Two separate road accidents involving Bradley Wiggins and the Tour de France winner’s mentor Shane Sutton have prompted British Cycling to call for a new Government-led safety drive.
A British Cycling spokeswoman said: ‘It is extremely rare that our riders and coaches are hurt while out cycling on the road, even rarer that two incidents should occur in a short space of time and we wish Shane and Bradley a speedy recovery.
‘Cycling is not an intrinsically dangerous activity but there is much more to be done to improve conditions for cyclists on the roads.
‘British Cycling is calling on the government to put cycling at the heart of transport policy to ensure that cycle safety is built into the design of all new roads, junctions and transport projects, rather than being an afterthought.’
In what was almost a self-fulfilling prophecy, Bradley Wiggins predicted that the upsurge in interest in cycling following the Olympics would inevitably lead to an increase in accidents and said making it illegal to cycle without a helmet would make the roads safer “because ultimately, if you get knocked off and you ain’t got a helmet on, then how can you kind of argue”.