Beijing bounce for bikes

New figures released by British Cycling show that it is growing fast. And new Sport England figures show that cycling as a whole is on the rise.

For the first time ever, British Cycling has more than 25,000 members. 13,000 cyclists hold racing licences, more than at any time since British Cycling’s formation in 1959.

At the beginning of British Cycling’s current funding cycle in 2005, British Cycling had 15,000 members and 8,500 cyclists with racing licences.

British Cycling president Brian Cookson OBE said: “25,000 members and 13,000 licence holders is a real milestone for British Cycling and is a great way to end what has been a fantastic year for us. Our membership growth is testament to the hard work and dedication of all our volunteers at a national, regional and club level and I would like to personally thank everyone for the contribution they have made to British Cycling’s growth.”

Sport England’s latest Active People Survey has revealed that 1,767,200 people cycle at least once per week for more than 30 minutes. That is an increase of 132,000 people since 2005/6 and reveals cycling as the second fastest growing sport in the country. The survey showed that, combined, sport and recreational cycling had an increase of 334,700 participants over the period.

British Cycling chief executive designate Ian Drake said: “This is a unique moment in time for cycling, from our success in Beijing in the summer through to the immense number of people getting involved in the sport. When you take cycling as a sport, recreational activity and form of transport it would easily make cycling the number one and fastest growing activity in England.

“However, I believe that this is just the beginning. We are now awaiting confirmation of funding from Sport England to allow us to grow our programmes and to grow the sport even more between 2009 and 2013.

"With the anticipated support from Sport England combined with our partnership with BSKYB, British Cycling has the potential to make the single biggest contribution to more people playing sport in the run up to London 2012 and beyond.”