Britain's rowing chief will head an independent review into the "extremely disturbing" claims of discrimination and bullying that have rocked British cycling and led to Australian coach Shane Sutton stepping down.
Annamarie Phelps, chairman of British Rowing, will now appoint a review panel that will be asked to examine whether there are "fundamental behavioural issues" at the heart of British cycling's once-unrivalled sports program.
Her appointment for the review, which has been co-commissioned by British Cycling and UK Sport, comes after a traumatic week for the sport in Britain during which Sutton, the body's technical director, quit amid allegations of sexism, discrimination and bullying.
A joint statement from UK Sport and British Cycling on Friday said the review would start "imminently" and end after the Olympic and Paralympic Games "to minimise the disruption to British Cycling's final preparations for Rio, while allowing athletes and support personnel to play a full role in the review".
The scope of the review, "must include, but is not limited to, all forms of discrimination and bullying", but would not include British cycling's investigation into Sutton's alleged misconduct.
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Yet one specific question to be covered would be "Are there fundamental behavioural issues within the climate and culture of British Cycling World Class Program?"
Sutton resigned on Wednesday following claims that he used derogatory words to describe para-cyclists.
British rider Jess Varnish also accused him of making sexist comments and said he told her to "go and have a baby".
Sutton rejected the specific claims, but added that he had stepped down because the they had become a distraction to the team in the build-up to the Games.
