Former world and Olympic champion Marianne Vos believes women's cycling has not been the most 'professional environment' amid accusations of sexual assault on female riders.

A report by Orla Chennaoui in Rouleur magazine last year detailed widespread harassment at the elite level of women's cycling.

And while Vos insists she has not experienced abuse or harassment personally, she is hopeful people will speak up about it in order to draw attention to the issue.

Speaking to Cycling News, she said: "I don't have a feeling that it has been a problem for everybody, all the time, all over, but, as it hasn't been the most professional environment for everybody, I think there have been issues, and of course not only at the highest levels.

"It shouldn't be the case in any of the levels - not for the young riders, not for club riders, not for elite riders - but you always have these people around who use their position in the wrong way. Hopefully speaking about it will help.

"I haven't really had those bad experiences so I can't really speak about it myself. I've been in very good, supportive teams but I started in a small team so it doesn't really say it needs to be the big money, the best structure.

"I've probably just been lucky with the good people that really were there for the riders and just supporting them."

The Dutch legend also highlighted the progression of the women's side of the sport as the UCI introduce a minimum wage for female riders for the 2020 season.

And while Vos does believe the growth of the sport is a positive for the women's tour, she is aware swift change is not necessarily best for the long-term.

"It (the sport) has grown, it's evolving and I think some parts are definitely growing really fast and some parts are not really keeping on track," she added.

"But, in general, I think it grows with the speed it should grow because if you miss steps, the teams or the riders, or the UCI, or fans, or sponsors, might not be able to keep up.

"It all needs to grow steadily - not slowly,  but step-by-step. I think it's heading in the right direction. Probably in the more traditional cycling countries, it's harder to grow and I see, like in Australia, but also Great Britain, the Anglo-Saxon countries, are much further ahead than the traditional cycling countries."