Cycling Legacy Already Pedaling Along says British Cycling President

August 17, 2012

The legacy from the UK hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games is already well underway for cycling, denture British Cycling’s President Brian Cookson said today.

Speaking about cycling’s successes, Brian Cookson OBE, said:“The plans for cycling’s legacy from the UK hosting the Games were underway long before the Olympic torch was lit at the stadium in London. Since the amazing success of our cyclists in Beijing we have been planning for this surge in interest and we’re already starting to reap the rewards.

“Participation continues to rise with almost two million regular cyclists, our membership is at a record high, and we’ve created a massive 350,000 free opportunities to ride in the last year for people of all ages and abilities. Through Sky Ride, we have set up hundreds of free community bike rides for anyone to join, together with 16 mass participation city centre events, a community of 1,300 ride leaders and over 500 validated routes. Over 8,000 people are now setting up their own rides through our Social Cycling Groups network.

“This success is all down to the hard work and support of our network of volunteers, clubs, coaches, ride leaders, funders and partners – without whom our sport wouldn’t function. The fact that we’ve now got our first Tour de France winner in Team Sky’s Bradley Wiggins and our cyclists scooped eight Olympic gold medals in London is sure to inspire thousands more to take up cycling – and we’re ready for them.

“Britain has fantastic state of the art cycling facilities covering every discipline – be it a velodrome, a closed road circuit or a BMX track. It’s not a case of build it and they will come, we’ve built it and they are coming in their droves, with more new facilities planned over the next 12 months.

“And let’s not forget that cycling doesn’t have to be a structured activity, be it cycling to work as a form of transport or going for a family ride on a towpath at the weekend, we are doing all we can to campaign for better road conditions for all cyclists.

“With the continued support of Sport England, UK Sport, Sky, our sponsors, and local authorities, Britain is well on its way to becoming a true cycling nation and our ambitions for the next four year cycle remain high.”