Liv Avail: My new wheels for the Etape du Tour

As part of my preparation for the Etape du Tour I have been given a bike by the good people at Liv Giant, a Liv Avail road bike which is perfect for long-distance rides and cyclosportives.

There's nothing like new kit to get you motivated to take on a challenge - be it clothing, a training device, and my case a bicycle. 

I have recently taken ownership of a Liv Avail Advanced 2, and I must say I'm loving it (as the saying goes). 

The good people at Giant-Liv have provided me with a bicycle as part if their ambassador programme. Liv have a history of supporting women in their bike-riding adventures - be it in elite road racing athletes and teams, amateur athletes, or events like the Women's Tour de France. 

So I am very happy and honoured to be supported by Liv, and I am very excited to be riding one of their bikes.

The Avail Advanced 2 is an endurance bike, with a geometry that allows a slightly upright position rather than a full-on racing position that you find with the Langma. Endurance is my thing these days, so it is ideal for cyclosportives. It comes with Shimano 105 groupset, hydraulic disc brakes, and tubeless tyres. Most importantly, the saddle is a women's specific Liv Approach, which I have used before on other bikes and I know it will be comfortable over many miles. The other important thing is the very low gears, which are perfect for my ageing knees!

I must say I like the deep green colour (officially called Kelp Forest), which then gradually shades into black at the bottom. You don't often see bikes in that colour so that makes it quite distinguished. 

I will do a proper review in the coming weeks, but I just wanted to say how excited I am to have the bike. Maurice Burton and his team of shop assistants and mechanics at De Ver Cycles kindly set up the bike for me, and it was quite a joy to get out and ride around the block when trying it out. I look forward to getting in lots of miles and smiles on it

Related posts 

Operation Etape du Tour: February update

The Etape du Tour comes to Nice

Back again to Paris by bike

52 Cycling Voices - 37: Marion Rousse

Amaury Sports Organisation are the organisers of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, and like with its other races it appoints a director. The men's Tour de France has Christian Prudhomme, while the women's equivalent is Marion Rousse. For such an event ASO couldn't have chosen a more appropriate person for the job, given Ms Rousse's very strong pedigree. 

Born into a cycle racing family, Marion recalls going to watch her father compete in semi-professional races when she was barely five years old. A couple of years later she was racing herself, and went on to become a professional racer and French National Champion. Marion has since retired and become a sports broadcaster and gained experience as a director of other races. 

I had the pleasure of interviewing Marion on a few occasions and was impressed at how industrious she is, as well as being a new mother  and partner to one of the most successful road racers, two-time world champion Julian Alaphilippe.

Marion Rousse, aged 32

From: Valenciennes

Lives: Andorra

Occupation: Director, Tour de France Femmes and Sports broadcaster for France Televisions 

I am the director of the Tour de France Femmes and Consultant for France Televisions Sports, as well as being a mum - though being a mum is what takes up the most of my time.

There is a lot to manage, but my life has always been about doing different things in various places with full days. And as well as that I am always doing bike-related things - something I love.

I started cycle racing aged six, so I’ve always had a routine to follow throughout my life. It comes naturally to have to manage a routine so that's no different. It comes naturally, though now that I have little Nino, I try not to travel too far away from him and I bring him with me as much as I can. It’s lovely to get home on a Sunday evening and spend time with him. It’s a routine that I have managed to establish, and I feel lucky to be able to do what I love.

Having Nino has been the biggest change in my life, and probably the same for people who become a parent. Having a baby changes your life and your priorities, and my biggest priority is Nino. I would say it has given me a calmer more mature outlook on my job in a way I didn’t have before. I certainly feel like I have grown up a lot since I became a mum.

When I’m at home I leave my telephone aside and dedicate myself 100% to Nino, and to Julian when he is home. It’s true that it’s my form of self-preservation when I am at home. As I may only have one day at home, I cut myself off from work things so that I can give myself the time I need to relax, otherwise I would explode! 

In my free time I look to do sport. That’s the thing I really need to do. I feel good physically and mentally when I have done a bit of jogging or cycling. I also like to go for relaxing walks in the countryside when I can, in the afternoons with Nino and Julian. Julian is into music, and so he plays his electronic drumkit sometimes.  

