School cyclists helped

CYCLE training in Yorkshire schools will be given a boost under a national expansion plan announced yesterday.

British Cycling - the sport's national governing body - and chemical firm GlaxoSmithKline Nutritional Healthcare (GSKNH) have joined forces to put cycling proficiency training back on the agenda.

British Cycling runs the Go-Ride training scheme for six to 18 years olds in regional pockets across the UK.

With GSKNH's backing, British Cycling is extending the scheme to cover all of Britain.

To start, they are rolling out Go-Ride to 200 more primary schools nationally in the next two years.

Around 30,000 secondary school students will get one-day visits from Go-Ride tutors and 100 new Go-Ride community clubs will be created.

Around 3,500 more children in Yorkshire will benefit.

GSKNH and British Cycling took action after discovering just 27% of children now get formal training.

GSKNH performance adviser Peter Keen, a former coach for British Olympic cyclists, said: "Too often young people are turned off by competitive school sport. Cycling has universal appeal but lack of proper training is a stumbling block."