Cyclescheme, the UK's leading Cycle to Work scheme provider and official supporter of British Cycling, announced today it has teamed up with multiple gold medal-winning Paralympic cyclist, Dame Sarah Storey. The partnership aims to promote cycling to work and raise the profile of cycling nationwide.
The announcement coincides with British Cycling’s commuting drive, which aims to help more people turn to cycling as a means of getting to work. Of British Cycling’s membership, which currently stands at 71,000, the number of regular commuters has risen steadily in recent years to nearly 50% and as summer approaches, that figure will increase further.
Dame Sarah Storey commented: "Since cycling is one of the best modes of transport for local journeys and Cyclescheme provides the means for people to obtain a bike in order to make those journeys to work, it was an obvious choice to become involved with the company. If we start by encouraging people to cycle to work, then they'll feel healthier, will save money and be more inclined to ride their bikes for other journeys and leisure time too.“
"If we start by encouraging people to cycle to work, then they'll feel healthier, will save money and be more inclined to ride their bikes for other journeys and leisure time too."
Dame Sarah Storey
The four-year agreement will see Dame Sarah Storey championing Cyclescheme's new 'Challenge Yourself' campaign which encompasses a number of new cycling initiatives such as the first National Cycle to Work Day which takes place on Thursday 26th September. The national day has been created to highlight the benefits of cycling as a means of transport and to inspire people to make a positive change in their commuting habits.
Dame Sarah Storey commented: "I'm looking forward to working with Cyclescheme on the National Cycle to Work Day at the end of the summer to encourage even more people to challenge themselves, dust off the bike and cycle to work."
Daniel Gillborn, Director of Cyclescheme said: "We are delighted to welcome Dame Sarah Storey to the Cyclescheme family. As an Olympian who has competed alongside able-bodied as well as Paralympic athletes she is an inspiration to anyone to get on their bikes and join the 750,000 who already cycle to work in the UK.
“We hope our relationship with Sarah will have a positive effect on cycling and cycle commuting and we look forward to working with her over the next four years as she prepares for Rio 2016."
Cycling to work in the UK has seen a growth of 20% in the last 10 years. The cycle to work scheme has been a key component of this growth, with employees selecting over 350,000 bike packages through Cyclescheme alone.
