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UK Sport’s head of comms to move to British Cycling

Russell Langley, UK Sport’s head of communications, is leaving the government funding agency to join British Cycling.

Langley joined UK Sport in February 2002 as a communications manager, and he spent much of his first six years at the organisation handling what must be any sports press officer’s nightmare job: drug testing news.

In March last year, Langley was promoted to head of communications, having been acting in the role for the previous 18 months.

In that time, Langley has been the main point of contact between the SJA and our lead sponsors.

He is due to leave UK Sport’s Russell Square head office on October 6, with the organisation facing a period of upheaval following the announcement by Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt that presages a merger with Sport England and the Youth Sport Trust.

“I’m delighted to be joining British Cycling at what is a hugely exciting time for both the organisation and cycling in general,” Langley told sportsjournalists.co.uk.

“Building on the success of Beijing and capitalising on the run-up to London 2012 provides a unique opportunity to showcase everything that is good about the sport. I see my role as helping ensure this opportunity is firmly grasped and I look forward to getting stuck into it.

“I’ve enjoyed more than eight years at UK Sport, during which time it taken high performance sport in this country to a new level. Being part of that is something I’ll look back on with much pride, and I wish the team there all the best for the future.”