We live in Andorra for part of the year and then I do day trips to Paris at times. Then with my job I am lucky enough to travel to various events around France. One would say I live a bit all over France!

I am originally from near Valenciennes. I am a proper northerner, and grew up in a village where there were 600 inhabitants. So it was really in the countryside where there wasn’t even a boulangerie. A famous film called Welcome to the Sticks was based in that area. My parents still live in the area and I go up when the Paris-Roubaix race is on as they live really close to one of the cobbled sections. 

When I was growing up I was always watching bike races on TV with the family. There wasn’t a single televised race that I missed – whether it was Paris-Roubaix, the Tour de France or Tour of Flanders. Roubaix was special for me because I was in a cycling academy and I did all my championship races at the velodrome in Roubaix, and the local championships were held there each year. So as Northerners we were really proud watching the Paris-Roubaix and I could say, ahh the Roubaix Velodrome, I’ve already won races there. I would often ride some of the cobbled sectors too. 

I would have liked to race the women's Paris-Roubaix, even if it is a poisoned chalice as it is nevertheless the most difficult race in the world. It’s the most tiring race mentally and physically. It might be flat, but the paves are so difficult and in such a bad state that when you ride them you are aching everywhere – on your arms, your fingers, everywhere, though less on the legs as it is quite an atypical course. 

I think I would have loved doing it, as much as I would have hated doing it. But it’s sure I would have still been on the start line to do it if I'd had the opportunity. 

I was born into cycle racing. My cousins raced professionally, and my dad also raced at a high level as he was a first category rider. So as a baby I was already at the roadside in the buggy, watching bike races. Cycling really has been there all my life. After a while I had enough of being at the side of the road cheering on my dad; I wanted to have a go at cycle racing. So when I announced to him, aged six, that I wanted to get into cycling he wasn’t in favour of it at first. He said it was too hard and I was too young.

So, one day my mum secretly signed me up to race. Then when my dad returned from work I showed him my licence, saying there you go dad, I can now race. He just laughed and said, “Okay you can race but I’m telling you now, we won’t be going to races every weekend.” We went the following weekend, and in the end he became my coach and he did accompany me to all the races after that.

I have an older sister, Flavie, who is six years older than me. We have very different temperaments, which was obvious from birth. My sister has always been very calm and relaxed, whereas I’ve always been the one who would run around everywhere and always on the move. I was always energetic getting into rough and tumble and would come home with my clothes all dirty and with lumps and bumps on my body. That thing of running around energetic doing lots of activities has still continued into adulthood.

I raced at a time when women’s cycling was not as developed as it is now and was not so professional. There were big differences in the level of racing. Some women were very strong, earned higher salaries and won a lot and then there was everyone else. I was at Lotto Soudal, but had to work at the same time in order to earn a living. So it was by chance that I got the opportunity to be a commentator for a few cycle races on TV. Initially I was both a professional racing cyclist and a commentator. But I got the impression that I wasn’t doing any of them very well.

Doing the two was hard to juggle and I began to reconsider my future given that at the time I was 25 and already had a 20-year career in cycle racing. After all, I had been racing since I was six years old! So I already had thousands of kilometres in my legs. 

So I decided to take this golden opportunity to further my work in the media. I was enjoying it so much that I thought maybe this is the moment to turn the page and move in a new direction. And I must say, I don’t regret that decision.

I can't say I prefer one type of job over the other as the two are completely different jobs and I reallly enjoyed doing both. I had a wonderful time being a professional cycle racer but there were more sacrifices to make in terms of lifestyle, being out training all day.

Being a consultant in media doesn’t require hours of training like I used to. Of course I still get on my bike and keep fit, but not for as may hours as before – and it certainly doesn’t tire your legs out like before. But it’s still hard work, commentating on the races. 

I can't really say I miss being a cycle racer. It's just that I'm not really one to look back on things. Once I have done something I tend not to look back much. That’s how I’ve always functioned. I don’t even pose myself the question. I am just happy to commentate on the cycle races on France TV, given that it’s a national channel. My character is to move on without looking back and wishing I was doing what I used to do. I'm not nostalgic.

Even if I’m not part of the exciting racing that is going on now in the women’s peloton, I really love commentating on it for France TV and knowing that the racing is reaching a wider audience. Women’s cycling has developed a lot, and I am just really happy to see the future developments in women’s cycle racing.  

