SHANE Sutton, the man accused of making sexist comments to Bromsgrove rider Jessica Varnish, has stepped down from his role as British Cycling’s technical director.

The 58-year-old released a statement saying he did not want to be a distraction as Team GB prepare for the Rio Games this summer.

Varnish has accused the Australian of telling her to ‘go and have a baby’ and received backing from such high profile sports figures as Olympic gold medalists Victoria Pendleton and Nicole Cooke.

Sutton had denied he’d made any sexist comments to Varnish.

Pressure was further heaped on him when former British para-cyclist Darren Kenny claimed the respected coach had referred to disabled British athletes as ‘gimps’.

British Cycling had already begun an "independent review" into its performance programmes following Varnish's comments.

Sutton said: "It is important that the review announced by British Cycling and UK Sport now takes place, and I will obviously co-operate fully with this.

"I have made clear that I reject the specific claims that have been made against me in recent days, and I look forward to taking a full part in the review process so I can respond to the allegations in detail."

Varnish released a detailed statement which said: “The comment that Shane Sutton told me 'to go and have a baby’ is true.

“I stand by all my statements in the Daily Mail interview and have examples of other comments made to me during my time at British Cycling by Shane Sutton dating back many years.”