Great Britain again the richest national team in cycling thanks to new £39 million Olympic funding
UK Sport bankrolls four-year Los Angeles Olympic programme
The Great Britain team will again be the richest national squad competing on the track, road and other disciplines after being awarded £39 million of state funding for the next four years from the British government.
The funding covers the preparation for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and is part of £330 million in Government and National Lottery funding for sport.
The £39 million will be used to fund all aspects of the Great Britain national team, including equipment and competition costs for road racing, track, mountain bike and BMX.
Cycling was amongst 18 so-called 'World Class Programmes in British sport, along with the likes of Archery, Athletics, Aquatics, Boxing, Rowing and Triathlon. Cycling received a similar figure for the Paris Olympic programme and Great Britain's success this summer helped secure their funding for the future.
Cycling has been awarded £38,950,000 of the overall £330 million total, with £30,125,000 for the Olympic cycling squad and £8,825,000 for the Paralympic squad. Both are managed by British Cycling and based in Manchester at the velodrome.
Each programme will receive almost £1 million more compared to the funding for Paris 2024, while some sports and especially athletics, saw their funding reduced. Athletics suffered a cut of 8%.
The Great Britain cycling team won 11 medals at the Paris Olympics, including two golds. Tom Pidcock secured a second consecutive gold in the men's cross-country mountain bike race, while Emma Finucane, Sophie Capewell and Katy Marchant won gold in the women’s team sprint on the track.
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Great Britain won eight medals on the track to finish fourth in the track medal tables, behind the Netherlands who won three golds. The Paralympic cycling team won 22 medals, including nine gold.
“We’re incredibly pleased with the funding award,” Stephen Park, the Great Britain Cycling Team Performance Director said after UK Sport announced their funding and sports in Britain considered their plan for the next four years.
“With the continued support of UK Sport, we are able to support the maximum number of athletes to train full-time across the seven Olympic and Paralympic disciplines, with the ultimate aim of delivering world-beating performances.
“Our ongoing partnership with UK Sport and this funding commitment for the next four years through to LA 2028 will allow our athletes to continue to inspire the nation to experience the joy of cycling for themselves and increase the social impact that they can provide in their communities, both on and off the bike.”
Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.