The problem in women's cycle racing is that historically there was a massive difference in level among the women. There were a couple of teams that paid their riders well – though that was quite rare in the women’s peloton. And because of that you had some women who raced but were more like amateurs and then there were others who were paid professionals. Whereas now you can see that because of the evolution in women's cycling there are women who can compete on a more level playing field and it is great to see that. It’s not always the same women who win – there are various scenarios that play out in a race and the courses are very different.

It’s great that now when you watch a women’s race it’s not easy to predict who will win, as the competition is at a much higher level and there are good routes designed for the race.

It’s true that women haven’t had the same treatment as they do now, and the professionalism that exists in women’s racing now is normal, where before it wasn’t. It’s great that we have things like the minimum salary now, but it’s a shame that we had to wait so long for this to happen.

Even if I know we still have some way further to go in the evolution I tend to be optimistic and I look to the future, looking forward to more positive things for women’s cycling and women’s sport in general, rather than saying “damn, I didn’t have the opportunity to do this or that when I was a racer.” I’d rather focus on moving forward.

There are more and more important races for women, like Fleche Wallonne, Tour of Flanders and now we have the Paris-Roubaix, which was brilliant to watch and even gets good viewing figures. But we were missing a stage race of reference for women. Well, the most beautiful cycle race in the world is the Tour de France, which is such a big race that it goes beyond sport and resonates so much for the sport of cycling. 

So having a women’s Tour de France is the best thing that can happen. And Amaury Sport Organisation treats it in exactly the same way as they do with the men’s Tour de France. It's great to have a stage race of reference for the women. It is the best thing that can happen for women’s sport. 

For me, in accepting the role of Director of the Tour de France Femme with Zwift, I had to know that Amaury Sports Organisation were treating the race with the same attention as they do with the men’s Tour de France – not just doing the race for the sake of it. They needed to really want to do it, and I hope that young girls can watch this race and be inspired to become a cycle racer. The plans are in place, the route is in place, the women are ready so we are ready to go and it’s going to be super.

The work I have done in previous jobs have helped set me up as Tour de France Femmes director. I didn't just come from nowhere to do this role. I have the experience of having been a professional cyclist. I have been in the media with France Televisions, so I know the journalistic side of things as well. And the organisers cap is something I learned from being joint director of the Tour de Provence. When I stepped into the world of race organising I was surprised at everything I discovered I had to do, and all the constraints around the work which form part of cycle racing these days.

It is paramount when taking the role of race organiser that I understand these aspects when taking on the role. I understand the importance of having meetings with the town councils, looking for sponsors, engaging with local cycling/interest groups, and how to design a route. So my experience in organising the Tour de la Provence helped me in quickly assimilating into the role as Tour de France Femmes director.

I never imagined that I would be the director of the Tour de France Femmes, though I must also say I never imagined working in television either or doing the other things I've done! It was Christian Prudhomme himself who called me to say he was really thinking of me for the role of Director of the Tour de France Femmes, and he asked if I was interested. Well, I didn’t hesitate in accepting the offer. It’s an amazing opportunity, and something that I am proud of. Cycling has brought me so much over the years, so if I can bring something to cycling in my role, I will do it with my heart. 

I raced with a few of the women who are still in the women’s peloton. I raced with Annemiek Van Vleuten (who retired last year), Marion Vos, Elena Cecchini, and women who were in the French squad who are still on the circuit now. So it’s nice to have this link. Whether they are women I know or not, we are all there with the same objective, to make our sport more well-known and we are travelling in the same direction. 

I think that the women's Tour de France could serve a role as to inspire little girls to want to have a go at racing at this level. They will switch on the TV and will see women on a bike, and they may even say to themselves “Well I could have a go at that too” and they won’t pose themselves the question about whether they can do it or not. In fact what we would like, by holding and televising the Tour de France is to show that yes it is possible to do bike racing – whether you’re a man or a woman. We want to show that if you want to do cycle racing you can, and it is perfectly normal to see women cycle racing on TV.

I feel very comfortable in the work I do, and I just get on with it without thinking whether I am a man or a woman. I’ve always been keen to move up the ladder, but I also think that if I move up it was because I proved myself and not because they wanted to just have a woman in place and it looks good to do that. I like to think that I earned my place because I knew what I was talking about.  

