Julie Harrington named new British Cycling chief executive
She has previously been working as group operations director at the Football Association.
British Cycling has announced Julie Harrington as its new chief executive, replacing the recently-departed Ian Drake.
Harrington, the former group operations director at the Football Association, arrives amid fresh controversy over doping investigations.
Harrington said: “I am thrilled to be asked to lead British Cycling as it embarks on a new chapter in its history. This is the right time to be joining one of this country’s leading governing bodies.
“British Cycling already has a fantastic track record of using elite success to inspire millions of people to get active by getting on their bikes and is now setting its sights on new ambitions and a new way of working.”
Harrington’s first task will be to get to grips with the doping questions which continue to rock the organisation.
Last week Damian Collins MP, the chair of the Culture Media and Sport select committee, said the credibility of both British Cycling and Team Sky was “in tatters” after UK Anti-Doping chief executive Nicole Sapstead criticised them for failing to keep proper records of drugs given to riders.
![Damian Collins](https://content.assets.pressassociation.io/2017/03/06131205/071c87c8a485bac117c1c4ab32bf2de4-640x640.jpg)
And the Sunday Times reported that a delivery of banned testosterone patches was made to British Cycling headquarters in 2011 having been ordered by Dr Richard Freeman, who is at the centre of UK Anti-Doping’s investigation into the contents of a jiffy bag delivered to Sir Bradley Wiggins during the Criterium du Dauphine.
The Sunday Times quoted British Cycling’s former head of medicine Dr Steve Peters saying that he had been told by Freeman that the delivery of the patches was an administrative error and said they were returned to the supplier.
Controversy has dogged Wiggins since Russian hackers Fancy Bears revealed documents last September which showed he had received TUEs (therapeutic use exemptions) for triamcinolone to coincide with his three biggest races in 2011, 2012 and 2013.