Manchester, epicentre of the industrial revolution and a place that has long vied with Birmingham for the status of England’s second city, this week rolled out a grand plan that the people behind it predict will position the northern metropolis as the country’s premium cycling city.
Once infamous for its dark satanic mills, the original 'Dirty Old Town' has more recently been seen as the heartbeat of the UK’s ever-evolving music scene, and, since the mid-90s, Manchester has also been the home of British Cycling. The National Cycling Centre opened on the banks of the Ashton Canal in 1994, providing the UK with its first Olympic-standard indoor cycling track and setting in motion a new revolution that many credit with super-charging Britain’s soaring successes in the sport since 2002.
