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SCOTLAND’S newest sports venue, the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, is the centre of the biking world this weekend as it hosts the UCI Track Cycling World Cup.

And with the planet’s top cyclists gathering in the city, the sport’s growing army of fans will be cramming into the sold-out Glasgow venue. But it’s not just at the elite level that cycling is booming.

Following the success of Bradley Wiggins, Sir Chris Hoy and the rest of Team GB at the 2012 Games, more people are getting on their bikes.

Scottish Cycling report that membership levels have rocketed by 67 per cent to more than 6000 in the last three years, with surveys showing youngsters and men in their 40s are the most likely to be picking up their bikes for the first time.

We hear from three cyclists why more people than ever are turning to two wheels.

ELLIE PARK

BUDDING cyclist Ellie Park had the privilege of being one of the first riders to compete at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.

The 12-year-old, from East Kilbride, raced at last month’s Scottish Track Championships, winning the overall girls’ title in her category.

And with the boost of new facilities on her doorstep and a boom in interest in the sport, she’s excited about the future.

She said: “It was really good to be one of the first people to race on it at a big competition and to win the overall series there.

“There was a big crowd and I was nervous, but not because of the number of people. I was nervous about the race.”

Ellie has been riding a bike since she was four, and took up BMX racing when she was eight, before joining youth cycling club Glasgow Riderz two-and-a-half years ago and turning to track and road races.

“I thought that racing was great fun,” she said. “You got to make a lot of friends, you got a lot of support, so I really enjoyed taking part, and winning races was a great feeling.”

According to dad Richard, 41, more and more kids are now looking to emulate Ellie’s success.

He said: “This year with the Wiggins effect and the Olympic effect, we’ve seen a massive increase in kids who want to pursue cycling as a sport and a pastime.

“It’s the same for clubs around Scotland. Glasgow Riderz is probably the biggest youth cycling club in Scotland now, as we’ve more than 100 members, and we’ve seen interest double in the past year purely on the back of the Tour de France and Olympics.”

But the proud dad admits that other kids will have to work hard to keep up with Ellie.

“She’s had a stunning couple of years,” he said.

“In her first year she won the overall Scottish Series title, which is competed over 14 rounds. She has regularly beaten boys, she races in the Scottish Cycling Track League on Wednesday nights, and she’s more than happy to race against under-14 boys and girls, and senior women.”

Ellie’s ultimate ambition is to become a professional cyclist and compete in the Olympics, but despite the long hours of training involved and the travelling to competitions around the country, she still enjoys it.

“The season has finished now but I still go out on training runs with people from the club. But I don’t really think of it as training as it’s good fun.”

GREG CHAUVET

AS a man at the helm of a growing bike co-operative, you’d imagine Frenchman Greg Chauvet would have cycling in his blood.

But amazingly the 35-year-old only learned to ride a bike less than five years ago.

He said: “I had a real bicycle phobia as, when I was a child, I had been learning with stabilisers and getting pushed along the road when I fell in a ditch.

“After that, I was always afraid of cycling, and any time I got on a bike I would freeze.

“But then when I was living in Edinburgh, a friend of mine made me a really nice home-made bike.

“It sat in my bedroom for about six months and, whenever anyone saw it, they would say ‘wow’ but I was too shy to say that I couldn’t ride it.

“Then one day I heard about the Bike Station in Edinburgh and that they taught everyone from first-time cyclists to advanced cyclists.

“I went along and learned to ride a bike for the first time.

“I then found that taking my bike to repair shops was expensive, and that the Bike Station could teach me how to make repairs myself, which was much cheaper. Tthey were very open and helpful.”

Greg then moved to Glasgow and decided to start up a similar kind of co-operative.

Within a year, he had joined forces with the Bike Station, and is now their Glasgow project manager, selling reconditioned bikes and providing training in all aspects of cycling for everyone from beginners to experts.

He said: “There are two types of cyclist. There are commuters who use their bikes as a means of transport, and there are those who use their bikes for fun at the weekends, either out in the country or at a velodrome.

“We found that there are many weekend cyclists who are too scared to cycle in the towns and cities, so we offer training on cycling so that more people can use their bikes as a means of transport.”

Their philosophy also aims to show that cycling needn’t be expensive.

Greg added: “Rather than going to a repair shop and spending money on expensive things you don’t need, here you can attend classes in fixing your own bike.

“We provide a stand and all the tools you need, as well as the expertise to do things such as adjusting your gears, replacing brake pads, or fixing punctures.

“And the more people that can do that, the better.”

MARTIN MULHOLLAND

AS secretary of Ayrshire kids’ cycling club the Johnstone Jets, Martin Mulholland has seen the sport growing in popularity.

The 48-year-old said: “Post-Olympics, we were adding five new riders every week, so there’s a big surge.

“People talk a lot about the legacy and I think it’s true. For the next five Sundays after this weekend, I’ll be taking 50 kids into the new velodrome to teach them about track cycling.

“When that was advertised, we had more than 100 applications, and we had to whittle them down, so there’s a big demand.

“That sort of demand creates challenges for clubs, such as the Johnstone Jets, as we’re all volunteers. But it’s still good fun as seeing youngsters develop is great to watch.”

The dad-of-three has been a cyclist since he was a child himself, and with sons Lewis, 15, Danny, 13 and Ruairi, eight, also keen on the sport, he admits his garage at home is now crammed full of bikes.

He said: “It’s something that’s always been with me and joining a club is a great way to improve your cycling.

“You meet like-minded people and it’s also a good way of buying and selling kit.”

The Jets are the junior version of the senior cycling club the Johnstone Wheelers, with some Jets members having now graduated into cycling with the adults.

Martin added: “The Jets have been in existence for five years and. at the end of the summer season. we had 82 riders on the books aged five to 15.

“It’s all about personal development through cycling, and if people want to have a social experience with their pals on a Saturday morning and learn to ride their bike better, that’s great.

“And if people want to be the next Laura Trott or Chris Hoy, we’ll take them along that route, giving them a development pathway into competitive cycling.

“So we’ve got everyone from kids just off stabilisers to teenagers breaking Scottish records in the new velodrome.

“We want more people on bikes and learning how to ride them better.”

? For more information, visit the Scottish Cycling website by logging on to www.scottishcycling.org.uk