Cycling is a great sport that has recently dominated the news headlines, thanks to Team Sky and Bradley Wiggins winning the Tour De France but let’s not forget about the great women in the sport. Women like Victoria Pendleton and Lizzie Armitstead are great British female cyclists and are expected to do great things in the London 2012 Olympics, this sport isn’t just for men.
Victoria Pendleton is a British Olympic medallist, with a gold medal in the women’s individual sprint. She also has numerous medals as a world champion cyclist, with medals gained from the World Track Championships, European Track Championships and the British National Track Championships.
Lizzie Armitstead has already created a buzz at the Olympics this year, winning a silver medal in the women’s road race at her first ever Olympic Games. Before the Olympics, Lizzie competed in a number of top level road races including the British National Road Race Championships, the Commonwealth Games road race and the UCI Road World championships.
We will all be looking forward to seeing how these two ladies do throughout the Olympic games and with female cyclists Danielle King, Joanna Rowswell, Jessica Varnish, Laura Trott, Wendy Houvenaghel, Lucy Martin, Emma Pooley, Annie Last and Shanaze Reade, hopefully Team GB women’s cycling will bring home more medals for Britain!
With the press full of cycling, the nation is falling in love with the sport. People are being encouraged to hop on their bikes and give it a go, but women seem to be far more reluctant. In 2009 it was found that 79% of British women never cycle and this number has only improved slightly. A survey carried out by the mind charity on 1,450 women found that 9 in 10 women were scared to take part in outdoor exercise and It was found that one of the reasons for this is that 2 out of 3 feel body conscious. British Cycling has announced a new project, in which they aim to get 80,000 women cycling, thanks £1million in funding from the national lottery. This project will hopefully help many women get over their cycling fears. Read more here>
Skyride by Sky is currently trying to get more women cycling by organising women’s only cycling events nationwide, which has been a success. As well as this, local cycling clubs such as the Ilkley cycling club have been planning special events to attract female riders, with women only weekend rides.
With so many great events available for women to join, there are no excuses for not giving cycling a go. So go on ladies…on your bike!
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