The_Guardian_-_2016-12-29

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Cycling
The Observer
Success on the track cannot mask a turbulent
year for British cycling
The arrival of anti-doping investigators at British Cycling’s headquarters is the latest twist in a tale of
lots of gold medals and also lots of controversy
British cycling has had much to celebrate so far in 2016 but the level of scrutiny has been raised
alongside the level of success. Photograph: Andrew Yates/AFP/Getty Images
William Fotheringham
Saturday 8 October 2016 23.22 BST Last modified on Sunday 9 October 2016 00.25 BST
The question of whether Jim Callaghan ever uttered the legendary quote “Crisis what crisis?” during
the Winter of Discontent in 1978-79 is a vexed one, but what matters is less what Sunny Jim said than
the sense of disconnect between what was perceived as happening and what is taking place on the
ground. “I don’t think other people in the world would share the view [that] there is mounting chaos,”
is what Callaghan is reported to have said, and that was pretty much how it felt during the 12 hours I
spent at the Manchester velodrome on Thursday, for reasons not connected to journalism.
It was pretty much business as usual: the riders in the World Masters track championships – this
writer included – did their fast-pedalling thing, elements of the Olympic team including a Rio gold
medallist or two popped in for an afternoon’s training in the run-in to the European championships
and members of the new under-23 academy intake wandered around looking a little like new kids at
school.
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