IN BRIEF
A confidential, independent internal survey, funded by UK Sport and carried out by the company The Happiness Index, reveals a sharp fall in morale within British Cycling’s elite programme. Asked to sum up the team’s culture in three words, athletes put “toxic” second, behind “driven”. The 2025 satisfaction scores drop to -42 for male riders and -31 for female riders, compared with 5 and 20 in 2023, below the zero threshold that marks a critical alert zone. British Cycling says it has put an action plan in place.
British Cycling’s internal survey was revealed on Wednesday 14 October by The Times. It covers the World Class Programme, which supports Britain’s elite riders.
British Cycling: scores in the alert zone
Riders and staff were asked to sum up the culture of the World Class Programme in three words. Among athletes, road.cc reports that “toxic” came just behind “driven”, alongside “supportive”. Other answers point the same way: “cold”, “unconcerned”, “distant”, “unclear”, “restrictive” and “misaligned goals”.
The Times, quoted by road.cc, reports the satisfaction scores from the 2025 survey: -42 among male riders, -31 among female riders, and -4 and -5 for male and female staff. Any score below zero is considered a critical alert zone calling for immediate improvement. In the previous edition, in 2023, the year before the Paris Games, female riders scored 20, male riders 5, and staff 0 and 13.
road.cc reports that, of the 41 athletes who answered the question, 13 say they witnessed or experienced thoughtless, inappropriate or unacceptable behaviour during the year. One of the lowest-rated questions concerned the leadership team.
An action plan already under way, the federation insists
“The wellbeing of our staff and riders is fundamental to everything we do at British Cycling,” a spokesperson said, quoted by Cycling Weekly. The federation states that most team members enjoy their work and that overall favourability is improving, a conclusion which, road.cc notes, appears to come from a different survey covering all British Cycling staff. It says the Great Britain Cycling Team has drawn up an action plan focused on leadership, development, feedback and wellbeing. The document, seen by The Times, also emphasises values, leadership behaviours and psychological safety.
UK Sport, for its part, says it has discussed the survey’s findings with British Cycling and is aware of the action plan already under way. Cycling Weekly recalls that a 2017 report on the Great Britain team had already described a “culture of fear”.
