Whoever succeeds interim performance director Andy Harrison will take charge of the British Cycling’s elite riders at a time of unprecedented turmoil for the federation, with allegations of sexism upheld against former technical director Shane Sutton and UK Anti-Doping investigating claims of “wrongdoing in cycling”.

In fact, British Cycling might consider replacing Harrison as the least of their concerns. The federation is also seeking a replacement for chief executive Ian Drake, who announced last month that he will leave in April.

The role of performance director, however, will remain pivotal. Who then has the skills and personality demanded by such a high-profile position? We consider six of the best contenders.

Smith has said that he his “very interested” in the role and might call on any number of elite professionals for testimonials, up to and including Mark Cavendish, re-established as the world’s best road sprinter at Dimension Data after Smith’s coup in securing his services on departing the mighty Etixx-Quickstep.

Smith also masterminded Endura Racing’s season of domestic dominance in 2012, which concluded with Jon Tiernan-Locke’s victory at the Tour of Britain. The Devonian’s subsequent doping ban should not overshadow a season of success for a host of riders, several of whom graduated to Grand Tours and Monument Classics, among them Zak Dempster, Scott Thwaites and Erick Rowsell. All of them owe a debt of gratitude to Smith.

Sir Clive Woodward

Since steering the England rugby team to World Cup glory in 2003, Woodward has been linked with any number of top sporting positions  but, as of writing, is a columnist for the Daily Mail.

His executive style holds an irresistible allure for business columnists and the authors of the management manuals beloved of airport bookshops who see an easy parallel between commerce and sport. Indeed, before the inexorable (and recently checked) rise of Sir Dave Brailsford, Sir Clive’s methods were frequently pedaled as a panacea for any manner of commercial and societal woes, and he remains a sought after speaker on the “leadership” circuit.

Woodward’s disappointing tenure at Southampton football club from 2005 to 2006, firstly as Performance Director and later as director of football, exposed his limitations, although his reputation recovered much of its lustre after a successful six-year stint with the British Olympic Association as Director of Sport, one which ended after the hugely successful London Games.

Would he be successful in running a national cycling team? In managing personalities as strong as those of Lawrence Dallaglio and as complex as Jonny Wilkinson, Woodward proved that exceptional sportsmen do not phase him, but a detailed knowledge of competitive cycling is surely a “must” for the suits in Manchester.

Might Cooke’s own standards mitigate against her in the role of Performance Director, however? “Uncompromising” is clearly the correct attitude when dealing with inequality and dopers, but one imagines a degree of diplomacy is required in the day-to-day business of managing a veritable host of athletes, coaches, administrators and more. Cooke may be ably equipped to do so (she has seemingly managed a transition from the peloton to Civvy Street with aplomb), but insistence is in the nature of great champions.

Then there is the Armitstead conundrum. Cooke’s successor as Great Britain’s queen of the road made little secret of her disgust at losing out to the Welshwoman at the 2011 world championships, when the Great Britain team had been sent out to ride for Armitstead (the Otley rider was caught up in a crash late in the race, and Cooke rode on to claim fourth). Might old wounds be reopened with Cooke installed as Armitstead’s de facto boss for the annual world championships?

All things considered (notably the MBA and a collection of yellow, pink, rainbow and Olympic jerseys), Cooke would seem to have the necessary balance of cycling knowledge and business acumen. Whether she would seek such a role remains to be seen.

Darren Tudor

Arguably the most qualified of our candidates, Darren Tudor has instituted a quiet revolution as  Head Coach of Welsh Cycling, producing one world class athlete after another, on road and track.

From Luke Rowe to Elinor Barker, Becky James to Owain Doull, and the blossoming talents of what might described as a second wave – the likes of Sam Harrison and Scott Davies – Tudor’s skill in identifying and developing talent cannot be denied.

Is he ready for such a high-profile role? Tudor’s success in unearthing Welsh diamonds to be polished in Manchester does not by itself suggest a suitability for a more overarching role. Might there be something of the ‘Peter Principle’ [LINK] in promoting someone so eminently qualified for their current post?

Tudor’s success should not mitigate against him, however. Welsh Cycling’s loss would unquestionably British Cycling’s gain, and the last Welshman to sit in the performance director’s chair delivered more than his fair share of medals to Manchester. The new Brailsford? British Cycling might dream of making such an appointment. Tudor might be happy to be judged on his achievements thus far.

Stephen Park

British Cycling (and, by extension, Peter Keen, Sir Dave Brailsford and Shane Sutton) have few rivals for the unofficial title of medal provider to a grateful nation, but the Royal Yachting Association might levy a still greater claim. While Team GB’s cyclists have topped the medal table at three Olympic Games, the sailors have done so four times. Park, the RYA’s Team Manager, and who joined the organisation in a full-time capacity nearly 20 years ago, has clearly been instrumental to such sustained success.

By heading a sporting organisation comprised of 80 athletes competing in 13 different boat classes, Park is well used to the day-to-day demands of managing elite performance at a large and complex sporting federation. He will also be vastly experienced in the management of the behind-the-scenes staff: the coaches and nutritionists, psychologists and physiotherapists who are instrumental to sporting success at the highest level.

Appointing someone with no experience of cycling, however, no matter how successful in another field, would represent a risk on British Cycling’s part, though the candidate brief for the role lists experience in cycling as “desirable” rather than “essential”.

Besides, Park played down his interest in the role. Hugely competitive and with an interest in motor racing, he might find greater satisfaction in a move to Formula One. For now, he insists he is focused on leading Britain’s elite sailors to the Tokyo Games in 2020.

Heiko Salzwedel

The expression ‘track record’ might almost have been coined for Salzwedel, a man who has brought to success to every cycling federation he has worked with, most notably with British Cycling, and most recently at Rio 2016, where he led the men’s endurance programme. No less a source than Sir Bradley Wiggins has paid handsome tribute to the German’s influence.

Salzwedel announced himself on the international cycling stage by founding the Australian Institute of Sport and discovering the likes of 2011 Tour de France winner Cadel Evans and the three-time winner of the Tour’s green jersey competition, Robbie McEwen. He has worked for British Cycling on three occasions (in 2001 and 2008, before returning in 2014 to prepare the likes of Cavendish, Clancy, Wiggins et al for Rio), and in between times transformed the fortunes of Russian and Danish cyclists.

A shoo-in for the performance director role? History and other sports tell us that promoting an able performer in a less senior role to the top job rarely works. Football is littered with such examples, most notably Steve McLaren, an able assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and a dismal failure as manager almost everywhere else.