The 'Olympic cycling effect': a report prepared for Sky and British Cycling

The success of Team GB’s cyclists has been mirrored by an increasing participation in cycling in the UK, but there has been little research quantifying its possible influence. Sky and British Cycling, via LSE Enterprise, commissioned keen cyclist Dr Alexander Grous of the Centre for Economic Performance to investigate. Alexander, who has previously undertaken a study quantifying the value of cycling to the UK’s economy, surveyed a thousand people before and after the Olympics to determine whether Team GB's success had led to an increase in cycle use. He found that 52 per cent of those surveyed had been encouraged to cycle more, while 28 per cent had been inspired to buy bikes even before the Games had started. Alexander says that ‘The Olympic Cycling Effect report represents considerable effort to quantify for the first time the potential impact of elite cycling and nationalistic sentiment on cycling participation in the UK. The research indicates that there was a noticeable upturn in the number of both cyclists and non-cyclists motivated to increase their participation across a spectrum of cycling activities as a direct result of Team GB's medal winning success in the build up and during the 2012 Games.’