There has been a 17 per cent increase in the amount raised by cycling fundraising events, with people inspired by last year's Olympics, according to a new report.

The first event fundraising monitor from JustGiving and Active Network, published today, uses data from people registering and fundraising on those platforms to identify trends in the event fundraising area.

It notes that following the success of the Team GB cycling team at the Olympics in 2012, “participation rates have rocketed” for cycling events, with more than 8,000 events taking place last year raising more than £17m –a 17 per cent rise on 2011.

Cycling fundraising pages are now the third most popular type of event on JustGiving’s platform. In 2003, they represented 3.8 per cent of fundraising pages; this increased to 10.8 per cent by 2013.

The report also notes that cycling fundraisers raise on average more than their running counterparts, with cyclists raising an average of £560 and runners raising £360 per event.

‘Mud, Obstacle, Beer (MOB)’ events, such as Tough Mudder, which are already popular in the US and Australia, have been identified by the report as an area that is likely to grow in the UK.

Other trends noted in the report include the rise of triathlon events and the increased use of social media to promote events.

Subscribers can read more about the rise of cycling events and the experiences of the British Heart Foundation, Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research and Scope from the September issue of Fundraising magazine here.