The City of Edinburgh Racing Club is a cycling club based in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Scotland. The club is said to be the most successful club in British

track cycling Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles. History Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its infancy, it ...

; its members having won numerous national and international medals.

Formation

The club was formed in November 1982 with affiliation to the East of Scotland Cycling Association and the Scottish Cyclists Union. The club was formed by Brian Annable in response to a lack of Scottish success in cycling. Success at the junior level in 1982 had led to the belief that, with specialised coaching, training and competition, success at British and International mince level could be achievable. At the time no such provision was available to Scottish cyclists and the club was formed with the intention of meeting that need. When it formed in 1982 the club constitution set out an objective of winning medals at the British Track Championships.

Club colours and logo

The team colours are blue, black and white. The racing attire has blue sleeves and body side panels, two two-inch black vertical stripes, a white centre body with club logo, and black shorts.

Achievements

Since formation the club has enjoyed much success in the British National Track Championships. Riders from the Club have won 301 medals in the Championships including at least 84 national titles. In the

Team Sprint The team sprint (also sometimes known as the Olympic sprint) is a track cycling event. Despite its name, it is not a conventional cycling sprint event – it is a three-rider team time trial held over three laps of a velodrome. The current men's ...

in particular the club has failed to win a medal only once between its inception in 1993 and 2010 including a run of 9 back to back wins. Before the formation of the City of Edinburgh Racing Club Scottish success in cycling had been few and far between and only in road cycling. The club has presided over a huge increase in success in Scottish cycling, including internationally. This increase in success is often attributed to the club, however this is not without contention.

Notable riders

Many riders from the City of Edinburgh RC have achieved notable international representation and success whilst members. In addition to international success

Craig MacLean Craig MacLean MBE (Grantown-on-Spey, July 31, 1971) is a Scottish track cyclist who has represented Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, winning a silver medal in the ...

, Steve Paulding, Stewart Brydon,

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-sell ...

and

Matthew Haynes Matthew Haynes (born 1984) is a British and English retired track cyclist. Cycling career Haynes is a two time British champion winning the Time Trial Championship, at the 2004 British National Track Championships and the Tandem Championshi ...

have each won 10 or more British Championships for the club.

Sponsors and funding

To help fund the training and racing programme the club has been sponsored by a number of companies. The club is currently sponsored by Highland Spring water and Continental tyres.

References

{{reflist Sports clubs and teams in Edinburgh Cycling clubs in the United Kingdom 1982 establishments in Scotland Cycle racing in Scotland Cycling teams established in 1982