Sport England has given British Cycling a 30% funding boost for the next four years, with a total of £32m awarded to cycling's governing body.
The money, which is made up of grants from the Exchequer and the National Lottery, is earmarked to grow grassroots cycling participation from 2013-2017. It's part of £493m worth of funding that Sport England has doled out to different sports.
It means cycling is now the best funded sport in England, jumping ahead of Football, Rugby League, Rugby Union and Cricket, who received the most cash between 2009-2013. Football is now second, with £30m funding, followed by netball (£25.3m) and athletics (£22m).
British Cycling’s CE Ian Drake commented on the news in a statement. "Today’s Sport England funding announcement is a recognition of the good work done by British Cycling members and volunteers in driving grassroots participation and a challenge for us to do even better in the next four years. Whether it is for winning medals or for getting people active, we are proud of our record of delivering value for lottery funding and we take the responsibility very seriously.
"There is still a great deal of work to do in making cycling in this country better. We’re looking forward to getting stuck in."
British Cycling say they will be investing the money to "build on the success and growth experienced over the past four years across all aspects of cycling as a sport, recreational activity and sustainable transport."
The funding news comes in the wake of more national recognition for Britain's cyclists after Bradley Wiggins won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year and Dave Brailsford was awarded Coach of the Year last night.
