by Chris Maher | May 16, 2016
All images ©www.chrismaher.co.uk / CyclingShorts.cc
The first ever Women’s Lincoln Grnd Prix was a fantastic start to days racing. The 8 lap race was run off at almost 24mph as Alice Barnes crossed the line in 2hours 38mins.
Highlights from the first women’s Lincoln Grand Prix, the third round of the Women’s Road Series. May 15th 2016
Highlights from the first women’s Lincoln Grand Prix, the third round of the Women’s Road Series.
Alice Barnes of Drops Cycling Team talks to CyclingShorts.cc Chris Maher about her 2016 win of the Women’s Lincoln Grand Prix. All images ©www.chrismaher.co.uk / CyclingShorts.cc
Ellie May of Drops Cycling Development Team briefly chats to Chris Maher of CyclingShorts.cc post Women’s Lincoln Grand Prix 2016.
WOMENS’ LINCOLN GRAND PRIX 2016
Pos No Name Team JUN TIME
1 18 Alice Barnes Drops Cycling Team 2:38:44
2 20 Rebecca Durrell Drops Cycling Team @6sec
3 21 Laura Massey Drops Cycling Team
4 74 Melissa Lowther Team Breeze @17sec
5 66 Charlotte Alston Team 22 @20sec
6 17 Kimberley Ashton Aprire Bicycles/HSS Hire @29sec
7 84 Nicola Juniper Team Ford Ecoboost @36sec
8 113 Eleanor Dickinson Drops Cycling Development Team Junior @42secs
9 118 Jessica Roberts Liv Cycling Club – Epic Coaching Junior
10 35 Eileen Roe Lares-Waowdeals Women Cycling Team @49sec
11 121 Sophie Wright Renvale RT Junior
12 52 Ausrine Trebaite PLANET X / BO-GO Cycling Team @53sec
13 54 Grace Garner Podium Ambition p/b Club La Santa
14 71 Emily Kay Team Breeze
15 76 Annasley Park Team Breeze
16 22 Rose Osborne Drops Cycling Team @56sec
17 110 Emily Wadsworth Beeline-Gener8 Junior @58sec
18 39 Laura Greenhalgh Les Filles Racing Team
19 96 Natalie Grinczer Team WNT
20 81 Julie Erskine Team Ford Ecoboost
21 70 Hayley Jones Team Breeze
22 135 Henrietta Colborne Team Ford Ecoboost Junior @1:04
23 30 Fiona Hunter Johnston Fusion RT Fierlan
24 57 Gabriella Shaw Podium Ambition p/b Club La Santa
25 9 Emma Cockcroft Bikeshed – Bianchi
26 77 Madison Campbell Team Footon Velosport
27 45 Amira Mellor Matrix Fitness p/b Corley Cycles
28 109 Alice Sharpe SunSport Velo
29 134 Charlotte Broughton Team Ford Ecoboost Junior @1:09
30 29 Jennifer Hudson Fusion RT Fierlan
31 1 Louise Laker Aprire Bicycles/HSS Hire
32 94 Rebecca Carter Team WNT
33 27 Sophie Faulkner Fusion RT Fierlan
34 79 Suzetta Guerrini Team Footon Velosport
35 6 Charmaine Porter Army Cycling Race Team (ACRT) @1:14
36 26 Ellie Campbell Fusion RT Fierlan
37 92 Lydia Boylan Team WNT @1:16
38 25 Rebecca Womersley Drops Cycling Team
39 107 Sarah King BC Private Member
40 13 Kelly Murphy Boot Out Breast Cancer C.C
41 37 Clemence Copie Les Filles Racing Team
42 23 Annabel Simpson Drops Cycling Team @1:21
43 56 Bethany Hayward Podium Ambition p/b Club La Santa @1:21
44 40 Louise Mahe Les Filles Racing Team
45 80 Melissa Brand Team Ford Ecoboost
46 3 Gemma Sargent Aprire Bicycles/HSS Hire @1:24
47 44 Alice Cobb Matrix Fitness p/b Corley Cycles @1:29
48 100 Anna Turvey Tyneside Vagabonds CC @1:33
49 19 Karla Boddy Drops Cycling Team
50 24 Abigail Van Twisk Drops Cycling Team @1:40
51 14 Bethany Taylor Boot Out Breast Cancer C.C @1:54
52 116 Elizabeth Bennett Liv Cycling Club – Epic Coaching Junior @3:14
53 99 Hannah Walker Team WNT @3:16
