The latest report from Protect Our Winters UK indicates that the very sport we love is at risk from climate change and the extreme weather it will bring.
Whilst eyes may be on other parts of the World and their extreme climate events, the United Kingdom has had its fair share of low rainfall, fires and storms that have flattened millions of trees.
Protect Our Winters UK’s latest report ‘Downhill From Here: How Climate Changes Threatens Cycling as We Know It’ says it all on the tin.
Climate change is threatening cycling as we know it, finds new report ahead of UCI Cycling World Championships.
Cycling is at risk from the impacts of climate change as extreme weather threatens access to trails, the safety of events, and the overall health and enjoyment of participants. Downhill From Here: How Climate Change Threatens Cycling as We Know It, the latest report from Protect Our Winters UK, hears from athletes experiencing the negative impacts first-hand and explains what will happen as climate change continues.
With the UCI cycling championships just around the corner, all eyes will be on the UKโs world-class biking trails. But those trails, and the viability of sports and events that rely on them, are more at risk than ever before.
Former Downhill World Champion Manon Carpenter has โbecome increasingly aware of the impact extreme weather is having on the environments we depend on for mountain biking. Drought, high temperatures and forest fires are affecting trails or riders directly. These are events happening now, let alone into the future where we can expect increasing severity and unpredictability of these events.โ
Long distance cyclist and broadcaster Mark Beaumont has โseen first-hand over the last 20 years the effects of our changing climate, from desertification, rising sea levels, human migration and more. Witnessing such global issues first hand informs what I spend my time doing now, to ensure our planet remains a green and pleasant land to explore by bicycle for generations to come.โ
Professional Enduro Rider Anita Gehrig said โLast summer there was a massive rockslide in our area. A friend of ours was almost hit by a massive boulder. We know things like that can happen in the Alps, of course, but you don’t expect it right in your area and with your friend involved. It occurs more often, I would say, with the permafrost going away. It was quite shocking.โ