So the best reply I can give to people who are stuck on the fact that a woman shouldn’t be on a bike, or I have nothing to say to a woman about cycling …I don’t need to explain anything to them because I don’t have anything to say to them, and I will just show them – whether that’s with women’s cycling in the Tour de France Femmes – that we deserve that. We have nothing to explain because we are in our well-deserved place and we can do our jobs well. It’s for others to change their opinions, and that can come from them, rather than us needing to explain anything to them or persuade them about anything. 

So my advice would be that women should go out and do exactly the thing that they love and to not get a complex about having a go at it be it cycling or rugby. Do whatever you want to do. 

Marion Rousse on Instagram

Other cycling voices

Sadhbh O'Shea

Emma Wade

Pauline Ballet

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig

Claire Floret

Monica and Paola Santini

Maria Canins

Rochelle Gilmore

Rebecca Charlton

Hannah Bussey

Book review: Le Fric: Family, Power, and Money: the Business of the Tour de France - Alex Duff

This isn't a newly released book, given that it went on general sale last year. I finally got around to reading it at the beginning of this year as part of my research prior to doing an interview with members of the Amaury family. 

They are the top brass behind the Tour de France, plus other well known names in sport - the (Paris) Dakar Rally, Paris Marathon, L'Equipe newspaper, as well as other well-known cycle races such as Paris-Roubaix and Paris-Nice.

I had previously interviewed the then CEO, Marie-Odile Amaury for Cyclist magazine. This year I interviewed her children, Aurore and Jean-Etienne, who have since taken over the reins at the head of the family business, for Rouleur magazine. The feature article is now out in the current issue of the magazine (Issue 120). 

Alex Duff is a writer and journalist specialising in sport, and this is his second book, the first one being about the business side of football. Le Fric looks at the business end of the world's most famous cycle race for the main part, and therefore includes the story behind the Amaurys - the A in ASO, organisers of some of the most iconic sports events. 

The book traces the early days of the the publishing and printing business started by Emilien Amaury after the second world war, how the Tour de France was incorporated into the business, along with other pivotal moments - the printing strike at L'Equipe, a dispute over the family inheritance, the globalisation of the Tour de France, plus attempts by third parties to acquire the event. It also talks about other business interests, mainly other (former) publications such as Les Echos and Le Parisien newspapers. 

All this is told across the timeline of big sporting moments in the race - the Greg Lemond vs Laurent Fignon 8-second margin, the Women's Tour de France in the 1980s, the Lance Armstrong doping scandal, the emergence of British cycle racers as a dominant force, including the first Brit to win La Grande Boucle, Bradley Wiggins. 

Duff also describes how the business of the Tour de France is run, or at least how he interprets it. The book portrays the running of the Tour as being a parochial family business, with the executives having a hotline to the French government, given that this huge summer sporting event is an integral part of French society and culture. 

He is not very flattering towards the family, portraying Marie-Odile as a tough cookie who is totally intransigent in her discussions with cycling team managers. He also describes Jean-Etienne as looking like "a choirboy reading from a church lectern" when he gives his annual speech during the presentation of the Tour de France route.

Overall, it is an interesting read, regardless of whether you are a cycle racing aficionado. It would be of interest tovthose who are interested in how sport works, as well as the life stories of the Amaury family, and key players in professional cycle racing. There's quite a detailed account on EF Education Easypost team manager, Jonathan Vaughters, as well as stories on the racing and managerial career of Groupama-FDJ's Marc Madiot.

Ironically, for a family so heavily involved in media, they are pretty media shy. They hardly ever give interviews. Their executive assistant told me that she turns away practically every bid from journalists. So I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to speak to Marie-Odile, Aurore and Jean-Etienne Amaury, and I note that they were very pleasant, amenable and open during the interviews.

When I spoke of Alex Duff's book to them Jean-Etienne was not too pleased about the uncharitable way they had been portrayed, and said that there were sections that weren't true either. They preferred not to ignore the book.

I like how the book makes for an interesting tour around the workings of past and present  professional cycle racing, and I did enjoy some of the anecdotes, particularly on people that I see today. But it seems that there may need to be a pinch of salt taken when reading the stories. 

Related posts 

Excitement at the reborn Women's Tour de France 

Book review: Where there's a will - Emily Chappell

Catching up with Groupama-FDJ

The Tour de France Femmes est arrivee!