54 117 Lauren Murphy Liv Cycling Club – Epic Coaching Junior @3:21
55 59 Sian Botteley Starley Racing @3:27
56 60 Eve Dixon Starley Racing @3:54
57 137 Sarah Bradford Team Jadan Junior @4:13
58 119 Emily Tillett Liv Cycling Club – Epic Coaching Junior @7:33
59 41 Nicole Oh Les Filles Racing Team @7:36
60 5 Chanel Mason Army Cycling Race Team (ACRT) @7:41
61 50 Edita Mazureviciute PLANET X / BO-GO Cycling Team @7:47
62 16 Niki Kovacs Aprire Bicycles/HSS Hire @8:35
63 75 Emily Nelson Team Breeze @9:33
64 124 Natasha Reddy RP Vision Racing Team Junior @9:35
65 139 Jenny Holl Team Jadan Junior @9:38
66 131 Samantha Verrill Team 22 Junior @9:40
67 64 Claire Swoboda Starley Racing @9:44
68 126 Sophie Thackray SunSport Velo Junior @947
69 90 Jennifer Batey Team Vertex-pedalpowersport.com @9:50
70 133 Hetty Niblett Team Footon Velosport Junior @9:55
71 123 Connie Hudson RP Vision Racing Team Junior @10:07
72 138 Rhona Callander Team Jadan Junior @10:24
DNF 2 Emily McLoughlin Aprire Bicycles/HSS Hire
DNF 3 Gemma Sargent Aprire Bicycles/HSS Hire
DNF 7 Chloe Weller Army Cycling Race Team (ACRT)
DNF 8 Becky Hoare Army Cycling Union
DNF 10 Jessica Duffy Bikeshed – Bianchi
DNF 11 Alexandra Sheehan Bikeshed – Bianchi
DNF 12 Nikola Matthews Boot Out Breast Cancer C.C
DNF 15 Ruth Taylor Boot Out Breast Cancer C.C
DNF 28 Jenny Holden Fusion RT Fierlan
DNF 38 Tracy Corbett Les Filles Racing Team
DNF 46 Malgorzata Wojtyra PLANET X / BO-GO Cycling Team
DNF 49 Karolina Karasiewicz PLANET X / BO-GO Cycling Team
DNF 53 Lauren Creamer Podium Ambition p/b Club La Santa
DNF 55 Amy Gornall Podium Ambition p/b Club La Santa
DNF 58 Karen Poole Sportstest RT
DNF 61 Lauren Kirchel Starley Racing
DNF 63 Gabriella Nordin Starley Racing
DNF 65 Madeleine Scott SunSport Velo
DNF 67 Rachel Crighton Team 22
DNF 78 Josphine Gilbert Team Footon Velosport
DNF 83 Charline Joiner Team Ford Ecoboost
DNF 87 Louise Scupham Team Jadan
DNF 88 Amy Hill Team Rytger
DNF 91 Evgenia Ilyinskaya Team Vertex-pedalpowersport.com
DNF 93 Sam Burman Team WNT
DNF 98 Jo Tindley Team WNT
DNF 101 Nicki Carr VC Equipe – Flix
DNF 104 Madeline Verdegaal Velo-One Cycling Team
DNF 105 Ruth Summerford Velopace
DNF 108 Stephanie Mottram Cliff Pratts Racing
DNF 112 Monica Dew Boot Out Breast Cancer C.C Junior
DNF 115 Victoria Lovett I-Team Cyclists’ Club Junior
DNF 120 Isla Rush Matrix Fitness p/b Corley Cycles Junior
DNF 122 Madeleine Gammons RP Vision Racing Team Junior
DNF 125 Jane Hellewell SunSport Velo Junior
DNF 127 Elizabeth Denby Team 22 Junior
DNF 129 Phoebe Martin Team 22 Junior
DNF 130 Savannah Morgan Team 22 Junior
DNS 4 Agata Woznicka Aprire Bicycles/HSS Hire
DNS 25 Rebecca Womersley Drops Cycling Team
DNS 30 Fiona Hunter Johnston Fusion RT Fierlan
DNS 31 Elizabeth Stedman Fusion RT Fierlan
DNS 32 Neah Evans Glasgow Sprint Track Cycling Team
DNS 33 Annabel Simpson Hope Factory Racing
DNS 34 Gaia Casciello Kinetic Cycles / Welwyn Racing
DNS 36 Delia Beddis Les Filles Racing Team
DNS 42 Helen Ralston Les Filles Racing Team
DNS 43 Chloe Fraser LOINTEK
DNS 47 Volha Antonava PLANET X / BO-GO Cycling Team
DNS 48 Olivija Baleisyte PLANET X / BO-GO Cycling Team
DNS 51 Anastasia Safonava PLANET X / BO-GO Cycling Team
DNS 62 Alice Lethbridge Starley Racing
DNS 68 Megan Barker Team Breeze
DNS 69 Abigail Dentus Team Breeze
