J ess Varnish is no longer a member of British Cycling’s Olympic podium programme and has not trained at the national velodrome in Manchester since last month having not had her contract renewed, The Telegraph has learned. The decision taken by British Cycling would appear to signal an end to the competitive track career of the 25-year-old sprinter from Bromsgrove who memorably broke the world record, alongside Vicky Pendleton, in qualifying for the team sprint at London 2012, only to be relegated, agonisingly, in the semi-finals after Pendleton was adjudged to have come through fractionally before Varnish had completed her lap. It also means that, with Vicky Williamson still returning from a horrendous crash in January, Katy Marchant will almost certainly take the second women's sprint spot alongside Becky James at this summer's Olympic Games in Rio. Technical director Shane Sutton said the decision not to renew Varnish's contract had been made "purely on performance grounds" and had nothing to do with her criticism of the organisation at the recent track world championships in London. W ith James absent injured from the qualifying campaign, Varnish and Marchant did not manage to qualify a GB women's sprint team for Rio despite finishing fifth in the world in London… Read full this story
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