Sport England to invest £17.3m in grassroots cycling

Sport England has announced £17,310,000 in funding for grassroots cycling – the biggest single award in an £88m investment across 26 different sports. While the funding is down from the £32m covering 2013-17, it is thought that British Cycling will next year apply for additional investment to target the inactive.

Sport England has £1bn to invest in grassroots sport over the next four years, similar to the sum it had for 2013-17.

This round of investment is designed to build on the 15 million people who regularly play sport in the country, which Sport England refers to as its "core market".

However the government has said it is keen to shift emphasis away from those already playing sport to those who do no exercise at all.

Sport England's director of sport Phil Smith told Press Association Sport that the organisation had probably “over-emphasised sport for the sporty in recent years.”

Next year will therefore see large sums allocated to charities, county sports partnerships, local authorities and commercial organisations that are better suited to reaching those who currently do no exercise at all.

British Cycling say they will use the £17.3m to encourage people to participate in traffic-free cycling festivals; on a national campaign encouraging families to cycle together; and on the continuation of Breeze, Ride Social and Ride Local programmes.

Smith said that the governing body had not yet applied for Sport England money to target the inactive but may do so next year.

He also said that British Cycling, thanks to its partnership with HSBC, was becoming less dependent on public funding, adding, “the application it made to us was a sign of a mature and well-run organisation.”

British Cycling president Bob Howden said:

"It is fantastic news that Sport England is backing British Cycling with significant investment confirmed for the next four years. I'd like to thank Sport England and the National Lottery for their continued support.

"The sustainability of our work at the grassroots has long been a key priority for us and we are becoming less reliant on public money thanks to the support of our commercial partners.

"Sport England's new focus on inactivity is a great opportunity for us to look at ways to ensure our programmes are persuading people who do no exercise to get involved in cycling. This, as well as continuing to deliver our mass participation and community rides, will be our priority."