DNS 72 Danielle Khan Team Breeze
DNS 73 Manon Lloyd Team Breeze
DNS 82 Elizabeth Holden Team Ford Ecoboost
DNS 85 Laura Cheesman Team Jadan
DNS 95 Corinne Clark Team WNT
DNS 97 Keira McVitty Team WNT
DNS 102 Katherine Kimber Velo Schils – Interbike RT
DNS 103 Nicola Soden Velo Schils – Interbike RT
DNS 106 Hayley Edwards WBN? Cinelli
DNS 111 Ella Conolly Ben Wyvis Cycle Club
DNS 114 Sophie Williams Elitevelo Kalas Sportswear CRT
DNS 128 Rosa Martin Team 22
DNS 140 Rebecca Gregson The Racing Chance Foundation
DNS 141 Charlotte Cole-Hossain VC Londres
DNS 142 Megan Kay Vieri Velo RC
BRITISH CYCLING JUNIOR WOMENS ROAD RACE CHAMPIONSHIP 2106
Pos No Name Team
1 113 Eleanor Dickinson Drops Cycling Development Team
2 118 Jessica Roberts Liv Cycling Club – Epic Coaching
3 121 Sophie Wright Renvale RT
4 110 Emily Wadsworth Beeline-Gener8
5 135 Henrietta Colborne Team Ford Ecoboost
6 134 Charlotte Broughton Team Ford Ecoboost
7 116 Elizabeth Bennett Liv Cycling Club – Epic Coaching
8 117 Lauren Murphy Liv Cycling Club – Epic Coaching
9 137 Sarah Bradford Team Jadan
10 119 Emily Tillett Liv Cycling Club – Epic Coaching
11 124 Natasha Reddy RP Vision Racing Team
12 139 Jenny Holl Team Jadan
13 131 Samantha Verrill Team 22
14 126 Sophie Thackray SunSport Velo
15 133 Hetty Niblett Team Footon Velosport
16 123 Connie Hudson RP Vision Racing Team
17 138 Rhona Callander Team Jadan
WOMENS’ MICHAELGATE TROPHY. PRESENTED BY IAN EMMERSON
POS No NAME TEAM POINTS
1 20 Rebecca Durrell Drops Cycling Team 13
2 18 Alice Barnes Drops Cycling Team 8
3 54 Grace Garner Podium Ambition p/b Club La Santa 7
4 21 Laura Massey Drops Cycling Team 6
5 84 Nicola Juniper Team Ford Ecoboost 5
6 98 Jo Tindley Team WNT 3
7 40 Louise Mahe Les Filles Racing Team 2
8 74 Melissa Lowther Team Breeze 1
9 17 Kimberley Ashton Aprire Bicycles/HSS Hire 1
10 76 Annasley Park Team Breeze 1
11 16 Niki Kovacs Aprire Bicycles/HSS Hire 1
LAP 1 POINTS
1 54 Grace Garner Podium Ambition p/b Club La Santa 3
2 40 Louise Mahe Les Filles Racing Team 2
3 84 Nicola Juniper Team Ford Ecoboost 1
LAP 2 POINTS
1 20 Rebecca Durrell Drops Cycling Team 3
2 18 Alice Barnes Drops Cycling Team 2
3 54 Grace Garner Podium Ambition p/b Club La Santa 1
LAP 3 POINTS
1 18 Alice Barnes Drops Cycling Team 3
2 54 Grace Garner Podium Ambition p/b Club La Santa 2
3 76 Annasley Park Team Breeze 1
LAP 4 POINTS
1 98 Jo Tindley Team WNT 3
2 21 Laura Massey Drops Cycling Team 2
3 54 Grace Garner Podium Ambition p/b Club La Santa 1
LAP 5 POINTS
1 20 Rebecca Durrell Drops Cycling Team 3
2 84 Nicola Juniper Team Ford Ecoboost 2
3 74 Melissa Lowther Team Breeze 1
LAP 6 POINTS
1 20 Rebecca Durrell Drops Cycling Team 3
2 84 Nicola Juniper Team Ford Ecoboost 2
3 17 Kimberley Ashton Aprire Bicycles/HSS Hire 1
LAP 7 POINTS
1 21 Laura Massey Drops Cycling Team 3
2 20 Rebecca Durrell Drops Cycling Team 2
3 66 Charlotte Alston Team 22 1
FINISH POINTS
1 18 Alice Barnes Drops Cycling Team 3
2 20 Rebecca Durrell Drops Cycling Team 2
3 21 Laura Massey Drops Cycling Team 1
by Holly Seear | May 14, 2016
The Matrix Fitness Grand Prix Series will enter its sixth season in 2016, running alongside the well-established Pearl Izumi Tour Series on spectator friendly town and city centre circuits and this year has grown to six rounds with 11 teams.
