Sky’s ground-breaking partnership with British Cycling has been named Sponsorship of the Year at the 19th Hollis Sponsorship Awards, held last night at the London Marriott Hotel in Grosvenor Square.

The media firm also won the Sport and Grass Root Sports Categories with its support of the GB Cycling team and the recreational Sky Ride programme receiving recognition.

Sky has been a partner of British Cycling since 2008 and these awards are further acknowledgment of the success the partnership is harnessing, according to British Cycling’s Chief Executive, Ian Drake:

Drake said: “The unique nature of our partnership with Sky has been a key factor in cycling’s phenomenal success story, perfectly complementing the support we receive from UK Sport and Sport England.

“With Sky’s support, British Cycling reached its target of getting one million more people on bikes a year early, almost two million people are now riding regularly, our membership is booming with over 69,000 members, and over 20,000 people are now taking part in competitive events.

“I’m proud of what we have achieved through our partnership with Sky, and I look forward to delivering even greater success over the next few years.”

Commenting on the results, Hollis Awards organiser Rosemary Sarginson said: “The quality of this year’s entries was superb, which I think is a testament to the effort that went into activating London 2012 or, for non-rights holders, finding a way of competing with the noise it created.”