British Cycling

British Cycling

File:Logo of British Cycling.jpg
Sport	Cycle racing
Abbreviation	BC
Founded	1959
Affiliation	UCI
Regional affiliation	UEC
Official website
www.britishcycling.org.uk

British Cycling (shortened to BC, formerly known as the British Cycling Federation or BCF) is the national governing body for cycle racing for Great Britain. The federation is a member of the UCI and the UEC.

British Cycling controls most competitive cycling in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and Isle of Man, including road racing, track cycling, cyclo-cross, BMX, mountain biking (including trials riding), cycle speedway, and in Scotland, road time trials. The main exception is road time trials in England and Wales, which are administered by Cycling Time Trials (CTT).

Cycling in Northern Ireland is controlled by Cycling Ireland.

History

The British Cycling Federation (BCF) was formed in 1959 after the amalgamation of the National Cyclists' Union (the NCU, which had regulated Britain's track and closed circuit racing) and the British League of Racing Cyclists (the BLRC, which had led in promoting road races on public roads since its formation in 1942). The BCF also took over the NCU's international recognition by the UCI.

In more recent years, the BCF merged with the British Cyclo-Cross Association (BCCA), the British Mountain Bike Federation (BMBF), the English BMX Association (EBA), and the British Cycle Speedway Council (BCSC). Each is now a commission within the BCF.

The EBA had been formed by the amalgamation in November 1989 of the UK BMX Association (UK.BMX.A) and the British BMX Association (B.BMX.A).

In recognition of the mergers, the BCF was rebranded as British Cycling.

Only road time-trials in England and Wales remain outside of British Cycling, but Cycling Time Trials works with British Cycling in organising the time trial national championships.

BSkyB confirmed a multi million pound sponsorship deal with British Cycling on 24 July 2008.

New Era of Dominance

A new era of dominance is emerging with Great Britain taking the role of the superpower in world track cycling. They have now dominated the last two world championships and reigned supreme at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Britain dominance is mainly to the resources that they have started using. They have used NASA, the Renault Formula One Racing Team. At the Beijing Olympics, Britain were noted for having completely different equipment compared to other competing teams. Their Bikes are more aerodynamic than any other bike used, their suits are especially made to reduce the drag and make them evidently quicker. This new equipment used by British Cycling have taken cycling to a new level in performance and at the moment there is no other nation that can compete with Great Britain on the track and this dominance doesnt look to be ending soon.

General

Cycling clubs or cycling teams must affiliate to British Cycling before members can race in British Cycling events. Adult road racers are given a racing licence according to their excellence, ranging from fourth category to the top riders in first and élite categories. There are also licences for under-18 riders and for women.

While Britain has not produced many cycling greats and has few riders on the professional road circuit, there are a number of good British mountain bikers, BMX riders and track cyclists. Performances at international level have improved since lottery funding was introduced in the late 1990s, with three golds in the 2002 World Track Championships bettered by four golds in 2005. 2008 saw the British team claiming 9 of 18 gold medals on offer at the Track World Championships. Internal amateur events are well organised and although cycling is a minority sport, recreational cycling is popular.

In September 2004, British Cycling helped organise the Tour of Britain, a five-day cycle race finishing in London in front of a packed crowd. This did much to improve the profile of road racing in the UK, although many teams did not send their finest riders.

British Cycling selects Great Britain teams for European championships, world championships, and the Olympics (including for road time-trials where applicable). The organisation is a member of the European Cycling Union (UEC) continental confederacy, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), and the British Olympic Association.

British Cycling has links with other cycling organisations in the UK, such as the London Cycling Campaign (LCC), Cyclists' Touring Club (CTC), International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) and Sustrans.

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Regional bodies

Nation or territory	Regional body
England	no regional governing body
Scotland	Scottish Cycling
Wales	Welsh Cycling
Isle of Man	Isle of Man Cycling Association
Gibraltar	Gibraltar Cycling Association

Home Nations

In Scotland and Wales, British Cycling operates with regional governing bodies: Scottish Cycling (Scottish Cyclists' Union) and Welsh Cycling (Welsh Cycling Union). Scotland and Wales run national teams.

There is no regional body for England. England is not recognised as a region by the UCI, and there is no English cycling team outside the Commonwealth Games. For those occasions, British Cycling selects and supports the England team.

Cycling is represented on the Isle of Man by the Isle of Man Cycling Association.

Cycling in Northern Ireland is organised under Cycling Ulster, part of the all-Ireland governing body Cycling Ireland. Until 2006, a rival governing body existed, the Northern Ireland Cycling Federation. It was affiliated to British Cycling, causing friction between the British body and the international federation, the UCI.

British overseas territories

British Cycling represents the cycling associations of British overseas territories in the UCI, if they are not themselves UCI members.

The Gibraltar Cycling Association is the regional governing body for Gibraltar.

External links

• British Cycling