The series attracts a high calibre of rider, including previously Olympic Champions Joanna Rowsell and Dani King and double Junior World Champion Lucy Garner. Podium Ambition presented by Club La Santa have been champions for the past two editions with Paralympic Champion Dame Sarah Storey and World Champion Katie Archibald in their squad. Team Ford EcoBoost has last year’s individual champion Nikki Juniper and Commonwealth Games medallist Charline Joiner. This year Team Velo Schils Interbike are pitting themselves against some of the best teams in the UK.
The newly formed team consists of Nicola Soden, Sandra Mackay, Iona Sewell, Katherine Kimber, Caroline Guest, Natalie Hodson and Louise Collins and they are keen to both race and play hard.
Katherine Kimber said “As a team we are all about supporting each other, developing each other, enjoying our racing, trying new things, working for each other, and giving and receiving confidence. We will be entering a team into the Tour Series, experiencing some racing in Belgium and generally progressing positively throughout the season. We will be targeting 2/3/4 road races, some national road races, and the National Crit Champs.”
She goes on to say “Patrick Schils and his family are as crazy as we are, so it is a perfect fit – they don’t take things too seriously AND drink Cherry beer for recovery…. What more could you want from a sponsor?! Patrick is an extremely strong and experienced rider with a wealth of knowledge he can offer to the team. The team also enjoy joining in on their weekly shop rides, anyone can come along”. You can find details here.
Nicola says “I love racing with these girls – everyone is fun and friendly with no egos and up for having a good time in and out of racing”.
Back in 1948 Jef Schils was the founder of Schils frames and bikes, and a Belgian National Champion! The Director and Owner of Velo Schils Interbike, Patrick Schils, followed in his father’s footsteps as a Belgian Professional Rider and continued making the Schils bikes here in the UK.
I spoke to Patrick Schils and asked:
Why did you decide to sponsor a women’s team in 2016?
The women’s cycling scene is ever growing and we saw this as a fantastic opportunity to get even more ladies into it and also promote ourselves.
What are the targets for the team in 2016?
For them to enjoy and improve themselves, gaining valuable experience racing throughout the year, in the UK and Europe.
Our main goals for this year are:
The Tour Series
Racing in Belgium and Europe
Track Cycling
Hill Climbs
Long term what are your hopes for the team?
We hope that the team will grow and succeed in races and have great experience of racing in different countries.
Sum up the team in three words?
Dedicated, Funny & Charming.
Who are the main sponsors for the team?
Schils Bikes
Doltcini cycle clothing
Luck Custom Cycling Shoes
Schils Hairdressing
Parenesis.com
Do you have a men’s team? Cycling club? Shop events/rides?
Yes, we have had a Velo Schils cycle team for racing and a club since 1997 when the retail shop first started. Back then it was only a handful of riders and now we have over 100 current members. Some of them race and some enjoy leisure, charity rides and sportives. We have club runs every weekend starting from the Velo Schils InterBike shop at 9.30am on Saturdays and Sundays and have also started a Tuesday evening ride now the better weather has started. The team also enjoy our Sportive in January and Majorca Training Camp in February, along with our race The Jef Schils Memorial in September and a few races and sportives in Belgium throughout the year.
Why do you think more shops are sponsoring teams generally?
I think it’s a great collaboration to have a team connected to a shop. It’s good advertisement for bikes, clothing and products and great to add a new dimension to a shop.
Do you think the traditional club structure is disappearing with more sponsored teams and shop rides? How will this impact on the sport?
I think that cycling within the UK over the past couple of years has grown massively and still is. From new riders wanting to get fit, cycle with friends and family or start racing or doing charity rides or sportives. It’s fantastic to see just how many people are getting the cycling bug and we will embrace it. Our club structure has pretty much stayed the same over the past few years, but just on a larger scale Schils are known for their custom cycles.
