UK Sport’s consultation on its targeted approach to elite sport funding closes on December 10.

The consultation invites the people it works with and also the general public to give their views how it should spend the money it invests in governing bodies, including British Cycling.

You can read further background on the consultation here.

Why is it important to me?

If you are involved in cycling or, indeed any sport, you have an interest in decisions UK Sport make on funding.

So we encourage you to think about responding to the consultation and you can do that here.

What does British Cycling think about the UK Sport consultation?

The UK Sport consultation is a good thing because it is looking for an input on how public money is spent. Funding from UK Sport over the past 16 years has been transformational for British Cycling and continued support from UK Sport for elite sport, targeted around medal-winning athletes and teams, will be critical going forward to sustain our status as the world’s number one cycling nation.

Isn’t success about more than winning medals?

It is – and at British Cycling, we have long been committed to the principle that elite success is not an end in itself but should be put to work growing the sport.

Our membership has doubled since London 2012 and there are now over two million people cycling once a week.

We also have research which demonstrates the direct link between medals and mass participation. Since 2009, well over a million people have been inspired to take up cycling or to cycle more often as a result of the British Cycling-Sky partnership.

However, to get lots of people active you need to fund a structure or system, whereas winning medals is about supporting exceptional individuals and teams. The two ought to be joined up but the funding has to be used in very different ways.