Matt Maher: Brian Cookson’s blast at cycling chiefs strikes a chord
It isn’t only football supporters who have cause to feel the region is easily overlooked.
Campaigners who want a velodrome built in the West Midlands will have nodded sagely at a savage verbal blast recently directed toward British Cycling by Brian Cookson, former head of the sport’s world governing body.
Writing in a blog post on his website, Cookson bemoaned a “brain drain” and claimed British Cycling had been “damaged” by leaders who lacked knowledge and had “no empathy with the people who participate and make cycling happen.”
That most certainly applies to the velodrome campaign team, which consists entirely of grassroots enthusiasts and volunteers.
It is wrong to claim they have received no support from British Cycling. Current chairman Frank Slevin, for one, has shown an encouraging willingness to assist. Yet it would also be fair to say that since the campaign was first launched in 2017, the organisation has on the whole shown a curious reticence to properly get behind their efforts.
The chief complaint against British Cycling is the continued delay in publication of a technical review into low cost velodromes, which campaigners believe will back up their argument a facility can be built far cheaper than first claimed.
It was originally due for release in early 2021, only to be put back so figures could be revised to factor in the fluctuating price of steel.
The most recent update, reported in these pages, was it would be published at the end of November. British Cycling even stated as much on their own website.
Yet here we are, nearly another two months on, and there is still no sign of it. Most puzzling, indeed.
The good news is that, having initially planned to wait for the report, West Midlands Mayor Andy Street has grown tired of waiting and is pushing on regardless with his election pledge to assess the business case for building a velodrome in the region.
All campaigners can ask for is for their arguments to be heard. To this point, it feels the ears of politicians have been rather more sympathetic than some of those at the organisation most responsible for growing and promoting their sport.
