Hot on the heels of unveiling a new apparel partnership, British Cycling has reaffirmed the ‘tremendous health of cycling in Britain’ in the organisation’s 2016 annual report, which has now been published and is available for download.
This year has seen Britain’s cyclists once again dominate at elite level: Great Britain topped the cycling medal table at both the Olympics and Paralympics; Chris Froome claimed his third Tour de France title; and a host of world titles were won across a variety of cycling disciplines.
British Cycling adds that an emerging generation of new talent has also underlined potential for the future, displaying the strength of the organisation’s development programmes. Cycling fans in Britain have been treated to a number of high profile, major international events, from March’s UCI Track World Championships and a UCI BMX Supercross World Cup, to annual milestones such as the Tour of Britain, the Women’s Tour and the Tour de Yorkshire.
In October, there was also a further boost in the shape of the news that Britain will host the 2019 UCI Road World Championships, again giving British fans the chance to watch the very best cyclists in the world.
The successful bid will bring with it an estimated £15 million worth of investment into cycling facilities, which will allow the grassroots level of the sport to continue to flourish. This will build on the £10 million that British Cycling has invested since 2009, just one of the many milestones passed this year, which the national governing body notes ‘illustrates how the sport is flourishing’.
The annual report reveals that this year saw a 14% increase in the number of qualified coaches furthering their professional development through British Cycling courses; the Go-Ride programme created half a million opportunities for young people to improve their cycling skills; and the Breeze programme attracted its 100,000th female participant.
The organisation also signed up its 125,000th member this year – the highest ever number in British Cycling’s history.
In September, British Cycling announced a new, eight-year partnership with HSBC UK, which will commence on 1 January 2017. The partnership will seek to embrace communities nationwide, working from the grassroots through to the highest level of performance with the Great Britain Cycling Team.
Writing in the annual report, British Cycling President, Bob Howden, said “We are quite simply spoilt for choice when looking back at our elite achievements from 2016.
“This summer in Rio our Olympians and Paralympians dominated their respective cycling medal tables, underlining the amazing talent of our athletes and support staff, the proven effectiveness of our coaching systems, and more generally, the health of the sport in Britain.
“As ever, the work that we do across all disciplines and levels of the sport would not be possible without the tireless, invaluable work of our army of dedicated volunteers. Their work does not go unrecognised, and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them all.”
