116 | Cycling World
the line to take gold . It ’ s times like this when you take a minute to think “ wow , we did this ” and that ’ s definitely the most rewarding part of my job .
Do you cycle ? If so , what type of
Q bike / s do you own ?
Even though my role at British
A Cycling means I work in elite sport , you certainly couldn ’ t describe my cyclingabilities as ‘ elite ’ in any way . I do enjoy riding at the weekends for fun ; however you won ’ t be seeing me hit the velodrome track at a world cup anytime soon !
How do you convince more women
Q to take up cycling ?
In April 2013 , British Cycling
A launched an ambition to get one million more women cycling by 2020 and plans so far are on track . We know that British Cycling has a long journey ahead to change the culture of our sport but we are heading in the right direction with over 100,000 women participating in the sport governing body ’ s programmes last year . As an organisation , we recently introduced equal pay for men and women at major events and continue to look at ways to inspire more women to take
up racing . Our female Great Britain track cyclists receive the same level of coverage as men , with the successes of our younger female riders such as Laura Trott leading to considerable media following . That profile looks set to continue on the road to Rio adding to our confidence for a brighter future with participation in our youth development programmes split at almost 50 / 50 between boys and girls .
Q
What new strategies are we likely to see from British Cycling in 2015 ?
I don ’ t think you ’ re likely to see
A new strategies as such , as for us it ’ s about continuing with our plans to get more people cycling , while also supporting the Great Britain Cycling Team as the buildup to Rio 2016 continues . Next year will see the return of the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup in April , before major events such as the Women ’ s Tour and the Tour of Britain once again give us the high-profile platform to promote our sport . Interest has been increasing in these events in recent years , with millions of people viewing , either from the roadside of via the TV with improved broadcast coverage opening events to everincreasing audiences .