Tuesday 3 May 2016 16:39, UK
Sir Dave Brailsford has said he is so confident in the equal treatment of male and female riders by British Cycling that he would be happy for his daughter to join.
Cycling's national governing body was rocked last week when allegations of sexism, discrimination and bullying forced the resignation of technical director Shane Sutton and the launching of an independent review into the behaviour of coaches and staff.
Brailsford, who was British Cycling's performance director from 2003 to 2014, welcomes the review but does not expect it to uncover the marginalisation of women.
Speaking in an interview with Sky Sports, he said: "My experience of British Cycling was there were numerous female medallists who did fantastically well during my time on the programme and since.
"The number of track medals when we first started was three for women and seven for men, and we lobbied very hard to get that to an equal five and five split by London [the 2012 Olympic Games], which we achieved.
"The important thing from our point of view was to medal. It wasn't the gender. You can't run a programme with any discrepancies in it or imbalances; it doesn't work.
"My young daughter, Millie, the apple of my eye, I love her to bits. She may well take a career in sports, and I hope she does, actually. However, I would like to feel that she is going to get exactly the same opportunities as the young boys in her class currently. I think she would [at British Cycling]. The opportunities are there."
The independent review of British Cycling will be led by British Rowing chair Annamarie Phelps and will focus on an alleged culture of discrimination and bullying. It will conclude after this summer's Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Brailsford added: "I would say that it's great that we have got this review. I'll give everything I've got to it, of which I've got a lot documented throughout my whole time I was there.
"It's a great opportunity to get the truth, and I think that's what really matters in these situations. Let's just wait and get the truth on the table; let's really have a look at the facts and deal with the facts."
British Cycling had been viewed as a standard-bearer for British sport after winning eight gold medals at both the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympic Games, but its reputation crumbled with last week's allegations and events.
Brailsford, however, is adamant the organisation is not in crisis.
"I guess maybe in the middle of last week it may have felt like a crisis point, but I don't think it is," he added. "There was a bit of a feeding frenzy in the media and I think you have got to separate it out. This isn't just one entire thing.
"Participation has never been so good, membership of British Cycling has never been so good, the coaching support structure - right down to club level - is excellent. It's as good as any other sport in this country at the minute.
"The [British] team bounced back at the London velodrome recently [the UCI Track Cycling World Championships, where Britain topped the medals table], which was great to see, and they looked to be totally on track for Rio."
Brailsford also defended Ian Drake, the chief executive officer of British Cycling, who has been accused of being aware of bullying within the organisation but not acting.
"Ian Drake has been a very good CEO for British Cycling," Brailsford said. "It has grown massively from where it was and he deserves a lot of credit for that."
