The Wiggins effect gives Britons the bicycle bug

Britons have caught the bike bug after stunning success in the Tour de France and the excitement of the Olympics, a new report showed yesterday.

Over four out of ten (43 per cent) of Britons surveyed said they had been inspired by the success of Bradley Wiggins , Mark Cavendish and other British riders to get on a bike.

Cycle shops countrywide report that they have seen a huge surge in interest from customers purchasing top-end bikes and race models in recent weeks.

Research carried out for Halfords found that almost a quarter were thinking of upgrading either their own old model and that of a family member.

Halfords, the biggest seller of bikes in the UK, said sales of Boardman road bikes were up 12 per cent over last month and demand for the Carrera TdF road bike has soared by 18 per cent, just in the past week.

Halfords’ commercial director Paul McClenaghan said: “No doubt many of these consumers were inspired by the success of Wiggins and other racers.”