Olympian talks up Isle of Man's sustainable cycling future

Chris Boardman won an Olympic cycling gold medal in 1992

The Isle of Man has a "real opportunity" for people to travel more environmentally, an Olympic cyclist has said.

Chris Boardman visited the island to give talks on the subject to various groups as well as school children.

The two-day trip was organised by the Isle of Man Cycling Association.

Boardman, who is now the transport commissioner for Greater Manchester, said it was vital to find alternatives to car travel.

He said the Isle of Man had not reached the same "point of saturation" as in England, meaning "there's a real opportunity to enable people to travel differently".

Boardman visited St Ninian's High School in Douglas during his trip, where he spoke to young people about travelling to and from school.

One pupil, James, 14, said he cycled to school but would often ride on the pavement to avoid heavy traffic.

Cycling was "faster than getting the bus or in the car sometimes", he added.

Ntshila, 17, said she'd ride to school if there were cycle lanes

Seventeen-year-old Ntshila said she would be more likely to hop on a bike if there were more cycle lanes.

She said: "It's good for your health and it's more efficient than walking and better for the environment than driving."

The island's cycling development officer Rob Holden said it was important to understand what might be putting some children off cycling.

"It might be that they get to a busy main road and they can't get across, or they don't like the volume of traffic, it's intimidating," he said.

"So it's seeing if there are any interactions we can put in place that will just reduce the barriers."