News: Best Year Yet for Cycle Show at NEC

The Cycle Show, held at the NEC, Birmingham last weekend, smashed its previous years’ attendance figures and has been hailed the most successful show in its eleven year history.

It was absolutely buzzing across its four days in Birmingham, with visitors travelling from across the UK to see the best of what 2013 will have to offer, mingle with national heroes and watch the high-impact action in the BMX Park Contest, MTB pump track and more.

Ken Jones of Bioracer UK was kept busy on his stand at the show.

Event Director, Chris Holman, from Upper Street Events reflected on how the show has gone. He said: “Birmingham has been a fantastic host yet again and we’ve been delighted by the positive response to being at the NEC for a second year running. The show has been absolutely packed and the atmosphere has been electric. The show has grown so much and it’s clear to see how many more people have been inspired by Britain’s hugely successful summer of cycling and the feedback we’ve received from both guests and exhibitors has really highlighted that”.

Raleigh stand was packed with people looking at the wide range of bikes on offer from the iconic company.

The show was full of famous faces including Sir Chris Hoy who opened the show to trade visitors on Thursday. London 2012 gold medallist and current World Champion, Joanna Rowsell opened the doors to the public on Friday, returning again on Saturday; Paralympic gold medallist, Sarah Storey was at the show on Friday; and London 2012 Women’s Road Race silver medallist, Lizzie Armitstead was there to welcome cycling fans to the show on Sunday.

Supplier of energy products to pro teams and club cyclists alike, Science in Sport was also seeing a lot of customer support at the show.

Sir Chris Hoy commented on his visit to the show: “The show was fantastic. It was my first time at the NEC, and it’s been great. There was a superb atmosphere there, with so many friendly people. There was so much to see and do at the show and as a bit of a cycling geek, I was in my element getting to see all the latest bikes and products. The Cycle Show has really kept the momentum going for the sport since the success this summer and I’ve really enjoyed being a part of it. Hopefully, it will continue to inspire the next generation of cyclists”.

Lord Sugar also visited the show on Saturday with friends to have a look at the latest Pinarello bikes from distributor, Yellow Ltd, describing it as the busiest he’d ever seen an exhibition.

Phil Griffiths, Managing Director of Yellow commented: “This year’s Cycle Show has just been incredible, by far the best year yet. Our stand has been packed all weekend, which is just what we wanted. Lord Sugar’s visit to see us on Saturday really was the icing on the cake”.

Chris Garrison, PR Manager at Trek commented: “We came in to showcase our 2013 range, it was an important opportunity for us to bring the catalogue to life and we couldn’t be happier with the results. There has been a great level of customer base that we’ve been able to reach, and the show has completely exceeded our expectations”.

With last year’s move to Birmingham having enabled the show to grow both inside and out, a steady stream of visitors took advantage of being able to test the huge range of road, mountain, electric, BMX and kid’s bikes during their visit the show including the latest ranges from brands such as Trek, Specialized, Raleigh, Diamondback, Moda, Pivot and Bobbin.

Visitors to the show also got the chance to see the UK’s best elite riders in the fast paced Cycle Show Nocturne Supercrit on Saturday evening. The high octane criterium race, which took place around the NEC’s floodlit roads, brought some of the UK’s top cyclists to the show. London 2012 Olympic Gold Medallist Ed Clancy was among many other elite riders in the starting line-up where masses of spectators helped create an electric atmosphere. The race, which was the last big event of the season, was won by Ian Bibby of Endura Racing in a tense finish with Pete Williams (below).

Grant Young from Condor said: “The show has been unbelievable this year, it’s been huge. If it moved back to London, Condor wouldn’t come back, the location is phenomenal. The customers came with a purpose and with genuine interest and because we have local stockists, we were able to point them in their direction. We’ve never experienced crowds like it”.

Next year’s show dates have been confirmed with trade day taking place on Thursday 26 September before opening to the public between Friday 27 and Sunday 29 September 2012. For more information, go to www.cycleshow.co.uk.