Why should a rider consider a custom build?
We have been building custom built Schils bikes since 1948 with Jef Schils who was Belgian Professional National Champion. As you can imagine his passion for cycling transpired into his bikes and now it has carried on throughout the Schils Family. Customers appreciate a personal service where you can come enjoy a coffee while choosing everything for your bike and the end result is a bike that fits you comfortably, is unique to you, you can choose your own colours and design of frame and have a great after service.
Is it true you can get your helmet hair done while having your bike serviced at Velo Schils?
Ha ha, yes the rumours are true. The trick is to be different, so yes you can have your hair cut and coloured at Velo Schils Interbike. Schils Hairdressing is based within the shop and it’s great to add something different and a new dimension to the shop. www.schilshairdressing.com
You can find the shop here:
Interbike
Unit 5, 85 London Road
Marks Tey
Colchester
Essex
England
CO6 1EB
www.interbike.co.uk
You can follow the team here:
http://www.youvebeenchicked.co.uk/home.html
Matrix Grand Prix Series Dates
Round One – Tuesday 17 May – Motherwell
Round Two – Thursday 26 May – Redditch
Round Three – Thursday 2 June – Stoke-on-Trent
Round Four – Monday 6 June – Stevenage
Round Five – Tuesday 7 June – Croydon
Round Six – Thursday 9 June – Portsmouth
Matrix Fitness Grand Prix Series Teams
Aprire HSS Hire
Drops Racing Team
Boot Out Breast Cancer Cycling Club
Podium Ambition p/b Club La Santa
Sunsport Velo
Team Breeze
Team Footon Velosport
Team Ford EcoBoost
Team Jadan Weldtite
Team WNT
Velo Schils Interbike
by Holly Seear | May 5, 2016
“You should buy this kit; it’s called Fat Lad at the Back”
“These shorts would be great for you; they are called Fat Lass at the Back”
“This top would suit you; you can buy it from Fat Lad at the Back”
People of all shapes and sizes often ask me for kit recommendations, but I am not sure if I can say any of those sentences out loud without losing friends, clients or offending someone!
Fat Lad at The Back was the nickname of Richard Bye, the founder of the company, and is a term of endearment. The company admit it is a touchy subject having the marmite effect – either you love it or hate it, but they bravely persevered.
Fat Lad at the Back (FLAB) is a sportswear brand born in Yorkshire, with the clothing manufactured by a family-run company in Italy. The Fat Lad brand was originally created for what their website calls “Mr Averages, MAMIL’s with a 44” chest and a 38” waist”, but it quickly became apparent that there were bigger cyclists so it introduced larger sizes including a Spare Tyre range for the larger build. A women’s range was soon created, which took into consideration women’s curves and comfort.
A Twitter conversation the morning of The London Bike Show suggested I should speak to FLAB at the show after a discussion about the lack of kit for women who are not “a flat chested size 8-12” with one rider asking “how can these new brands be “women’s” when the biggest chest size they do it a 14” and another saying “it is a huge barrier to women coming into the sport”.
I spoke to several designers of women’s cycling clothing at the show and did indeed find the largest size, called XL, was only a UK14-16. One designer I spoke with said unfortunately they just can justify the additional expenses needed to design, produce and hold stock of the larger sizes which are less popular.
Instead of just sizing up the clothing the FLAB garments have been redesigned so they properly fit and flatter different sizes of rider. Some items state the name boldly in large text across the garments, other are more subtle with just a small logo. I have to confess that having ‘Fat Lass at the Back’ across my bottom was a great training inspiration as I pedalled furiously to disprove the label!
I tried the Flabularse Shorts (RRP £49.99) and the short sleeved ladies Lanterne Rouge Jersey (RRP 49.99) both available from size 8 to size 26.
The shorts fitted well and had some nice details including a draw string for the waist and a soft stretchy panel across the tummy allowing you to pull them right up over the belly area. I normally wear bib shorts and think generally bibs are more flattering with smoother lines, but agree shorts certainly make toilet stops easier and mean there is no need to remove a jersey, which some riders may feel self-conscious about, especially if having to go al fresco! Unfortunately as there was no knot tied in the draw string it had been lost in the waistband prior to me wearing, but with a bit of fiddling I retrieved it. The shorts are black with flattering seams, a large logo on the leg and across the lower back. The pad was comfortable on long road rides, the mountain bike and on the turbo.
