Double Olympic Gold Medallist Laura Trott and Paralympic Bronze Medallist Jody Cundy Inspire the Next Generation

The National Lottery celebrated its investment in sport yesterday by introducing Great Britain’s cycling duo Laura Trott and Jody Cundy to youngsters keen to follow in their footsteps as they played their part in building a lasting legacy from London 2012 at Manchester’s Velodrome

The London 2012 double Olympic Gold medallist and Paralympic Bronze medallist joined young members of Eastlands Velo Cycling Club where they gave a masterclass in the sport, inspiring the next generation of athletes.

Trott said, “National Lottery funding has changed my life by giving me the opportunity to train full time and be the best I can. It has supported me throughout my career, at both amateur and professional level and it will continue to support these kids in the same way.

“When I was younger the likes of Bradley Wiggins and Sir Chris Hoy were such an inspiration for me – hopefully I can play that same role for some of the youngsters here today.”

Cundy added: “I have been lucky enough to compete in five Paralympic games and the face of Paralympic sport has changed dramatically since my first games in Atlanta. The exposure and publicity that the Paralympics got in London was unprecedented and I hope that it has encouraged more young people with disabilities to take part in sport.

“The support that the National Lottery has given me over the years has been great and I have seen first-hand the changes that it has made since the Atlanta games and the medal tally in London is proof of this.”

Trott and Cundy are two of 1,200 National Lottery funded elite athletes. The funding allows them to compete and train full time to the highest of international standards. The National Lottery invested up to £2.2 billion in London 2012, allowing our athletes, venues and volunteers to shine on the world stage.

The National Cycling Centre in Manchester has received £3million of National Lottery funding from Sport England, creating opportunities for more people to get involved and enjoy sport in world class facilities.

Sport England Chair, Richard Lewis, said: “We are committed to developing more opportunities for local communities to take part in sport and create a lasting legacy from this summer’s Games. Eastlands Velo is a great example of a club which enables young people to have access to some of the best sporting facilities in the world, whether it is for recreation or if they are hoping to become an Olympic star themselves one day.”

Tim Ferguson, a coach at Eastlands Velo, said: “Our sessions have always seen a surge of interest following major events like the Olympic and Commonwealth Games but the response to the London Olympics has been unprecedented.

“We have now had to restrict riders to one session a week on the track as we have reached capacity but we are working with British Cycling coaches and with our older members to develop their own training programmes for when they are away from the track. It’s fantastic to see so many young people getting involved in cycling and hopefully we will see the sport grow with continued success.”

Eastlands Velo has over 150 members from around the Manchester area aged 8 to 19 years old. 15-year-old Chris Dowling who met both Trott and Cundy said: “It was great to have the experts give us some tips today. Standing starts are really hard and they demonstrated it to us and gave us some feedback. Meeting them both and seeing what they have achieved does make me want to carry on cycling and be the best I can be.”