The day finally came for the women's Tour de France, known as the Tour de France Femmes with Zwift. 

After years of campaigning Amaury Sports Organisation finally put on a women's stage race around France, that can become the race of reference for pro women. Also, given that it was happening at the time of the men's Tour de France the women's race had a high profile, media coverage, and hopefully a lot of public interest.

I had a media pass to attend stage 1, which started from the Eiffel Tower and consisted of 8 laps around central Paris, going along the same route that the men use during their customary finish in Paris at the end of the Tour de France each year.

The last time the women's pro peloton raced around the streets of Paris was during the first edition of La Course, 10 years ago. This race was the predecessor event to what ASO are now organising for the women's pro peloton. At the time the event took place first thing on the Sunday morning, with not much of an audience. Granted, the event was televised but then at that time of the morning there would have been a limited audience to see Marianne Vos cross the finish line and do her victory salute.

However, this event was a very different matter. This was the culmination of a lot of campaigning, negotiations and behind the scenes preparation. There had been a lot of publicity in the months running up to the event, and it had been the talk of the town among all cycling fans.

So the day had finally come, and this would be the first day of  a week-long Tour de France Femmes. Although described as a tour of France, the stages were going to be largely in the Alsace and Vosges, just in Eastern France.

On this hot sunny day in July I got on my bicycle and made my way from my lodgings in Vincennes to the press centre, just behind the Champs Elysees. It was my first time going to the press centre for the final day of the Tour de France (and the first day of the Tour de France Femmes) and the thing that struck me most was the number of road closures, even for bicycles.

It is understandable to have heavy security at such a grand scale event in central Paris, but recent unfortunate events such as terrorist attacks and the "gilets jaunes" rioters meant that police presence was omnipresent, complete with machine guns and even CRS (like the UK equivalent of the SAS). All this made it difficult, once I arrived at Concorde to get to the area just across the road from me. My trip involved a real tour of Paris. Then as if that wasn't enough there was a lot of haggling with the ASO staff to get through to the Media Centre. A few other journalists with me also encountered the same difficulties - an officious guy refusing pass down the small avenue to reach the media centre and folks angrily remonstrating. All that added about an hour to my journey and by the time I reached the media centre I was ready for a rest. There was no way I was going to venture across to the start line of the women's race at the Eiffel Tower, and preferred to stay where I was and watch them on the Champs Elysees, as well as on the TV in the media centre.

This was definitely a historic moment, with plenty of spectators watching the first stage in the afternoon sunshine in central Paris. There had been so much build-up to this day - with the various column inches having been written about the history of women's Tour de France races in the past, analysis of the route, pundits views on how will win, and that's before counting all the various initiatives by Zwift, Santini and other sponsors.

In the end, for me, when the big day came, the significance of this moment was forgotten - perhaps because of all the logistical hassle, perhaps not - and it was all about reporting on a women's cycle race and then dashing off to the media centre for the post-race press conference.

I know there were probably people who really were smitten by the occasion, and were quite emotional about it. I can't say why I didn't feel that way. I think that for me, the big moment came when there was the announcement of the race last year and the grand reveal of the route in Autumn in Paris. Thereafter, I wanted to just focus on the job in hand and the racing itself. There's a limit to how much you can say about a historical moment, and when it comes to sport, the engagement comes through exciting racing.

It was a fast-paced race with a couple of crashes during the 82km circuit race around the Champs Elysees, Concorde and Rivoli. Different women went off the front for a spot of limelight under the lenses of the world's media, but the main bunch with the protagonists largely stayed together. In the end the result was decided by a showdown between the most experienced racer, Marianne Vos, and her young compatriot Lorena Wiebes. The youthful pre-race favourite, Wiebes crossed the finish line on the most iconic of avenues and ended up on the podium in the yellow jersey. It would have been good to see Marianne Vos up there, but Wiebes was a very worthy winner. Marianne Vos (possibly the greatest racer of all time) did get to wear the Green Jersey at the end of the 8-stage race. Sadly, Lorena Wiebes, who went on to win a second stage, withdrew from the race on Stage 7 as a result of a crash the previous day. 

