Wiggins & Pendleton Launch 2015 Academy Of Sport
Sir Bradley Wiggins and Victoria Pendleton have launched the 2015 Jaguar Land Rover Academy of Sport mentoring programme which works alongside its charitable partner SportsAid to provide a bursary and mentoring programme for 50 of the UK’s top 12-18 year-old athletes.
The 50 young athletes have been nominated by their respective governing bodies and selected following a rigorous process conducted by SportsAid. Since its inception the initiative has awarded 276 bursaries with 30% of its athletes progressing to professional sport or receiving world class funding, including 2012 British gold medal winner, Jade Jones.
Sir Bradley Wiggins, Olympic gold medallist and Britain’s first Tour de France champion was joined by Victoria Pendleton, the UK’s most successful female track cyclist, came together to mentor the rising stars of their sport at the London Velodrome this week.
Wiggins, who aims to break the UCI hour record at the same venue on Sunday, said: “This is a great initiative; I’m committed to encouraging kids to get out and onto their bikes and so any type of scheme that brings new talent on has got to be a good thing.
“The access to world class facilities, coaching and mentoring through programmes like the Jaguar Land Rover Academy of Sport gives them a great chance to go on and realise their ambitions.”
Victoria Pendleton commented: “It’s a huge honour to be a part of the Jaguar Land Rover Academy of Sport and it’s an incredible opportunity for these youngsters.
“To be a part of a mentoring scheme and supported to follow your dreams is so important and can really make the difference for getting your foot on that ladder towards an elite career.”
Laura Schwab, marketing director at Jaguar Land Rover UK, added: “We are committed to running an exciting Academy programme in 2015, and working with SportsAid to create more inspirational opportunities for these athletes to learn from some of the most celebrated British sports stars.”