The jersey is noticeably longer than my other jerseys, this is great for us ladies who like to pull things down over our hips and bottom and there is certainly no chance of any bare flesh when standing upright. The colour changes gradually down the top with the darker, more flattering colours over the lower torso and brighter colours across the bust and shoulders drawing the eye away from the areas we are usually more self conscious about. The sleeves are loose and long with no restrictive bands. A zipped pocket is handy for your valuables and a full length zip is always a plus in jerseys of this price range.
Both items washed well and I would happily recommend them if I could find a polite way of doing so!
Fat Lad at The Back has become a community, not just a brand, with riders involved in the development of new products and social media filled with riders’ photos, comments and inspirational rides. The company encourages everyone to have a go, have fun and enjoy their sport.
When former rugby player Alastair Little was forced to cut his 25-year career short after a life-changing neck injury, he was devastated and soon piled on weight as his life spiralled towards depression. He managed to turn his life around after discovering a love for cycling. Riding with friends at Fat Lad at the Back, Alastair took to the road and after a few months he started to see the results, losing more than five stone and dramatically boosting his confidence.
Alastair said: “It was the motivation and help I received from the guys at FLAB which really inspired me to stick at it and lose the weight and not only that, I enjoyed the social aspect to cycling, and suddenly sport was bringing me back to life again.”
FLAB introduced Alastair to other, likeminded riders who taught him that he wasn’t alone.
FLAB Sportive – 8th May 2016
In a bid to further welcome novice cyclists, FLAB has introduced a new 25-mile event alongside its 50 and 75-mile distance sportives, taking place on the Yorkshire roads in May and in the Chiltern Hills in October. Looking after riders will be experienced FLAMbassadors riding in the sportives to encourage and support riders on the journey.
Fat Lad in Charge Richard Bye, who has 20 years’ experience cycling many of Yorkshire’s most recognised routes, said: “This year we have added a 25 miler as we hope to inspire some new riders who may fancy a sportive, but have never thought they could!”
“The food stops are also legendary and include black pudding scotch eggs and lots of other stuff which our fat Lads and Lasses like, as well as the usual fruit and flapjack based options. We also have a BBQ afterwards which went down really well last year, this means people hang about and chat and share rather than just getting in their cars and leaving.”
Richard went on to say “Since founding FLAB we have been overwhelmed by how many people have come to us saying how much confidence they’ve gained with our support”
You can enter the sportive here and can find FLAB on the web http://fatladattheback.com/ on Facebook and on Twitter
by Anna Magrath | Apr 30, 2016
Words by Anna Magrath Images by Chris Maher
Record Crowds for Spectacular Day 2 of Tour de Yorkshire
Over one million spectators came out to cheer on the riders for the second day of the Tour de Yorkshire, as the county celebrated a ground breaking day for women’s cycling.
Glorious sunshine started the day in Otley for the hotly anticipated Asda Tour de Yorkshire Women’s Race where World Champion Lizzie Armitstead led the peloton out of her hometown.
Crowds bigger than those who witnessed the Grand Départ in Otley cheered on as 100 of the world’s best female riders took part including Rio hopeful Emma Pooley; Dani King and Lucy Garner from British squad Wiggle High5, Hitec Products brought one of the world’s strongest sprinters Kirsten Wild and Dame Sarah Storey took part – Great Britain’s most decorated female Paralympian in history.
Speaking before the start Lizzie Armitstead, racing in her World Champions jersey for the first time in the UK, paid tribute to her home town of Otley and the immense support she was receiving.
The 136km race was a game changer for women’s cycling in the UK as it took the same route as the men’s and offered over £50,000 (€63,623) – currently the biggest prize pot in women’s cycling.
The winner of the Asda Women’s Tour de Yorkshire was Kirsten Wild from Team Hitec Products who crossed the finish line in Doncaster before thousands of cheering fans.
Sir Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire said:
“Today has been an historic day for women’s cycling and it’s been a spectacular day of racing. The crowds were once again phenomenal and to see how the people of Yorkshire have taken this event to their hearts is just overwhelming. There was so much spirit and positivity in Yorkshire today it was magnificent to see. Clearly the one thing we would have changed if we could was the fact we had intermittent live TV coverage but I must stress that safety is paramount. Unfortunately there was a serious technical fault with the plane relaying the TV signal, the plane had to be grounded and the TV coverage could not continue for this reason.
“Fans and communities have continued their spectacular support for the Tour de Yorkshire not just from the routes but also digitally by sharing images, footage and updates to keep the public informed. Please keep tweeting and following @letouryorkshire and we will be putting highlights online tonight.