The other overall winner, Annemiek Van Vleuten did it in combattive style after having had setbacks during the early stages, including racing with an upset stomach and having stop on the roadside for a poo during the hilly stage to Epernay. On the final stage, with a commanding lead over her second-placed rival, Demi Vollering, Van Vleuten encountered mechanical problems and had to change bike twice. Yet she still found it in her to stay head of everyone on the legendary climb up the Superplanche des Belles Filles.

For me, that is sort of thing that excited me about the Tour de France Femmes. Women now have a stage race of reference. Rather than repeating the "wow women have a Tour de France", I want to move things on and say "Wow, wasn't that an exciting race." And I am glad to have been able to say that about this inaugural Tour de France Femmes.

Excitement at the reborn Women's Tour de France - it doesn't need to be three weeks long!

At Palais des Congrès, Paris

Yesterday I attended the presentation of the 2022 Tour de France, at the Palais des Congrés at Porte Maillot, Paris. 

It's a pretty big affair with the auditorium being packed out with a couple of thousand people - among them, team riders, sponsors, dignitaries, community cycling groups, and journalists. 

This event always garners excitement - finding out what novelties there will be in the route, but the really noteworthy thing was the unveiling of the route of the inaugural Women's Tour de France. 

Yes, a women's version of the men's 108-year old event will take place next year. As the men finish their race on Champs Elysees on 24th July, the women will begin their event shortly afterwards at the Eiffel Tower.

The race will then consist eight stages, all in the North Eastern part of France, and will have use the infrastructure of the men's event organised by Amaury Sports Organisation, as well as being televised.

After the 82km-race around central Paris, the remaining stages will be around 130km, passing through towns like Meaux, Epernay, Troyes, Bar-le-Duc, with a 175km-stage to Saint Die Des Vosges and finish on the really challenging Superplanche des Belles Filles. 

Auditorium filling up at Palais des Congrès

Although they will only be racing for eight days, the women will have some pretty tough stages. A couple of stages will include steep gravel roads, and a couple of stages will go over the Grande Ballon, the Petit Ballon, and the Ballon d'Alsace - some infamously steep hills in the Vosges regions. 

The stage race will see an exciting end as women have to race up the 20%+ gradients of the Superplanche des Belles Filles, and sprint to the finish line along a 1km uphill stretch of gravel road.

These stages do look exciting, and it will be great to see them getting the scheduled two-hours' TV coverage that was announced, as women contesting for a share of the 250,000-euro (£210k) prize fund.

This is not the first time an ASO-organised women's Tour de France is taking place. This event took place between 1984 and 1989, with the winning woman being pictured on the podium alongside the winning man. The women did not win any prize money, and the event was not televised (though there was print media coverage). However, the event was not financially viable and was difficult to manage logistically.

Much campaigning has been done for a women's ASO-organised event that would get the same coverage, and be on par with the men's event. Since 2014, a one-day race, La Course has taken place during the Tour de France, on the route of one stage of the Tour de France, and that was televised. However, activists were quite dissatisfied with the event and saw it as a token gesture.

When this women's route was revealed, the audience response was positive, with spontaneous applause. The professional women racers I spoke to - Audrey Cordon-Ragot, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig, Elisa Balsamo, and Evita Muzic - for Cycling News, were glad to have Tour de France and saw the route as correct, and in line with their expectations.

Tour de France Femmes with Zwift 2022 route

Some observers have bemoaned the fact that this so-called Tour of France is only concentrated within one region within Northern France, and is only eight stages long. But it has to be understood that a) women's road racing teams are smaller than men's teams (~13 riders vs. 30 respectively) and so there is less rotation of riders in races. Riders end up doing different types of races back-to-back, where men's teams operate a double roster. So a women's team doesn't have enough riders to compete in three-week stage races; 

b) there are a few stage races taking place within a short time frame - the Women's Tour of Italy, the Women's Tour, and another new stage race in Scandinavia (Battle of the North), so rider well-being needs to be kept in mind when setting out the number of stages in a race (as well as following the UCI rules on the length of races); c) over an eight-stage race it would be impractical to move the whole peloton across large geographic areas of France within an eight-day time frame.

In the last nine years that I have interviewed professional women, I have never met anyone who said they wanted to do a three-week stage race with 200km stages. It seems that these calls have been from activists who are calling out for their ideals of what equality means, independently of what current professional women's peloton actually want.

