Manchester Cycling Academy is proud to work in partnership with British Cycling to deliver the Diploma in Sporting Excellence (DiSE).

The course is aimed at riders in year eleven who have recently taken GCSE’s and who are, or expect to be, in the British Cycling Talent pathway and who are resident in and qualify for England. It combines bike riding and education so participants have the skills, knowledge and competence to pursue sporting excellence alongside education and a future career. 

Using a holistic approach, this unique and bespoke Sport England funded programme, overseen by SportsAid, is worth 64 UCAS points and runs alongside existing academic qualifications such as A levels or BTECs and is designed to make you a better rider. 

We are very proud of our different approach to learning. Using the philosophy of providing you with the ‘Why’ behind your ‘Watts’, we provide you with a series of practical days which help you bring your learning to life. There is a Hub Day every month either in Manchester or at a facility in the north of England which is themed so that you can make the most of your learning.

The Key Dates for the first part of 2024 are below and we will publish the complete calendar before the end of May 2024. It is not mandatory to attend all of the Hub Days as we know that you will have a busy calendar already but you will have to attend at least one of each of them in your eighteen months with us in order to pass the course.

Both year groups will attend Hub Days at the same time and at the same venue. This will enable you to meet new friends, share experiences and for us to further develop our innovative way of enabling you to make the most out of the course.

Overview

The course lasts 18 months and starts in September each year and the application period opens in late Spring each year.  

Successful applicants can participate in DiSE alongside A levels and will study modules such as diet and nutrition, sports psychology, anti doping and sports science, all designed to make you a better rider. 

You will be required to submit pieces of work to demonstrate you meet the criteria set out by the qualification. This includes race plans, nutrition diaries and analysis, career plans, lifestyle plans, goal setting and reviews. 

During the 18 month course you will get the opportunity to travel to the Costa Blanca to watch the Benidorm Cyclocross World Cup and take part in our annual training camp, which is FREE of charge for all second year students.

The education delivery takes place through online seminars and monthly Hub Days and training camps, meaning that you can combine the DiSE programme with studying at your chosen school or college and participate from home.

It is a programme that many other Olympic sports have offered over recent years and 2022 was the first time that cycling had been included.

Olympic legends such as Adam Peaty, Rebecca Adlington and Katarina Johnson Thompson have all graduated from the programme.

Applications are made via British Cycling and the application period will open in Spring 2026.

• Technical, tactical and physical skills
• Sports psychology
• Nutrition
• Anti doping
• Lifestyle and career planning and advice
• Sports injuries
• Communications and media skills