Britain’s most successful Olympian, Sir Chris Hoy, today announced a new partnership with British Cycling’s Go-Ride programme and Evans Cycles, that will help to deliver over two million opportunities for young people to get into cycling by 2020.

British Cycling’s Go-Ride programme – an initiative where young people experience coaching and competitive racing for the first time – will be supplied with 1,500 bikes from Evans Cycles to run thousands of Go-Ride sessions across the country.

Last year, over 30,000 young people got involved with the Go-Ride programme, which also aims to find the next generation of world champion cyclists – as the first step on the Great Britain Cycling Team Performance Pathway.

Commenting on the partnership, Evans Cycles ambassador Sir Chris Hoy said:

“Inspiring young people across the country to start cycling and realise how great it can be is something I really believe in. That’s why Evans Cycles and I jumped at the chance to provide HOY bikes for British Cycling’s Go-Ride programme over the next four years, and hopefully we can help find the world champions of tomorrow.”

Over 60% of the elite riders who will go for gold at Rio 2016 began their career in the Go-Ride programme. The ambition for the new partnership is to enable more children to experience the joy of cycling, unlock their cycling talent, and – who knows – even inspire them to go for gold at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 and beyond.

Go-Ride, which was started over a decade ago, is now British Cycling’s flagship programme for young people, supported by Sport England, Sky, the Bicycle Association and Lazer helmets.

British Cycling’s Director of Coaching, Education and Development, John Mills, said:

“We’re thrilled to be partnering with Evans Cycles as the provider of the bikes we use to deliver Go-Ride. The fact that the bikes bear the name of one of the most phenomenal athletes Britain has ever seen is sure to inspire thousands of young people to get into the sport. We are confident that we can provide over two million opportunities for young people nationwide to get into cycling by 2020 and this partnership will help us to be more ambitious than ever in uncovering the next generation of talent.”

There are over 300 Go-Ride clubs across the country in communities and schools, where young people are able to sample the various cycling disciplines and enjoy one of the fastest growing sports in the UK. The programme is supported by Go-Ride Racing, which is a calendar of entry-level, local racing events for young riders.

James Backhouse, Evans Cycles Marketing Director said:

“Riding your bike is one of the greatest things in the world, and by partnering with British Cycling we can help youngsters across the country discover that for themselves. We’re enormously proud to be part of the Go-Ride programme and are flattered that British Cycling gave us the opportunity.”