BC PRESIDENT ANSWERS CYCLING WEEKLY CRITICISM

BC President Brian Cookson has hit back at critics of British Cycling in a recent issue of Cycling Weekly - this is the letter he has sent to the magazine.

Dear Sir

I am disappointed to read that many of your readers still seem to feel that, in our campaign of track successes, British Cycling has abandoned any hope of international road racing success. The reality is somewhat different.

Of course, we have focused on the more controllable and predictable environment of the track, and the results of that policy are clear to see. I thank Cycling Weekly for drawing attention to that success in the special Xmas edition. But readers should remember that the recent international performances of British riders in road racing have also been considerably better than for many years. This applies to both men and women. Though hardly reported in Cycling Weekly, GB jerseys were highly visible in every event at the World Road Championships in October, and if Cycling Weekly readers log on to our website they can read the inside story of the team and their back-up - clearly one of the most professional of any nation.

In fact we now regularly field teams in international road races that perform admirably, with both stage and overall wins to their credit - often beating full time professional road teams along the way. I think many of us can remember the days when GB teams returned from events like the Peace Race, for instance, lucky to appear on the first page of the result sheet and with little to show for their efforts except sore legs! They tried hard, and I salute their efforts, but, with certain notable exceptions, we were usually outclassed and outgunned.

Nowadays our road teams are respected wherever they appear, and they usually return with heads held high.

Of course, particularly on the men's side, much of this has been a by-product of the preparation programme for our endurance track teams. This is not an accident, and it will lead to more success on the road. It is exactly the model followed by the majority of the currently successful Australian road professionals, such as Stuart O'Grady and Bradley McGee, who began their careers as part of their country's track squads.

Evidence that this approach is already beginning to pay off for Great Britain is there in the form of Bradley Wiggins and Rob Hayles, for instance, both members of Division One pro road teams. I don't think I'm giving away any secrets if I tell you that others on the squad have also attracted the attention of professional road teams, too. So far, they have preferred to remain full time with the Great Britain cycling team in pursuit of their Olympic dream - and as such they receive a level of support and funding as good as any national team, anywhere in the world.

It has to be that way. The fact is that road racing internationally is no longer driven in any sense by competition in national teams. It is now almost exclusively the domain of the trade teams. So far as I am aware, there is at present no trade team run by a national federation anywhere in the world, certainly not in Continental Europe. Experiments in running teams in this way in the recent past have failed. Securing the sponsorship and delivering the successes that the sponsors expect, is a high-risk undertaking, as demonstrated by the many failed teams which we can all recall. I don't believe that this is appropriate, or indeed possible, for a national federation. The only way to run a successful trade team is to have a commercial organisation doing it.

If there was a British company that wanted to invest several million quid in promoting itself through a road cycling team, British Cycling would be delighted to help them and to work with them. At present, there isn't. Why? Largely because the profile of the sport isn't high enough in this country to make it worthwhile. Why isn't it high enough? Well because the Great British Public are basically only interested in established British sports like football and cricket, or sporting events that take place in Britain (eg Wimbledon), or in success at the Olympics. In those circumstances wouldn't it be a good idea to try and maximise our success at the Olympics? Which, of course, is where we came in.......

Best regards,

Brian Cookson
President, British Cycling

� British Cycling 2002/2003

Who won what in 2002?

British Cycling Awards Photos

BC Annual Report

Great Britain Racing Team