These are exciting times for Britain’s cycling community. July 2007 saw London and Kent host the high-profile Grand Départ of the sport’s most prestigious event, the Tour de France, and Britain has emerged as a force in world cycling, with male and female cyclists picking up a host of World Championship medals across all disciplines and age groups.

Meanwhile, in December 2007, the charity Sustrans won £50 million in lottery funding to develop its Connect2 network following a public vote linked to a TV show on ITV. Looking ahead, the World Track Championships are due to be held in Manchester in March 2008, while the London 2012 Olympic Games, a key goal for the British cycling team, is just four years away.

However, there remains a strong public perception that cycling, at least on the road, is simply too dangerous. Despite benefiting from the encouragement and investment of government and advocacy groups, the market for bicycles is suffering at the hands of low levels of sporting participation in the UK in general, and this poses a massive barrier to increasing not only market sales but general levels of cycling in the UK.