Blazin' Saddles: Can British Cycling recover from the Shane Sutton scandal?

Well, that escalated fast.

Only last month Shane Sutton was being feted as the man who returned Team GB to the top of the medals table at the Track Cycling World Championships in London.

The team that returned from the previous Worlds in Paris 12 months earlier with an uncharacteristically paltry haul of just three silver medals had risen again to their lofty perch with five golds, one silver and three bronzes.

After the inevitable comedown from the highs of the London 2012 Olympics and the subsequent departure of coaching guru Sir David Brailsford, the steady rot had finally been arrested. And in the current Olympic year, Great Britain's track cyclists were back where we're used to seeing them: going round in circles considerably faster than their rivals.

Now, less than eight weeks on, Sutton, British Cycling's technical director and a man indelibly linked to the successes of Britain's track stars over the past three Olympic cycles, has resigned half a day after being suspended from duties.

First there came claims from Jess Varnish – in the wake of her sudden axing from the elite squad – that Sutton had told her that her "ass" was "too big" to be an asset on the women's sprint team, that, at 25, she was "too old" and that she should "move on and have a baby".

Then the retired cyclist Vicky Pendleton – who a "very supportive" Sutton claims to have frequently "held in my arms when she has capitulated" and whose house Sutton says he decorated "until 3 o'clock in the morning" ahead of the Beijing Olympics in 2008 – stepped up in support of Varnish, claiming she had been made "miserable" by "similar experiences".

Before we knew it, "sources" were speaking to the Daily Mail, seemingly jumping on The Archers' bandwagon and comparing Sutton to "an abusive husband" who "sees females as weaker".

And the buck didn't stop at his treatment of the fairer sex. A fresh development implicated Sutton in a way far more sinister than casual sexism: the 58-year-old Australian was said to have referred to British Paralympic cyclists as "gimps" and "wobblies" on numerous occasions, with Darren Kenny, one of Britain's most decorated para-cyclists, claiming Sutton's attitude towards him and his team-mates was "abysmal – we were tolerated at best."

Sutton was swiftly suspended from duties, his future as technical director dangling by a thread.

While Premier League champions Chelsea FC took months to call time on the career of their figurehead Jose Mourinho after his own fall from grace involving both riffs with players and alleged sexism, British Cycling acted fast – albeit only when the charges against Sutton had moved on from sexism.

In the end, the management of British Cycling was not even forced to wield the axe: rather than be pushed, Sutton walked.

"I believe it is in the best interests of British Cycling for me to step down from my position as technical director," Sutton said in a statement. "Today starts the 100-day countdown to the Olympic and Paralympic Games. It is absolutely crucial that, as our athletes begin their final preparations for Rio, they are able to do so free of distraction. The developments over the past few days have clearly become a distraction."

It should be added that Sutton denies all allegations of bullying and sexism, insisting he had done nothing but "act with complete professionalism in my dealings with Jess". He told The Times that he was "a bit hurt by the allegations" made by Pendleton and insisted that Varnish had been dropped solely on the basis of her performances on the track, calling her "a wonderful girl and a beautiful person".

It's also worth adding that Varnish and Pendleton's claims were not entirely directed towards Sutton but to British Cycling as a whole. Their views were echoed by the retired Welsh cyclist Nicole Cooke who, in a piece for the Guardian said the latest developments followed "decades of inaction".

The former Olympic and World champion said: "Sexism spins all the way down from the top to the bottom. Somewhere in the middle of this are Shane Sutton and Jess Varnish." British Cycling countered by releasing a statement that read: "We are fully committed to the principles and active promotion of equality of opportunity."

But where does this leave British Cycling in the countdown to Rio? In total disarray, that's where.

Even before Sutton walked the plank, the body had been forced to open two separate investigations: one into Varnish's claims about the general "culture of fear" inside British Cycling, and another focusing on Sutton's individual conduct.

Now we all know that these weighty investigations never reach the kind of speeds we associate with Sir Chris Hoy, and with Rio now less than 100 days away, there's a realistic chance that everything will still be in as much limbo as Jess Varnish by the time Team GB touch down in Brazil.

Either way, British Cycling will be without a well respected, immensely successful coach who originally joined the setup in 2002. That doesn't excuse what he allegedly did or said – Andy Gray and Richard Keys were well respected and successful football broadcasters before their own particularly nasty fall from grace.

But the fact remains that you can't lose someone of Sutton's experience and calibre – a man lauded for his coaching and motivational abilities – without a knock-on affect. Just as Brailsford left a void, so too will Sutton – the man who mentored the likes of Sirs Hoy and Bradley Wiggins to Olympic glory (despite a reported fractious relationship with both).

