British Cycling Membership now stands at 20,028. British Cycling’s clubs have recruited 2000 members during 2006 through a club-focused Membership recruitment scheme launched in 2005. More than half of the new members have upgraded to Silver or Gold membership, enabling them to access the best Legal and Insurance benefits available for cyclists in the UK.

Alongside the growth in membership is a growth in the number of licence holders, which has also hit an all time high of 11,000. In addition, over 60% of the new members recruited through this scheme in 2005 have renewed their membership in 2006.

Brian Cookson British Cycling’s President commented:

“This is a major milestone that shows that cycling is a healthy, growing sport and that we are a healthy, growing organisation. To break the 20,000 mark is absolutely fantastic news and credit must go to every individual and club who has made a contribution.”

“I’d like to thank all the members, new and old, who have shown their confidence in British Cycling by making us their organisation of choice. Our members’ support is invaluable in helping British Cycling to achieve its long-term goal of being the World’s number one cycling nation in terms of ‘more people’ and ‘more medals’.”

Peter King British Cycling’s Chief Executive commented:

“Since the beginning of the implementation of the organisation’s UK Wide One Stop Plan in April 2005, we have seen a 33% increase in membership. British Cycling has established itself as not only the fastest growing Cycling organisation but also the fastest growing National Governing Body across all sports in the UK.”

“In addition, over the same period, there has been a 9% increase in the number of licence holders. A lack of appropriate racing opportunities has often been cited by lapsed members as the main reason for not renewing their membership, so this increase suggests we have begun to turn an important corner in addressing this issue.”