Wiggins appealed for more pro-safety cycling policies following the death of a 28-year-old man who was hit by an official London 2012 Olympics bus not long after Wiggins latest gold medal victory...

The Road Traffic Accident in which, according to reports from the scene involved a heavy vehicle turning left into the man's path appears typical of a significant number of cycling casualties, that according to government statistics, are caused by HGVs...

What's more recent Department for Transport (DfT) figures show cycling accidents are increasing. For instance, total accidents in Britain have risen from 16,463 in 2005 to 19,215 in 2011...

While those killed has fallen from 130 in 2005 to 107 in 2011, those seriously injured has increased from 2,398 in 2005 to 3,085 in 2011...

The charity CTC - Cycling Charitable Trust - has been amongst those welcoming Wiggins efforts to raise the debate about cycling safety...

Chris Peck, CTC's Policy Coordinator, says: "Two thirds of collisions between adult cyclists and motor vehicles are deemed by police to be the responsibility of the motorist...

"Any legislation should put the onus on those who cause the harm, not the victims..."

The CTC identifies tackling traffic volume, speeds, poor driving and road layout as amongst the priorities to protect cyclists and also encourage cycling as an activity...

Efforts to minimise accidents from heavy vehicles and more effective policing are also required, says the CTC...

British Cycling, the governing body for cycling sport, has also recently called for cycling to be written into future transport and infrastructure policies...

Referring to London where the issue is a priority, British Cycling’s Director for Policy and Legal Affairs, Martin Gibbs recently said: "many potential cyclists are put off by the poor quality, or lack of, cycling infrastructure and attendant safety concerns on London’s busy roads..."

The problem is obviously nationwide as well, and the country now finds itself in the position of having the world's greatest cyclist and one of the poorest cycling networks and records for cycling safety in Europe...

In other European countries cycling is taken seriously and injuries to cyclists are decreasing...

Wiggins, who recently became the first Briton to win the tour-de-France, has now added to his incredible achievements by grabbing gold at London 2012, creating an impressive haul of seven medals in total in his Olympics career, including four golds...

With cycling a universally popular activity anyway his newfound status following the tour-de-France victory, the world's premier cycling challenge, and now his gold haul suggests the sportsman’s fantastic achievements are likely to encourage a new generation of youngsters and adults alike to take up or renew their interest in cycling...

Cycling is good for everyone... It's one of the healthiest activities in terms of generating fitness and wellbeing but also for society as a whole.

Communities that value cycling with integrated policies to promote it, reduce pollution in terms of vehicle emissions and noise pollution and also help to encourage respect for nature, help to maintain canal paths and other public spaces, etc...

Encouraging cycling has no downsides; however Britain despite some efforts in recent years still lags behind other European countries notably Holland, Germany, Sweden etc and others for its lack of coordinated policy in terms of cycle networks and paths, and other initiatives that promote cycling, as well as cycling safety...

The evidence can be seen anywhere in the UK including cycling lanes blocked daily by parking cars with no penalties incurred, cycle lanes that continue in some cases for just a couple of metres before ending inexplicably...

Cyclists are often forced to navigate the most dangerous junctions and heavily trafficked areas...

Cycling networks especially in urban areas are somewhat of a joke in fact and to visiting Europeans, again despite some efforts to improve the situation in recent years, it appears like disorganised management of cycling in the country has been the rule of thumb with no genuine commitment to promote a proper integrated cycling policy in recent decades...

In 2005 the government tried to tackle cycling with the launch of a funded Cycling Demonstration Town project around the country, eventually including 16 towns that got grants to boost community participation in cycling...

The initial six were Aylesbury, Brighton and Hove, Darlington, Derby, Exeter, Lancaster and Morecombe...

The results have encouraged cycling with cycling increasing by about a third in the six towns chosen, according to the DfT...

However, the project was managed by Cycling England, a Department of Transport (DfT) body that closed in March 2012 to be replaced by a Local Sustainability Travel Fund to develop other ways of supporting cycling that the government says "will explore ways of marshalling expert input on cycling issues..."

Recent announcements include a £15 million boost to improve cycle accident spots announced last month for use by English local authorities outside London. This is in addition to the £15 million awarded to Transport for London in March to tackle accident spots where cyclists have been killed or seriously injured...

While such initiatives are expected to achieve improvements unfortunately the challenge is to tackle decades of intermittent and patchwork approaches to cycling policies in the UK...

A coordinated national policy providing safe routes through urban areas with properly maintained networks out into the countryside connecting the urban hubs would be most people’s idea of joined up thinking on cycling...

Cycling groups and cycling experts including the CTC, Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), Cyclenation, London Cycling Campaign and others are consulting with the government on cycling policy and are best placed to provide the answers; with the hope that the inspiration of Britain’s cycle champion Wiggins will provide some impetus to get things right...

Will a proper national network of safe cycling paths along with national education and enforcement of cycle safety ever be forthcoming?

Whilst the celebrations surrounding Britain's newfound sporting hero Bradley Wiggins continue, ordinary cyclists; as well as those who value road safety in general and the participation in exercise and outdoor pursuits that cycling brings, will welcome any efforts to promote ways to improve Britain’s cycling safety and cycle path networks...

Proper strategy and investment in cycling policy could be a superb way of honouring Wiggins, the national hero and internationally acclaimed champ...