Denshaw’s great bike hope

JAKE Ragan: Dreaming of 2016 Olympics

CYCLIST Jake Ragan has been fast-tracked as a future British Olympian after being handpicked to join the Lloyds TSB Local Heroes initiative.

The 15-year-old Saddleworth School pupil (pictured, right) is one of only 270 youngsters selected from across the UK and will receive a cash injection of £1,000 towards training and competing.

Ragan, from Denshaw, also attended the north launch at Headingley Carnegie where he was given a masterclass with former Olympian Leon Taylor and world champion triathlete Alistair Brownlee on sports psychology and media training.

And Ragan — who is a member of the Sport City Velo club — admitted his new-found support has given him the belief that he can one day fulfil his Olympic ambition.

“My ultimate ambition is be part of the Olympics in 2016 and that is what everything is about for me,” said Ragan, who is part of British Cycling’s Olympic Talent Team.

“The steps are there at British Cycling for me to do that and the squads are very structured and professional.

“This year is my first year on the Talent Team and I have really enjoyed it so far, we have weekly training plans and we get together for team meetings and it feels very professional.

“We don’t have any world or European competitions until we are at junior level, which is under-18, so hopefully that is something I will do next year.”

Now in its third year the Lloyds TSB Local Heroes initiative, which is run in partnership with SportsAid, is designed to ensure more talent reaches the top and to ease the financial burden on parents.

And former diver Taylor, who won Olympic silver at the Athens Games in 2004, believes Ragan’s inclusion on the scheme will play a major role in him reaching the top of his sport.

“Jake has been highlighted because he is going places and it makes the world of difference,” said Taylor.

“When I was starting out I got a SportsAid grant and it made such a massive difference to me, not just the financial help but also the recognition that someone else, other than my mum and dad, believed in me. That in itself is priceless.

“The athletes here are great, their sporting prowess speaks for itself and I am so impressed by how they have been getting involved in what I have seen so far.”




Lloyds TSB Local Heroes is an initiative in partnership with sportsaid providing support and funding to over 270 of Britain’s most talented developing athletes on their journey to London 2012 and beyond.



To find out more about Lloyds TSB Local Heroes visit www.lloydstsb.com/localheroes