5 October 2011

Following Prime Minister David Cameron's visit to British Cycling on Monday, the UCI's website has put up a interesting analytical article about cycling's rise in popularity in Britain.

The article observes that "Britain is starting to realise that it has a new 'national sport' on its hands, and cycling has been getting good press, very good press" before looking at recent articles in the mainstream and specialist press on this subject, including this from the Guardian: "[Cavendish's] triumph was yet more evidence of the slow, steady but apparently unstoppable progress made in the two decades since Chris Boardman won Olympic gold in the Barcelona velodrome."

The UCI's article also highlights recent articles citing cycling's beneficial effects on health, the economy and on limiting pollution and congestion, before concluding "We can safely say that Britain is behind the cycling movement. British Cycling has doubled its membership since 2007 to 40,000, and only yesterday, the Prime Minister David Cameron visited the Federation headquarters in Manchester."

The article concludes by quoting Cycling News:

"It was a decade in which major cycling events increasingly visited the UK. From Track Cycling and Mountain Bike World Cup events to the World Track Championships and the Tour de France, seeing the best riders in the world in action was never easier.

"Looking ahead, the 2012 Olympics should take this to a new level and continue the sporting momentum which cycling... has gained in the last 10 years or so."

Link: Read the UCI Article