[2] The cycling historian Bernard Thompson said: "Events organised by clubs in the 1880s, although taking place on quiet country roads, were constantly interrupted by the police.
"[3] The race organiser and writer, Chas Messenger, said: "Thousands of cyclists were convicted or fined for dangerous riding, many on mere suspicion and unsupported evidence.
[2] A rebel organisation, eventually known as the Road Time Trials Council (RTTC), began running races of individuals competing against the clock at dawn and in secrecy, to avoid police attention.
Infighting was sparked by the UCI's decision that world road championships from 1933 would be not individual contests but competitions in which riders started together.
In 1996, the BCF incurred large debts as a result of a legal dispute with Tony Doyle, who resigned from his position as President of the Federation shortly after its Board attempted to remove him.
[7][8] Doyle had been elected to the Presidency in late 1995 on a platform of increasing transparency and accountability in the Federation: the campaign to remove him was based on claims that he had failed to declare his role as a consultant to a company that wanted to act as the promoter for the 1996 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Manchester.
[9] Brian Cookson was elected as president soon afterwards: he described the organisation's situation at the time as "close to bankruptcy, 14,000 members and falling, one Olympic gold in 76 years and not much else to show.
Keen immediately outlined the focus of the Plan, emphasising that it would mainly be aimed at targeting track cycling due to the large number of Olympic medals on offer.
[11] The first fruits of the programme were harvested at the 2000 Summer Olympics: on the track, Team GB took two bronzes, a silver and a gold medal, the latter of which was taken by Jason Queally in the 1 km time trial.
Following the Games, Keen started speaking publicly about what Britain needed to do to become the world number one nation in track cycling.
In July 2002 the Talent Team programme was launched, which aimed to discover new riders through working with schools:[7] riders identified through the initiative who have enjoyed success at the highest level include Dani Rowe, Laura Kenny, Peter Kennaugh, Elinor Barker and Lizzie Deignan.
Other notable riders who participated in the academy programme include Kennaugh, Geraint Thomas, Ian Stannard, Ben Swift and Simon Yates.
[15] That year Keen left his role, whilst continuing to work with British Cycling in a consultancy capacity until the 2004 Summer Olympics: Brailsford was appointed as his replacement.
[citation needed] They started using their own Sport Institute bicycles in 2002, and subsequently Chris Boardman played a key role in redesigning equipment and clothing to maximise efficiency.
[7] British Cycling continues to work with NASA, McLaren Group and many other organisations to improve track speeds.
[citation needed] In the late 2000s, the team consisted of riders as Sir Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton, Bradley Wiggins, and Rebecca Romero.
[citation needed] At 2024 Olympics Great Britain were knocked off the top of the Cycling Olympic Medal table for the time since the Athens 2004 games having finished with eleven medals total but only two golds as the British team were overhauled by other teams including old rivals Australia and Netherlands.
[22] In 2017, British Cycling faced criticism from UK Sport over alleged bullying, unlawful discrimination and "dysfunctional leadership".
[23] Also in 2017, the Guardian describes how Mark Cavendish and Bradley Wiggins feel as though they have been overlooked by British cycling when they were not selected to compete in the Tokyo Olympics.
The organisation has also been criticised during the "Combatting Doping in Sport inquiry" of the House of Commons, particularly in relation to the supply of fluimucil to Bradley Wiggins in 2011.
[24] In 2019, 22 charges were brought against former British Cycling doctor Richard Freeman by a medical tribunal which include lying to colleagues and the UK Anti-Doping Agency.
[30] In October 2022, British Cycling faced a barrage of criticism on the announcement that it would be entering into a major partnership with the oil company Shell, with Greenpeace calling it "brazen sportswashing".
International performances have improved since British Cycling began receiving National Lottery funding in the late 1990s.
In September 2004, British Cycling helped organise the Tour of Britain, a five-day race finishing in London.
[32] Athletes on this programme include Olympic champions Jason Kenny, Laura Trott and Philip Hindes as well as Tour de France winner Sir Bradley Wiggins.
The programme aims to add the final technical polish, whilst building up training loads to those likely to be experienced by the senior elite athletes.