Our sport’s history: warts and all, from Cinderella sport to Team Sky

Isle of Man races 1947

To be strictly accurate, we'd call this period the ugly, the bad and the good. Because 50 years on, our sport is on a great high, with Bradley Wiggins on Team Sky aiming to become the first Brit to win the Tour de France.

What better Golden Jubilee celebration could British Cycling have? Especially as the sport was bent on self-destruction 50 years ago.

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Keith Bingham joined the Cycling Weekly team in the summer of 1971, and retired in 2011. During his time, he covered numerous Tours de France, Milk Races and everything in-between. He was well known for his long-running 'Bikewatch' column, and played a pivotal role in fighting for the future of once at-threat cycling venues such as Hog Hill and Herne Hill Velodrome.