed from the team with no prior indication that she would be. The coaches ****ed up the Women Sprint Teams qualification for Rio but they have not paid the price.
We now have a second rate women sprint team getting nowhere near the times Jess Varnish produced. She left the sport as a world class performer; BC should be ashamed but unfortunately they're too wrapped up in their own enemeas to be bothered.
Rather like remainers have fallen for all the lies and spin but have like BC have someone in power to fuck it all up for everyone because they're too blind to see that things can be better if done differently and without having to compromise.
Keep politics out of the conversation ffs, brexit should be totally taboo because comparing it to BC only works if you're for leaving a corrupt and morally bankrupt organisation that is the EU.
Well left.
And wrong.
Hmm interesting. This may explain why BC bloked Tre Whyte from competing in the BMX Worlds, despite the fact that Tre had a sponsorship deal in hand. By blocking him from the Worlds, BC basically denied Tre a place in the Olympics.
Sadly, I'm not terribly surprised.
"It would not have been appropriate for a young rider to endorse an alcoholic drinks brand"
On a personal I agree with this. Many brands that are endorsed by athletes and teams are for products that really are not good for you. Alcoholic beverages, toxic and addictive substances, are a prime example. Brands like Red Bull, Monster etc aren't a lot better while older motorsport fans (among others) will recall the high profile sponsorship by tobacco companies in F1, rallying motorcycling as well as other sports. Those companies certainly weren't thinking of our health when spending that money!
Some light is being shone on the 'sportswashing' through sponsorship etc by repressive regimes like UAE and Bahrain (e.g. Guardian), though our political leaders and sports administrators are happy to pretend the issues don't exist and will happily brown-nose whoever has the most money to spend.
...employment tribunal .... Thomas Linden QC, representing the governing body...
presumably he's a keen cyclist understands the plot and is working pro bono ?