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Olympics 2012

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Team GB’s cyclists will inspire a new generation. It is be-coming a regular, four-year-ly occurrence around the UK: the British cycling team collect a clutch of Olympic medals and suddenly velo-dromes and bike clubs are in-undated with interested new-comers. So, if your 12-year-old son or daughter has decided they want to become the next Bradley Wiggins or Lizzie Armitstead – or, indeed, if you fancy your chances – where to begin?

The road to take to be the next Bradley Wiggins or Lizzie Armitstead.

“The general rule of thumb is that the more simple the bike type the cheaper it is. Thus, track bikes tend to be at the more af-fordable end.”

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The Cycle - Bieng Wiggo

How do I start?By far the best way to get involved in competitive cy-cling is to join a local club. As well as providing peo-ple to ride with, and sometimes facilities, clubs have on tap decades of collective knowledge and experi-ence. If you’re not sure what sort of cycling is for you, or what bike to buy, this is the place to start. British Cycling, the sport’s governing body in this country, has around 1,400 clubs affiliated to it, and a facility on its website to find your local one. It recommends calling the secretary of a local club to discuss what sort of things they do, and whether this suits you.

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A few clubs can be a bit fixated on very competitive, high-speed events, but increasing numbers offer rides for more or less every ability and experience level. What sorts of cycling can I do?The list is very long. Traditionallyclubs tend to specialise in road racing and/or time trials, the latter being the flat out, against the clock contest in which Wiggins triumphed on Wednesday. Alternatively, those with access to a velodrome or outside track will often be geared towards that. But there are plenty of other competitive options – mountain biking, whether cross country (up and down) or downhill (just the latter); BMX, usually undertaken on a specially-built circuit; and cyclocross, the increasingly popular challenge is which riders race thick-tyred road-type bikes over muddy ground and hills.

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The Cycle - Bieng Wiggo

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“The gen-eral rule of thumb is that the more simple the bike type the cheaper it is. Thus, track bikes tend to be at the more affordable end.”

You can’t just begin track cycling without supervi-sion. Using the brake-free, fixed gear bikes needs practice, as does getting sufficient confidence to properly use the banking. Given that velodromes tend to be used by a number of fast-moving bikes at once, there’s also some etiquette to acquire. Many tracks offer try-out days, often with the use of a track bike.

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