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Being Wiggo

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Bike Weekly - Being Wiggo

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

Being Wiggo

Team GB's cyclists will inspire a new generation. It is becoming a regular, four-yearly occurrence around the UK: the British cycling team collect a clutch of Olympic medals and suddenly velodromes and bike clubs are inundated with interested newcomers. 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?

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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.

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.

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.

How do I start?By far the best way to get involved in competitive cycling is to join a local club. As well as providing people to ride with, and sometimes facilities, clubs have on tap decades of collective knowledge and experience. If you're not sure what sort of cycling is for you, or what bike to buy, this is the place to start

Each has its particular quirks and appeals – try more than one out if you can.

How can I try track cycling?There are two options: the indoor velodromes of the type used in the Olympics, surfaced in polished wood, or outdoor tracks, again usually oval and banked, but more often concrete or asphalt. They're both essentially the same thing, although velodromes clearly have an advantage if it's raining, or winter.

There are more than a dozen outdoor tracks of various sorts spread around the UK, and a handful of velodromes, for example in Manchester and – once the Olympics are over – east London.

You can't just begin track cycling without supervision. 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. These can be very popular – the ones at the Manchester velodrome, the training base for Sir Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton et al, can often be booked up several weeks in advance.

Some types of cycling involve more expensive bikes than others. 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 affordable end. If you get seriously into mountain biking, with its ever-improving arms race of suspension and hydraulic brakes, then brace yourself.

Bradley Wiggins Tour De France

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Bike Weekly - Being Wiggo

“It’s a real adrenaline RUSH.”I'm instinctively bent low on the drops, wanting to be near nonexistent brake levers. It's a few laps before I become accustomed to the fact there are no obstacles, dead ends or traffic lights to worry about, and it's not as if any riders in front of me can suddenly decelerate. Being brakeless is no longer that daunting. I'm more concerned about those steep curved sections. Will I have the confidence – and speed – to ride around the top?

There are two options: the indoor velodromes of the type used in the Olympics, surfaced in polished wood, or outdoor tracks, again usually oval and banked, but more often concrete or asphalt. They're both essentially the same thing, although velodromes clearly have an advantage if it's raining, or winter.

Peter Walker