British Cycling

In the middle of the 1990s the British Cycling Federation was wracked by a series of controversies. The sport’s national governing body was in meltdown - riven with internal disputes, close to bankruptcy, falling membership, questions in Parliament and a series of damaging media reports.

In the preceding 76 years, only one Olympic Gold Medal had been achieved. At the Annual National Council Meeting in November 1996, the entire Board were removed on a vote of no confidence, and a group of us were elected from the floor. l was asked to chair the group and said I would do it for a year.

Seventeen years later, and British Cycling was transformed into an award-winning governing body and, with an annual election, I was still there.

Here is a summary of the progress and achievements of British Cycling during my 17 years as President and Chair of the Board, from November 1996 to September 2013, when I was elected to the Presidency of the UCI.

➤ Before 1996 - no structured talent pathways, occasional shooting stars. From 1999 onwards, established talent development pathways producing steady stream of world and Olympic champions, male and female.


➤ Before 1996 – no in-house Coach Education or licensing scheme. In 1999 Coach Education Director recruited, programmes begun and more than 10,000 coaches, over 2,000 of them women, were trained, licensed and monitored, with training materials shared as Best Practice worldwide via UCI.


➤ Before 1996 - Manchester Velodrome failing and given "white elephant" status by media. Velodrome rescued, and now acknowledged worldwide as National Cycling Centre "medal factory". Regular full capacity daily use by all age groups and ability levels. National Track Championships in the late 1990s attended by a handful of spectators. By 2013, sold out sessions and regular full houses for major international events.


➤ BMX brought into mainstream. $20m secured to invest in World's finest indoor BMX Centre opened in 2011 at National Cycling Centre.


➤ Before 1996 - no major sponsor for the national team or governing body. From 2008 Sky became national team and federation sponsor, investing £millions in cycling both at elite level and in encouraging grassroots cycling through Sky Rides, Breeze (with over 1,000 volunteer women ride leaders), and other programmes. Other major sponsors, including Fiat, Adidas and Pinarello, secured.


➤ 1996 - no national tour or other major international road races. By 2013, Tour of Britain restored, Tour de Yorkshire established, and Women's Tour commenced.


➤ In 1974 and 1994, two short visits of Tour de France to UK. During my term, two hugely successful Grand Departs of Tour de France arranged - London 2007, Yorkshire 2014.


➤ In 1996, cycling considered a minor sport, rarely covered in UK media. By 2012, massive television audiences and huge media coverage for World Championships, Tour de France and Olympic successes. Linked to participation increases, typical media quote, late 2012 - "The governing body is rare in marrying elite success with participation growth. It is helped by the fact cycling is as much a recreational activity or commuting practicality as a sport, but has seized the opportunity through enlightened governance and a dash of good fortune." Owen Gibson, The Guardian, Monday 17 December 2012.


➤ In 1996, cycling participation levels in UK low and falling. By 2013, cycling is one of the most popular participation sports and growing.


➤ In 1996, just one Olympic-sized indoor velodrome, Manchester, which was struggling to be viable. By 2013, new 250m indoor velodromes in Newport, London, Glasgow, and Derby completed or underway - all with thriving participation levels.


➤ In 1996, 17 old outdoor velodromes, badly needing refurbishment, including 1948 Olympic velodrome at Herne Hill. By 2013, 15 velodromes renovated, including the 1948 Olympic venue Herne Hill, and 3 new outdoor velodromes built.


➤ In 1996, a handful of purpose built outdoor road cycling circuits. By 2013, comprehensive national network of 27 fully operational road cycling circuits, and many more under development.


➤ 1996-2013, safeguarding and protection policies established, implemented and reviewed, in line with best practice and UK Sport advice.


➤ In 1996, no specific programmes to encourage and support women. In March 2013, strategy launched to get more than 1 million women regularly cycling by 2020.


➤ In 1996, no involvement in campaigning for cycling for transport and recreation. By 2013, active transport and recreational cycling campaigning led by Chris Boardman MBE, achieving high profile and resulting in increased investment from government and local authorities.


➤ 1996 annual turnover c£1m, and close to insolvency. By 2013 annual turnover £23m and thriving sustainably.


➤ 1996-2013, governance reviews and reforms conducted and implemented periodically throughout, in line with best practice and with involvement and endorsement from UK Sport, Sport England and external consultants.

Looking back, over my shoulder…..

What could we have done better? This review cannot be complete without this section - I'm sure that over 17 years there were many things that could have been done better, and many people will have views on what those might be. The world was changing fast in those years, and we had to change with it, whilst rescuing and transforming the organisation massively at the same time.

The increasing amount of traffic on the roads, the need for improved safety standards, and the compensation culture, meant that it became increasingly difficult (and expensive) to organise racing on the open roads.  That was a difficulty that had to be addressed and the outcome has certainly been to see less road races as such, which is regrettable but perhaps inevitable.

The Great Britain Cycling Team part of the organisation, at one time known as the World Class Performance Plan (WCPP), was certainly highly focussed on results and was probably allowed too much independence from the rest of the organisation, particularly in the early days. But this was very much the model encouraged (or perhaps more accurately enforced) by UK Sport at that time. I acknowledge that some have subsequently questioned whether there was too much emphasis on success at the expense of compassion and athlete welfare. I will comment further on this issue when the remaining enquiries have come to a close. However, no-one can argue with the successes achieved and the transformation in the aspirations of our riders.

I do however think that the development programmes and coaching, that produced the conveyor belt of talented young athletes for the Great Britain Cycling Team to turn into world class cyclists in the different disciplines, have been hugely overlooked and undervalued, particularly by the media.

But I believe the one thing that we did not really address was the subject of the "whiteness" of the sport. This is still an issue today. We had appropriate policies in place, as advised by the relevant bodies, and I think that we assumed that that was enough. I don't think there was overt or institutional racism as such, but I accept that I am looking at this from a white person's perspective. Clearly, if you look at the numbers, people who are not of a White British ethnicity are under-represented in every facet of cycling. 

I now think we should have been more pro-active in bringing non-white people of all ages into cycling. In the way that we began to pro-actively develop initiatives to attract more women into the sport and pastime, we should have done the same for non-white people. Sure there are exceptions, but the numbers tell a clear story. As a sport, we should have done, and should now be doing, better. This remains a challenge which cycling must address.