Geraint Thomas Cycling Trust set to get 5,000 children on bikes by 2028

Almost three years since it was first set up, the Geraint Thomas Cycling Trust (GTCT) says it is on track to get 5,000 children on bicycles by 2028, backing five projects with grant aid funding and support over the past 12 months.

The projects are based in London, Caerphilly, Cardiff and Swansea, with support and cycling programmes offered to disabled children, young carers, and those living in deprived areas.

Set up in 2021, the charitable trust by Ineos Grenadiers' Thomas had the aim of getting 5,000 children on bikes within 10 years, and now looks set to hit this target in five years' time.

"We have deliberately targeted projects for children and young people who wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to enjoy cycling," said the 2018 Tour de France champion.

The five projects in England and Wales have been granted almost £14,000 in total, which has helped to purchase bicycles and equipment as well as support the delivery of cycling sessions throughout the year.

Disadvantaged children offered support

With the United Kingdom currently experiencing a cost of living crisis, charitable trusts such as Thomas' are important now more than ever, and the impact of this has already been seen in England and Wales.

Around one in three children in the United Kingdom currently live in poverty, with numbers up to 4.2 million according to a 2021/22 government report. Many of these disadvantaged children live in inner-city urban areas such as Newham in London, where the Community Outdoor Group (COG) has been able to launch a new cycling project directly as a result of GTCT funding.

The COG received the largest of the grants to date, totalling £3,250, which has been used to purchase bikes and helmets for children in the borough, as well as sessions in which the children can learn how to ride, maintain their bikes, and pick up BMX and mountain biking skills.

© Velo Collection (TDW) / Getty Images

Geraint Thomas: 'I am all too familiar with the Welsh weather so I’m really pleased that we can do our bit to get more kids on bikes'

Pantside School in Caerphilly, Wales, was the first school to be supported by the Trust, but has been joined by the Willows High School in Cardiff, whose Wednesday afternoons have turned into time set aside for cycling for many pupils.

On average, 19% of schoolchildren in Wales are entitled to receive free school meals, whilst this figure soars to 60% of pupils in Willows High School. The area also houses lots of refugees who live in nearby hotels, many of whom send their children to the school and simply cannot afford to purchase bikes.

With the school already having purchased bikes and helmets for its pupils to share, a GTCT grant of £2,230 has been invested in waterproof clothing and gloves to allow cycling lessons to continue throughout the wet, cold months that Wales endures each year.

Trust funding supports adapted bikes for disabled children and respite for young carers

A partnership between the YMCA Young Carers and Gower Riders in Swansea has seen carers as young as 8 benefit from sessions geared towards bike handling skills, safety checks and even racing.

© Gower Riders / Geraint Thomas Cycling Trust

Gower Riders say that the involvement of young carers in their club has given them a real feel-good factor

“The YMCA Young Carers are really incredible people – to take on such demanding responsibilities at a young age must be really challenging," Thomas says. "I’d like to say well done to Gower Riders for providing some respite, the opportunity to develop cycling skills and the chance to make new friends and have some fun."

The second of two projects supported in London, meanwhile, sees the GTCT provide a grant of £2,816 to the Wheels for Wellbeing programme in Croydon, Lewisham and Southwark. This funding has allowed the programme, set up in 2007, to purchase two adapted trikes that will be used by disabled children across the boroughs.

"Disabled children often miss out on cycling to school with friends and other opportunities such as bikeability sessions during school," said the charity's Operations Manager, Mark Browne. "That’s why it’s so important that we help them learn to ride in the safety of our off-road environment where they can try different cycles and specialist equipment."

To find out more about the Geraint Thomas Cycling Trust, click here to visit their website.