The road to take to be the next Bradley Wiggins or Lizzie Armitstead.

Team GB’s cyclists will inspire a new generation. It is becoming a regular, four-yearly occurrence around the UK: the British cycling team collect a clutch of Olympic medals and suddenly velo-dromes and bike clubs are inundated with interested newcomers. So, if your 12-year-old son or daughter has decided they want to become the next Bradley Wiggins or Lizzie Armitstead – or, in-deed, if you fancy your chances – where to begin?

By Peter Walker

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How do I start?

By far the best way to get involved in competitive cycling is to join a local club. As well as providing people to ride with, and sometimes facilities, clubs have on tap decades of collective knowledge and experience. If you’re not sure what sort of cycling is for you, or what bike to buy, this is the place to start.

British Cycling, the sport’s governing body in this country, has around 1,400 clubs affiliated to it, and a facility on its website to find your local one. It recom-mends calling the secretary of a local club to discuss what sort of things they do, and whether this suits you.

A few clubs can be a bit fixated on very competitive, high-speed events, but in-creasing numbers offer rides for more or less every ability and experience level.

What sorts of cycling can I do?

The list is very long. Traditionally, clubs tend to specialise in road racing and/or time trials, the latter being the flat out, against the clock contest in which

“Wiggins triumphed”

on Wednesday. Alternatively, those with access to a velodrome or outside track will often be geared towards that.

But there are plenty of other competi-tive options – mountain biking, whether cross country (up and down) or downhill (just the latter); BMX, usually undertak-en on a specially-built circuit; and cyclo-cross, the increasingly popular challenge is which riders race thick-tyred road-type bikes over muddy ground and hills.Each has its particular quirks and ap-peals – try more than one out if you can.

How can I try track cycling?

There are two options: the indoor velo-dromes of the type used in the Olympics, surfaced in polished wood, or outdoor tracks, again usually oval and banked, but more often concrete or asphalt. They’re both essentially the same thing, although velodromes clearly have an ad-vantage if it’s raining, or winter.There are more than a dozen outdoor tracks of various sorts spread around the UK, and a handful of velodromes, for example in Manchester and – once the Olympics are over – east London.You can’t just begin track cycling without supervision. Using the brake-free, fixed gear bikes needs practice, as does getting sufficient confidence to properly use the banking. Given that velodromes tend to be used by a number of fast-moving bikes at once, there’s also some etiquette to acquire. Many tracks offer try-out days, often with the use of a track bike. These can be very popular – the ones at the Manchester velodrome, the training base for Sir Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton et al, can often be booked up several weeks in advance.

There are two options: the indoor velo-dromes of the type used in the Olympics, surfaced in polished wood, or outdoor tracks, again usually oval and banked, but more often concrete or asphalt.

I’m instinctively bent low on the drops, wanting to be near nonexistent brake levers. It’s a few laps before I become ac-customed to the fact there are no obsta-cles, dead ends or traffic lights to worry about, and it’s not as if any riders in front of me can suddenly decelerate.

“You’ll slide down

the banking.”

Being brakeless is no longer that daunt-ing. I’m more concerned about those steep curved sections. Will I have the confidence – and speed – to ride around the top?

They’re both essentially the same thing, although velodromes clearly have an ad-vantage if it’s raining, or winter.There are more than a dozen outdoor tracks of various sorts spread around the UK, and a handful of velodromes, for example in Manchester and – once the Olympics are over – east London.

Wiggo eating his success Lizzie Armitstead celebrating with her Silver medal

Wiggins Triumphed

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