Olympic legend Sir Chris Hoy said the idea of becoming the government's national cycling champion is "appealing" and said that in theory, he would "love" the post.
In an interview with The Times today, the Scot said: "For something like this, where you can imagine the kind of legacy, where you can see in 15 to 20 years’ time a complete culture change, that would be a massive thing to be involved in. It does appeal to me.
“In theory I would love to do it. But it’s a massive commitment. You would have to eat, sleep and breathe it."
The Get Britain Cycling report recommended the creation of a national cycling champion to help co-ordinate government thinking to towards the activity and make it safer and more attractive to more people.
Six-time Olympic gold medallist Hoy, who released a range of HOY bikes this summer added: "I would love to see more people on bikes. I am not saying it as a Jamie Oliver crusade — one person trying to change things in a massive way — but if I can help out in making it more easy, more appealing, more popular. I am a bit evangelical about it, but I genuinely believe that cycling can change people’s lives for the better."
He might have competition, however. Chris Boardman, another Olympic star who has been a powerful voice to improve conditions for cyclists has also suggested he would be interested in the post.
In April, at the launch of the All Part Parliamentary Cycling Group's Get Britain Cycling (GBC) report he told BikeRadar: "I think what I would need is genuine belief that it was going to have some teeth, there was genuine support behind me and people would be prepared to put up with some pain and some noise to make changes."
The government has already rejected the report's cycling champion recommendation though. In August, in a response to the GBC report, the government said: "The Government has no plans to appoint a national Cycling Champion. However, the Cycle Safety Forum Subgroup provides external expert help and advice."
