British Cycling: Open letter calling for end to Shell deal receives more than 700 signatures

British Cycling has signed an eight-year woody with Shell

More than 700 organisations and individuals person signed an unfastened missive to British Cycling calling for the governing assemblage to "renounce" its sponsorship woody with lipid elephantine Shell.

However, aft announcing the woody connected Monday, it has been accused of getting progressive with "greenwashing".

An unfastened missive added it was an "irreconcilable struggle of interest".

"All sports, including cycling, are susceptible to the progressively utmost upwind associated with planetary heating," work the letter, which was sent to British Cycling connected Tuesday.

"More than that, athletes and particularly cyclists are susceptible to the lethal aerial contamination that comes from the burning of fossil fuels, and the estimated 8.7 cardinal premature deaths that effect each twelvemonth globally from that pollution.

"We judge that it is successful the urgent interests of the athletics of cycling, and cyclists everyplace rapidly to modulation distant from fossil substance use. Cycling excessively is successful a unsocial presumption to assistance that shift.

"However, accepting sponsorship from an lipid institution with a past of hold and misinformation connected the issue, is an irreconcilable struggle of interest. We inquire you to see contiguous enactment to renounce sponsorship from Shell."

The woody with Shell, which brings an extremity to British Cycling's eight-year concern with slope HSBC, includes initiatives to marque cycling much accessible for disabled radical and people a 'net-zero' status.

British Cycling main enforcement Brian Facer said: "We privation to enactment our elite riders and assistance our organisation and athletics instrumentality important steps towards net-zero - things we cognize our members are incredibly passionate about."

However, the determination has been criticised successful the unfastened missive for allowing the "good name" of British Cycling to "become a billboard for an lipid institution which has for decades lobbied against biology enactment and sowed uncertainty and disorder astir clime science".

It calls connected the organisation to "demonstrate that you cull greenwashing and sportwashing by large polluters" by withdrawing from the deal.

BBC Sport has contacted British Cycling for comment.