“We are now focussed on the day ahead tomorrow from Middlesbrough to Scarborough which promises to be an exhilarating race!”
Kirsten Wild: The plan was to let a little group go with one of us in the break, unfortunately that didn’t work out, the girls did a good chase and we caught them in the final, it was really good work. The sprint was hard, I started a bit too early, and I thought maybe not, there was a really strong headwind, so I let one girl pass and I could follow her and then pass her in the final again. There were a lot of people on the roadside it was really nice to have that support. It’s good to win here in Doncaster.
Lucy Garner: “I couldn’t quite get around Kirsten for the sprint, everyone know she’s an awesome sprinter, she’s definitely the one to beat here today in a sprint, actually for me I’ve not been 100% healthy coming into this race so I couldn’t have asked for more today, especially from my team Wiggle High-5, they did an awesome job to bring the three that were away back. It would have been great if we had a rider up in the break, so we did have to work hard to bring them back but there were other teams working with us who also wanted a sprint finish. We caught the back [of the train] with 4km to go and then it was just a case of focusing on the sprint finish. We knew we had to look out for Lizzie [Armitstead] she’s on great form this season and has won so many races, it’s just lucky for us her breakaway didn’t stay away.”
Lizzie Armitstead: “I wanted to put on an aggressive race and a bit of a show, it’s what it’s all about cycling, it’s a bit of an entertainment show at the end of the day. I wanted to be able to get stuck in and have a go. There were a couple of moments where I thought we could stay away [from the peloton] we were holding them at about a minute and the team car came up and they told us the organisation in the chase is not very good so just keep plugging away, but when we tried towards Doncaster and it was just a block headwind we weren’t getting above 45km per hour I thought, right they are going to be closing that gap pretty quickly.
By the time we were caught I’d burnt all my matches, I tried to get stuck in and help some of the younger girls on my team but actually they didn’t need it, they were quicker than me, so i was really proud of the way GB rode today, there are some young girls in the team and I think they have very bright futures. The course lived up to my expectations, in fact it was better, stating in Otley it was a goose pimple moment. All along the course there were people shouting so thank you to everyone who turned out.”
Jersey winners:
Overall, the winner of the blue Asda Women’s Tour de Yorkshire jersey was Kirsten Wild; her Hitech teammate Lauren Kitchen took the navy jersey of the Aunt Bessie’s sprint; Rossella Ratto of Cyclance Pro Cycling won the pink Mug Shot Queen of the Mountain jersey; the Howden’s Joinery/RNLI white jersey for best young newcomer went to Lucy Garner and the purple best team classification was awarded by Doncaster Sheffield Airport/Flybe to the Great Britain team.
More images and interviews from the race to come so watch this space!
by Chris Maher | Apr 29, 2016
L-R: Christian Prudhomme, Lucy Garner, Caleb Ewan, Lars-Petter Nordhaug, Dani King & Sir Gary Verity.
Saturday the Men’s and Women’s Stages of Champions take place.
Pre Race Press Conference for the 2016 Tour de Yorkshire
28 April 2016
Anthony McCrossan welcomes the press on the eve of the Tour de Yorkshire 2016 at the Yorkshire Air Museum in Elvington, before introducing Welcome to Yorkshire CEO Sir Gary Verity and A.S.O. Director of Cycling Christian Prudhomme.
Joining them on stage, last years defending champion, winning from start to finish, Lars-Petter Nordhaug of Team Sky and Orica Green-EDGE’s sensational young sprinter Caleb Ewan, making his debut, Olympic Champion, World Champion and European Champion Wiggle High5’s Dani King, and twice Junior World Champion Lucy Garner as the Tour readies itself for the second edition, 29th April to 01st May.
Pre Race Press Conference for the 2016 Tour de Yorkshire
28 April 2016
Anthony McCrossan welcomes the press on the eve of the Tour de Yorkshire 2016 at the Yorkshire Air Museum in Elvington, before introducing Welcome to Yorkshire CEO Sir Gary Verity and A.S.O. Director of Cycling Christian Prudhomme.
Joining them on stage, last years defending champion, winning from start to finish, Lars-Petter Nordhaug of Team Sky and Orica Green-EDGE’s sensational young sprinter Caleb Ewan, making his debut, Olympic Champion, World Champion and European Champion Wiggle High5’s Dani King, and twice Junior World Champion Lucy Garner as the Tour readies itself for the second edition, 29th April to 01st May.
