British cyclists riding high

Jason Queally: Sparked Britain's fine haul

BBC Five Live's Simon Brotherton tries to explain Great Britain's fine haul of cycling medals at the Sydney Olympics.

So how come Britain is so good at cycling?

Now that's a question I've never heard before, though somebody did actually ask me the other day.

Maybe they were getting carried away with all the success on two wheels, but what a week for the British track squad.

A gold medal, a silver and two bronze, a whole series of personal best performances and two unlucky fourth place finishes as well. Time surely to analyse how we've come this far and perhaps more importantly, how we can move forward.

There are three key elements to Britain's success on the track in Sydney: good coaching and structures behind the scenes, financial backing and the presence of a world class indoor track in Manchester.

Top riders

The top riders are funded by the British lottery as part of the World Class Performance Programme.

The WCPP is effectively a separate grouping of elite cyclists still under the umbrella of the British Cycling Federation.

The programme has been up and running for three years and the federation's smartest move was to employ coach Peter Keen to run it.

Keen was already well known in the UK for his work with Chris Boardman - a partnership which brought an Olympic gold medal in Barcelona and the world hour record.

Lottery funding

Since taking on the role of Performance Director, Keen has had to broaden his skills and deal with a wider range of issues and athletes.

Fortunately he's been more than up to the task.

Finance is obviously important too, provided the money is is used wisely and the lottery funding has undoubtedly helped the cyclists in their quest for Olympic success.

That said, an increase from the authorities to maximise the current window of cycling opportunity should be considered.

The current level of funding was based on the hope of a bronze medal on the track and a bronze medal on the road. Those realistic aims have been surpassed with a blistering series of confident performances against the established world order in the sport.

Jason Queally has provided us with a perfect launch for this mission

  Peter Keen

The velodrome in Manchester also proves that providing the correct facilities pays dividends. The track is one of the fastest in the world and will be hosting the World Track Championships for the second time next month.

Most importantly of all, it's an indoor venue!

The future looks bright and moves are afoot to ensure continuity for the future as cycling continues to develop it's profile in Britain.

Talent spotting

Peter Keen and the WCPP are establishing talent spotting programmes to identify promising 12-13 year olds and help them progress and stay in the sport.

Speaking after Britain's success Keen indicated there may be a lot more to come in the long term.

"The BCF, with the support of the national lottery, UK Sport and Sport England has ambitious plans for youth and schools programmes, coach education and high performance that we believe will make us the World's number one cycling nation in a decade.

"Jason Queally has provided us with a perfect launch for this mission."

British cycling followers will be hoping he's right.