British Cycling chief executive Ian Drake to stand down

The chief executive of British Cycling Ian Drake is to step down.

Drake, who has been in the post for seven years, will leave at the end of March next year.

His departure comes as British Cycling faces a UK Anti-Doping investigation over "allegations of wrongdoing", and questions have been raised over the relationship between the governing body and Team Sky.

Earlier this year British Cycling also faced allegations of sexism within its elite training structure, which led to the resignation of technical director Shane Sutton.

Sources close to Drake say his departure is unconnected to the investigation or questions of governance, but the timing - it was due to be announced on Friday morning - will add to the sense of a developing crisis within the sport.

He is understood to believe that after 20 years at the organisation, and at the end of an Olympic cycle, now is the right time to move aside.

Drake has kept a low profile as chief executive despite overseeing a period of sustained success that has seen elite cyclists set records on the track and the road, while grassroots participation has boomed.

The Rio Olympics were another triumph for the track team, with athletes like Jason and Laura Kenny helping justify British Cycling's position as the biggest recipient of elite government funding.

Last month British Cycling announced an eight-year sponsorship deal with bank HSBC, who succeeded Sky as principal partner, and last week Yorkshire won the right to host the 2019 Road World Championships.

But the success has been accompanied by controversies that have raised difficult issues for the governing body and Team Sky.

Earlier this year a series of allegations against Sutton led to his departure, and two reviews - on internal, one independent - are expected to be published before Christmas.

Last month Therapeutic Use Exemptions (TUEs) granted to Sir Bradley Wiggins, that allowed him to use an otherwise-banned corticosteroid while riding for Team Sky, were leaked.

The controversy intensified with the disclosure that a British Cycling employee, Simon Cope, transported a medical package to Team Sky doctors Richard Freeman at the final stage of a race won by Wiggins before the 2011 Tour de France.

British Cycling and Team Sky say that Cope's role as part of an arrangement by which some members of governing body staff also worked for Team Sky.

The closeness of that relationship, developed when Sir Dave Brailsford worked across both organisations, is likely to come under intense scrutiny as a result of this controversy.

Former Team Sky rider Jonathan Tiernan-Locke, who was banned for two years for doping offences, also claimed that British Cycling handed out controversial painkiller tramadol to riders during the 2012 World Championships.

British Cycling have denied Tiernan-Locke's claim, and both they and Team Sky deny any wrongdoing in the case of the medical package.

There is no suggestion that either British Cycling, Team Sky or Sir Bradley have broken any rules.