British Cycling has announced today that leading UK cycle retailer Halfords is to become the first-ever commercial sponsor of the hugely successful Great Britain Cycling Team.

The announcement comes as the team warm up for the Track Cycling World Championships at the Manchester Velodrome at the end of this month, where they will compete for crucial qualification points for the Beijing Olympics.

This is the first time that a commercial logo has been placed on the team kit and is a further sign of the depth of sponsorship commitment from Halfords to support the team in their mission for gold.

The partnership with Halfords began back in January with the launch of Team Halfords Bikehut, led by Nicole Cooke, and is now extending to all disciplines of the Great Britain Cycling Team.

Performance Director Dave Brailsford, who has led the project, commented: “Halfords are the perfect partner for the team, a successful, established British brand with a commitment to cycling and I’m delighted that they are the first to go on our jersey. With their continuing vision and passion we have invaluable support for our Olympic dreams”

Paul McClenaghan, Trading Director at Halfords added “Cycling is one of the most exciting sports at the moment and the team has the potential to be one of the most successful World and Olympic British teams of all time. The Team Halfords Bikehut Partnership has already proved a great success. We have the shared goal of promoting world-class GB cycling, so this sponsorship seemed the logical next step in our partnership with British Cycling.”

In addition to the partnership with the GB Cycling Team, Halfords have committed to raising the profile of British Cycling and Cycle Sport in UK through a range of promotional activities. This is designed to provide a massive boost to the current membership growth of British Cycling and to engage more people with opportunities to take part in organised cycling activities through the Everyday Cycling programme along with the 1000’s of British Cycling events that take place every year.