Chris Boardman to be Liverpool's cycle hire Champion

Cycling Legend Chris Boardman MBE has been named Champion for Liverpool's cycle hire scheme.

The scheme will be the biggest outside London with a thousand bikes placed at sixty stations across the city.

The plan is to give everyone the opportunity to travel by bike whenever they want across the city.

Chris Boardman MBE said:

"I'm delighted to back Liverpool City Council's efforts to make Liverpool one of the country's leading cities in promoting healthy transport initiatives that wll also help the city be a quieter, safer and even more friendly place to visit."

The Olympian, triple World Champion and World Record holder will help to promote the scheme and provide a range of advice on potential sites and sponsorship opportunities.

He will also help to ensure the bikes which are used strike the right balance between performance and durability. He said:

"I'm looking forward to seing technology used not only to gain Olympic success but also to improve our every day environment."

Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, said:

"Chris Boardman is an inspiration to cyclists everywhere. He is a British sporting hero, whose achievements at Olympic and World level will always be remembered.

"It is hoped the scheme will help the city centre respond to increases in the number of residents, visitors and employees and tackle climate change challenges by providing increased sustainable travel options around the city."

Liverpool City Council's Cabinet Member for Transport, Councillor Tim Moore, said:

"It's great news that Chris Boardman has signed-up as Champion for our cycle hire scheme. He will bring real expertise to our plans, as well as helping raise the profile of the initiative, locally and nationally."

"We're really excited about this scheme. We hope to see a future where hundreds more people are using bikes for their trips around the city, driving up health and fitness levels and reducing congestion and pollution."

It is expected the Liverpool City Cycle Hire Scheme will be launched with 300 bikes in the city centre this summer and then expanded over the next 18 months to a total of 1000 bikes.

Stations will be located in the city centre before being extended to outlying suburbs.