Scotland’s Active Travel Minister is hoping the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships will encourage more women and girls to engage in sport and physical activity.
That was the message from Patrick Harvie as he visited the iconic Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome at Glasgow’s Emirates Arena as part of celebrations to mark the fifth anniversary of Scottish Women and Girls in Sport Week (25-31 October).
The Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants’ Rights met with officials from Scottish Cycling, to hear about the Glasgow Women on Wheels Cycling Festival, the Breeze initiative, as well as speaking to and watching a number of female performance cyclists training on the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.
Also present at the visit was Chief Executive of the 2023 Cycling World Championships, Trudy Lindblade, who spoke to the Minister about how they hope the event will help create more positive female role models in all disciplines of cycling.
Following the visit Mr Harvie said: “Scotland has got an incredible opportunity to not just use the Cycling World Championships coming up, but to use the appetite we’ve seen in the last year or two for people travelling actively as well.
“But at the moment, there are barriers that a lot of people feel – whether its gender, economics, or the physical environment. We want to break down all of those barriers and make sure that women and girls from a wide-range of backgrounds all across the country, think that cycling is for them.”
Chief Executive of Scottish Cycling, Nick Rennie, said: “It was great to share some of the initiatives we currently deliver to get women and girls into sport, such as the Glasgow Women on Wheels Festival and the Breeze programme that we deliver in Scotland.
“With the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships now just around the corner, it was great to discuss with the Minster how we can inspire and encourage more women and girls to take part in our great sport, which offers so many tangible benefits, from physical and mental health, right through to friendship and teamwork.”
Find out more
About the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships.
