Brian Cookson is the former president of British Cycling, helping to oversee the miraculous transformation of the sport to become Team GB’s most successful Olympic sport. He was also the president of UCI (Union Cycliste International), tackling the doping problems which have plagued the sport. Brian is a keen amateur cyclist himself. He also loves trees and posts a daily Tree of the Day photograph on Twitter.

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SHOW NOTES

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https://www.briancookson.com/
https://twitter.com/BrianCooksonOBE
There will always be a percentage of people who try to cheat, in whatever activity in life
The National Cycling Centre – http://www.nationalcyclingcentre.com/
Britain had won one cycling medal in 76 years’ of Olympics pre 2000
It was ‘extremely gratifying’ to see all the results at the Beijing Olympics
The beauty, the passion, the colour, the complexity of the sport
Cycling is like Test cricket in its complexity
The whiteness of cycling needs to change – that has not progressed in the way that other changes in cycling have done
There’s a difference between not being negative vs making a proactive way to make cycling less white and less middle class
There will probably never be a full-length Women’s Tour de France (mostly due to sponsorship reasons)
Fiona Kolbinger won the Trans Continental race – https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/49248126 (MY MISTAKE in the podcast, mixing this up with the Tour Divide race)
If you were inventing cycling today you probably would not invent the Tour de France
We need to move away from the exclusivity of cycling – if you ride a bike you are a cyclist
We are too snooty about who is a real cyclist
Cycling a sport but it is also a pastime and a means of transport
We need to invest in more cycling infrastructure if we are to broaden its reach and lower the perception of danger
Once everyone has someone in their family who is a cyclist, people will drive more safely
Brian owns 7 bikes
Favourite cycling is road cycling
Recommendation for touring cycling – titanium frame, mudguards, relaxed pose, Reynolds 531 tubing, wider tyres
Electronic gears, Shimano DI2
Fred Whitton challenge – https://alastairhumphreys.com/fred-whitton-challenge-2/
The miles are ‘twice as good’ in the Lake District because there are so many ups and downs
Tree of the Day – https://twitter.com/BrianCooksonOBE/status/1301156089422139392
Trees have always been a big part of my life. My favourite tree is a beech tree.