When Mourinho left Chelsea the ship was not so much sinking but virtually on the sea bed. This is a very different scenario because Team GB had started to deliver top results again after a period of relative soul-searching – and just at the right time, too. Riders like Wiggins and his former Sky team-mate Mark Cavendish will have lost a trusted figure in Sutton and reverberations will be felt all round the squad.

For it is clear that not everyone disliked a man whose charge sheet appears to be growing inexorably by the minute.

Welshman Geraint Thomas, a Commonwealth and Olympic champion, has said that Sutton did "more than most for British Cycling". His compatriot and fellow Team Sky rider Luke Rowe, a triple national Madison champion, has described Sutton as "a great guy with a big heart that has done a lot for me and the sport".

Para-cyclist Mark Colbourne – a winner of two golds and a silver medal at London 2012 – told the Guardian that he'd never heard Sutton make any derogatory comments, claiming "he always treated me with respect".

Kenny, the man at the centre of the allegations, conceded that "in many ways he [Sutton] had a heart of gold" despite his "outrageous" and "unacceptable" comments.

Laura Trott, the pin-up of the British women's cycling squad and a former team-mate of Varnish, has heaped praise on Sutton amid disturbing reports that many female cyclists wanting to offer their support to the disgraced coach have been gagged. Wherein lies the problem: supporting Sutton no longer fits the narrative – and there's no way that this won't upset the balance of Team GB in the build up to Rio.

Because with the praise has come more allegations – against Sutton and British Cycling. One BMX rider said Sutton almost drove him to suicide; another blamed the senior management of British Cycling for breeding a terrible atmosphere. Emma Pooley, who won silver in the Beijing 2008 time-trial, has admitted her frustration about the treatment of women riders, while renewed criticism has been raised against Brailsford's failure to set up a women's team at Sky.

And just when things couldn't get worse for Sutton, the spectre of racism raised its ugly head when a Malaysian cyclist claimed Sutton used to call him "Boatie" – a term that had been used to describe people sailing from Asia to seek asylum in Australia. Josiah Ng, the 2010 Commonwealth Games Keirin champion, stressed he didn't believe Sutton used the term in a derogatory way, but it was an example of "his twisted sense of humour".

Many have dismissed this out of hand, claiming the tough-talking Sutton is "just being Australian". But while closer to the Jeremy Clarkson end of the casual racism spectrum than the Ron Atkinson end, Sutton's choice of vernacular at best show someone very much rooted to an outdated way of thinking often described as "old school" – that's to say, a way of thinking not preceded by actual thinking.

There's no place for this in any place of work in modern society and if the tsunami of allegations prove correct then Sutton probably had no option but to step down, even if it's worth at least reflecting that Sutton's macho management style is one that's highly combative and confrontational towards men too (he famously called Wiggins "a lazy b******").

Could his hasty departure make British Cycling a better place with a lightened, less claustrophobic atmosphere? It certainly could. But cotton-wooling professional sportsmen and women doesn't always work, either – just ask Arsenal fans disgruntled at the stagnation and inactivity at their club.

Already, in less than a day since the scandal broke, we've seen more divisions emerge than the entire football league system in Great Britain. British Cycling has lost is conductor and composer – and those closest to Sutton (coincidentally but crucially those perhaps closest to Team GB's medal chances in Rio) will feel stranded and perhaps a little bitter.

Andy Harrison, British Cycling programmes director, has been installed as Sutton's replacement and will manage the team in the build-up to Rio 2016. Little is known of his ability to take on the elevated role and Harrison has certainly been thrown in at the deep end.

The independent reviews will hover over the pool like a dark cloud on what should have been a sunny day; journalists will be eager to unearth more stories in a bid to keep the narrative rolling along; more mud will be slung and Sutton will no doubt defend his corner with vigour once the review process gets under way. In short: this will drag on and remain a huge distraction before, during, after the Games.

All this is not to say that Team GB won't still excel on the track in Rio.

"Any team would miss a coach of his calibre and inevitably this will be a loss to the organisation at this time in the Olympic cycle," said Brailsford, adding: "I am sure he [Sutton] will have established all the structures required for the team to optimise their chances of success in Rio."

But having a ready made excuse and scapegoat in Sutton should things go awry may unhinge certain athletes.

Of course, regardless of who's in control, it still comes down to those doing the business on the bike. A sense of togetherness and revived determination could prevail. Alternatively, the divisions could even dovetail at success: some riding in Sutton's memory, other's excelling as they emerge from his shadow.

Perhaps, just perhaps, some cyclists who had been written off may sense a way back in, they may train hard, with renewed zeal, increase the competition and help raise the bar.

This could be the gloss – varnish, if you will – on an otherwise matt black period for British Cycling.