British Cycling has been shortlisted for the Sports Industry Awards’ Governing Body of the Year award.
The organisation, which won the same award in 2013, has been recognised following a year in which – for the third successive Olympic and Paralympic Games - British cyclists dominated their respective medal tables, and which again saw that success translate into increased participation and engagement at grassroots level.
Last year also saw British Cycling deliver the biggest UCI Track World Championships ever, as over 50,000 spectators were welcomed to London’s Lee Valley VeloPark for five action-packed days, which again saw the Great Britain Cycling Team excel in front of a home crowd.
The world’s best cyclists will again be visiting British shores in 2019, after British Cycling – in association with Welcome to Yorkshire, UK Sport and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport – last year won the right to stage the UCI Road World Championships.
Jonny Clay, British Cycling’s director of cycling, said:
“We’re delighted to have again been nominated for Governing Body of the Year. While we faced challenges in 2016, the hard work of everyone involved in the sport in this country contributed to another wonderful year for cycling.
“Our athletes’ success in Rio cemented our place as the world’s leading cycling nation, while the huge number of people who attended the fantastically successful UCI Track Cycling World Championships in London in March again demonstrated the appetite for the sport amongst the general public.
“It is this inspiration to participation philosophy that British Cycling is continuing to work hard to harness: ensuring that the exploits of our elite riders serve to inspire others to take up cycling, whether that be competitively, recreationally or as a form of transport.
“Securing the 2019 UCI Road World Championships was also a huge achievement, and that event along with the complementary £15m which will now be invested in cycling facilities as a result, will further safeguard our sport’s future.”
Also in 2016, British Cycling:
- Saw its membership pass 125,000 for the first time in the organisation’s history
- Hosted 4,000 competitive cycling events across all levels and disciplines
- Launched Team Breeze, providing female academy riders with increased opportunities to gain experience racing on both the road and track
- Engaged over 4,000 coaches through courses or online webinars
- Announced that the number of trained female coaches has increased by 70% since 2012
- Delivered 500,000 opportunities for young people to ride, through the Go-Ride programme
- Expanded its number of disability hubs, provided more opportunities for disabled people to ride bikes
- Celebrated the Breeze programme’s 100,000th participant
- Passed the milestone of £10m invested in cycling facilities
- Trained 750 new mountain bike leaders
- Continued to campaign for increased investment in cycling infrastructure, with the overall aim of ensuring that cycling is an accessible, safe transport option for everyone in Britain
- Announced HSBC UK as its new lead partner. The eight-year partnership will seek to embrace communities nationwide, working from the grassroots through to the highest level of performance with the Great Britain Cycling Team
