BC members’ outcry at Shell deal

Membership cancellations and leadership questions in wake of partnership with oil and gas giant, reports Tom Thewlis

- Tom Thewlis

One week after British Cycling announced a new eight-year partnership with Shell, shock and outrage has reverberated throughout the wider cycling community.

A raft of British Cycling members have cancelled their memberships in disgust, others have questioned the organisation's leadership, while volunteer youth coaches feel unable to protest for fear of harming their young charges' progress in the sport.

Cycling Weekly has spoken to over 40 members of the national governing body and found the majority of them unhappy with the partnership, though there was also a significant minority who were either supportive or ambivalent.

The Shell sponsorship is targeted at two specific areas: helping British Cycling's transition to net-zero and supporting greater involvement of people with disabilities within cycling. But the oil and gas company is estimated to be responsible for around 1% of global emissions each year and has a long track record of negative impacts on the environment.

The controversial partnership sparked an open letter calling for it to be scrapped that had gathered over 1,200 signatures by the time CW went to press.

British Cycling member Marcia Claire said: “They [British Cycling] have lost their conscience, they’ve just lost their way. You’ve got the one arm that’s aimed towards racing, but you’ve also got them trying to encourage other people into cycling. It’s such a bad message for them to be giving out.”

Arguing that the partnership could end up turning off newcomers to cycling, she said: “Maybe they can persuade Shell to invest in safer cycling infrastructure, which would be a lot more useful to everybody. The day I see Shell start sponsoring segregated cycle lanes which are actually fit for purpose, then maybe I’ll change my perspective as well.”