Olympics: 'put Cycling on School Curriculum'

The mastermind behind the Great Britain team's gold rush in track cycling, Dave Brailsford, yesterday called for the government to make cycling obligatory in the national curriculum and invest in facilities for families and grass-roots racers.

"I don't see why cycling is not on the school curriculum. If you have swimming, why not cycling?" said the cycling performance director when asked for his wishlist when his team returns to Britain. "How many of us as parents would let our kids ride on the public roads in Britain? Children need safety and skills, and if cycling was on the curriculum as a key life skill so that every kid in Britain rides a bike, that would be a massive boost to the sport of cycling.

"That moment when a parent first pushes their kid off on their bike without stabilizers is a memorable one and we've all done it. Ride a bike to burn more calories and eat a bit less and you'll solve child obesity issues but you have to find the right facility and make it fun for kids."

The success of Britain's cyclists this week can be traced back to the decision to build a covered velodrome in Manchester during the abortive bid for the 2000 Olympic Games, and yesterday Brailsford said that less sophisticated cycling facilities were now key if the nation was to get on two wheels.