Blackpool promenade once acted as something of a playground for Ross Cullen and his bike, and he returned to where it all began for the Lloyds Tour of Britain.
The BMX rider, who won silver at the World Championships in July, was in attendance for stage two of the women’s edition, where the Lloyds Tour of Britain Family Cycling Festival was also taking place.
And having grown up in nearby Preston where cycling gave Cullen an ideal childhood, he was out to share the message with the next generation of budding cyclists in the North West.
“It’s really cool having this on my doorstep. If I wasn’t here helping out, I would still have come and watched anyway,” said the 25-year-old.
“I started BMX when I was six and I stumbled across the track in Preston, and then we ended up travelling around the local tracks. We went to one in Coppull near Chorley, we went to Lytham and we went to Blackpool.
“There were a few skateparks around here, and we’d get the train to Blackpool and kick around on the prom and go for a bike ride.
“It was the best childhood I could have had and that’s the message I want to share. Two wheels can give you the joy of the outdoors and being physically and mentally healthy.”
Cullen has twice travelled to the Olympics as a reserve – at Tokyo 2021 and Paris 2024 – and is now targeting a place on the start line at LA 2028, but he credits his roots in the North West for sparking that initial passion.
The Family Cycling Festival is now hoping to be the catalyst for future Cullens as locals cycled along the traffic-free course of the Lloyds Tour of Britain at Blackpool’s seafront before they could watch the elites themselves.
“Visibility is really important,” added Cullen. “I started as one of those kids who attended the Family Cycling Festival.
“People see the accolades, the world medals, going to the Olympic Games and the brand partnerships but they don’t see where it started.
“It didn’t start on a professional BMX track, it started on the back of my mum and dad’s bikes as a toddler, and then to stabilisers and then normal bikes on family holidays.
“People think it seems so far off at the beginning, but it’s gone within the click of your fingers.”
British Cycling is inspiring riders and fans across the country through the Lloyds Tour of Britain, bringing the sport to life and celebrating the joy of cycling through Britain's biggest free-to-spectate cycling event. Visit britishcycling.org.uk
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