Anthony McCrossan: “This evening the Tour de Yorkshire and the Tour Down Under will sign an agreement to promote each other races across each others territories.”
Sir Gary Verity: The significance of stage two. “Linking Otley, near Leeds, home to our latest world champion Lizzie Armitstead with Doncaster where we pass through Harworth, just to the south, the home of Tom Simpson, our first world Champion.”
“One of the big changes from this year to last is the revolution in women’s cycling.”
Christian Prudhomme applauds 2015 Winner, Lars-Petter Nordhaug, Team Sky.
Christian Prudhomme: “The passion that people from Yorkshire have for cycling is just unbelievable. Huge crowds we saw for the Tour de France! One year after, we thought impossible to have the same for the first edition of the Tour de Yorkshire. But yes, huge crowds again.”
“The second edition of the Tour de Yorkshire is one step forward again. On Saturday we have women and men the same distance, the same media coverage. We don’t know today what Saturday will mean for the future of cycling.”
Lars-Petter Nordhaug: “We hope to win. We are the biggest team here. We really want to make the race.”
Sir Gary Verity welcomes Caleb Ewan (Orica GreenEDGE) to the Tour de Yorkshire.
Caleb Ewan: “I don’t really know how my form is now.” Coming out of a block of training. “I’ve not raced for six weeks.” Calab is hoping to improve towards the end of the race. Although the first stage is billed as a sprinters stage. “It’s not a straight forward sprint as I thought it would be”. Referring to the un-categorised climb on the Settle finish loop!
Dani King: Saturday’s Asda Women’s Race. “I’m really excited to ride here in Yorkshire, we did a reccy today and there were school kids on the side of the road screaming to cheer us.” “I feel proud that Britain is leading the way with the same media coverage.” “It’s amazing the step forward for women’s cycling and I think it’s only going to go further after this race.”
Lucy Garner: Billed also as a sprint finish for the women’s race. “It’s not flat! It’s definitely rolling. I think the weathers going to play a roll in the race, setting off early in the morning”.
by Anna Magrath | Apr 18, 2016
So do you remember just a few weeks ago I brought you the news that our writer Heather Bamforth had been shortlisted for the #BeAGameChanger Women’s Sport Trust – Ambassador of Women’s Sport Award? Well the talented lady has only gone and beaten some formidable talent to the final (Judy Murray being one well know name who has fallen by the wayside). Heather will line up against two very well respected women; Ebony Rainford-Brent (cricketer) and Maureen McGonigle (Scottish Women in Sport advocate) for the final.
But lets not sit back… Heather needs all the support we can muster in the cycling community from both men and women to enable her to lift the trophy to represent all cyclists. So please take two seconds to drop by the Women’s Trust website and cast a well deserved vote in Heather’s direction. We can do this!
If my nagging hasn’t persuaded you here is a bit more about Heather:
Heather Bamforth has worked tirelessly behind the scenes to increase the number of opportunities for women in competitive cycling, and has done so as a volunteer in her spare time.
She joined the Cyclingshorts.cc writing team in 2012 where she actively promotes women’s cycling, and the inaugural North West women’s series in 2013, which featured groundbreaking grassroots road racing for women, this was Heather’s brainchild.
In 2014, along with three others Heather established The Racing Chance Foundation, a registered charity which provides women with a pathway in competitive cycling from novice to elite level.
Racing Chance has already coached over 200 women and inspired similar series across the UK that have resulted in British Cycling seeing an increase in female membership, with female racing licences increasing from 800 in 2012 to over 1,500 in 2015.
Heather spends an enormous amount of time helping to get women cycling by running training rides, with training sessions on closed circuits to help novices build confidence and skills before venturing onto the roads, along with events which are suitable for women who want to try road racing for the first time.
During the day Heather has a full time career, working in Restructuring Services for Mazars LLP, an international accountancy and business advisory firm.
About the Women’s Sports Trust:
Women’s Sports Trust are a charity that identifies and promotes a diverse range of role models, they find ways to shift the funding landscape for women’s sport and increase the percentage and quality of media coverage women receive.
http://www.womenssporttrust.com/ambassador-womens-sport-2016/
While I’ve got your ear cycling feature in the following categories as finalists. Please give them a vote too…
Sporting Role Model – Individual – Helen Wyman
Sponsor Partnership of the Year – Queensway Print/Drops Cycling Team
Inspiring Initative – National Award – Aviva Women’s Tour
Inspiring Initiate Award Local/Grassroots – Abergavenny Road Club
