Grassroots cycling funding 'critical', says club

A cycling club has said it is critical that the sport is funded at a grassroots level so more people can enjoy it without the high cost of equipment.

British Cycling has asked government to invest £30m in the next phase of a national scheme to support communities with cycling infrastructure.

East Bradford Cycling Club is one of more than 150 places to have already benefitted from a Places to Ride scheme, which helped fund facilities such as new tracks and kit.

Mandy Parker, head coach at the club, said it was important the sport was accessible to all: "We have families that have six or seven children, or sometimes they've only got one child, but they can't afford bikes."

British Cycling launched the Places to Ride programme in 2019 and Parker, who runs the club at Wyke Community Sports Village, praised the scheme: "We would not be here without the funding, we would not have got the facility."

The venue has a purpose-built traffic-free cycle circuit, which was funded through the scheme.

Parker stressed the importance of removing the expense of buying bikes and equipment, helping to make the sport accessible to all.

"It is critical," she said.

"We can also provide the bikes, we can lend bikes, we can teach them to ride if they need to borrow them for competition, we even lend them for competition."

The club offers a range of activities, training, events and rides for all abilities and ages, including teaching children to ride.

With the Tour de France Femmes coming to Leeds and Sheffield in 2027, British Cycling's managing director Ed Clancy said it was important that facilities were available to capitalise on interest in the sport sparked by big events.

The former Team GB Olympian said there would be a "massively influential and powerful bike race coming to town but if children do not have a safe and accessible place to play on bikes, it will be a shame to lose out on that".

Parker agreed there must be investment to enable the sport to thrive.

"It is not just about the Olympic athletes, it is about the little boy who just wants to ride his bike but cannot get off his stabilisers, we can teach him to do that," she said.

"There are the exceptional children that will exercise because they are so dedicated and they want to be the next Tom Pidcock or they want to be the next Lizzie Deignan, they want to be those kind of people.

"But the majority of kids do not, they just want to have fun and exercise on a bike."

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