So I would rather take my lead from the feedback of the professional women racers. For them, the rebirth of a women's Tour de France is a very positive thing, and so I am inclined to agree with that. Of course, there are a few outstanding elements like a lack of a time trial stage. 

Also, the prize money, though significantly higher than other women's races is still a long way behind the 2.3M-euro (£1.9M) fund set aside for the men's Tour de France. This is something that can only really be addressed over time as media organisations gain confidence in televising women's cycle races and viewer numbers increase.

What has been announced is a good start, and I look forward to seeing the race play out next year. As Tour Director Christian Prudhomme says, I like to see it as something that will still be going in 100 year's time.

[I also wrote about the Tour de France reveal for The Times. Link here.]

Women's Tour de France 2020

Well, it wasn't an official race, but a group of intrepid women, Donnons des Elles au Vélo managed to ride the entire route of the 2020 Tour de France. Given the current coronavirus times we are living in, that is no mean feat. 

Photo: Marie Istil photos

Originally they should have been riding the Tour one day ahead of the professionals (J-1), who were scheduled to start on 29th June. However, everything was pushed back with the professionals starting on 29th August, and the women doing their ride exactly one month ahead of the professionals (M-1).

It hadn't been sure whether or not they would start, and some wondered if it would be a good idea, given the risks.

But in the end the women went ahead and rode all of the routes without too much of a hitch. I kept in touch with them regularly, and wrote about their journey in a feature for Cycling Weekly.

I must say that even though I wasn't riding the event, I found following them to be quite a full on thing as they rattled through the stages and then had to go on-line to watch their Facebook live broadcasts, then phone up one of the women, transcribe the interview, gather data on the ride and put it together for the article. It was almost as though I was living through the ride with them, except that I didn't suffer from saddle sores, fatigue, or sleep deprivation!

The team, led by their enthusiastic captain, Claire Floret had some pretty long days. They would be up at 6am, be on the road by 7.30 to drive to the start of the stage. After meeting with the local councillors or the Mayor for a speech and photo session they would do a briefing for the many guest riders who were joining them for the day, and finally they merry band would set off around about 8.30am.

Photo: Marie Istil Photos

It was a merry band as they had in tow a support car, a van transferring their items, as well as a motorbike outrider as an escort on the road.

With the women, were a few physiotherapists, mechanics, a photographer and social media executive, as well as a Sports Director - Matthieu, Claire's partner. So they were pretty well supported. In fact the whole set-up seemed not disimilar to being in a professional team.

There were people to help them with mechanicals, with any problems like muscle cramp, have meals and refreshments ready every couple of hours. Also, on the days in the Cote d'Azur or the Pyrenees where temperatures went over 40 degC there were soigneurs ready to pass them copious amounts of water for drinking but also to shower them down.

Their day in the saddle would finish any time between 6pm and 8pm, with one of their days in the Alps finishing after 9pm. After all that, they would still need to have a reception with light refreshments and smoozing with the local councillors and sometimes local media, before travelling to their hotel, getting showered, massaged and dining in the local restaurant. No one would be in bed before midnight, so it wasn't surprising that a few of them would get shut-eye while riding!

Photo: Marie Istil Photos

Also, all of the women had a day or other where they would have a low moment. Caroline had a day on the col de la Madeleine where she just felt like she had no energy in her legs and her saddle was really rubbing on her "lady bits". Coralie had pains in her glutes, Claire was suffering on the 20% Col de la Loze and all the effects of the fatigue caught up with her. Bettina suffered on the climb to Grand Colombier, and at one point had even asked Mathieu if someone else could take her place.

But the beauty of this sort of group, when it works is that everyone got on and they were able to encourage each other through those difficult moments.

It was very important for the group to get along as they were really in a tight coronavirus "bubble" together. They were sharing rooms - sometimes three to a room, even two to a bed. They would eat all meals together, ride together, suffer together and triumph together - whether it was hard climbs such as the 20% col de Marie Blanque, the wind and rain in the Massif Central, or the rousing welcome the women were given at the ski resort of Orcières-Merlette.

So on their arrival in Paris it was just such a massive relief and joy to have finally made it, at a time when many sports events had been cancelled due to coronavirus.

I had actually booked to join them on the stage to ride up La Planche des Belles Filles, and to also ride the final stage from Mantes-La-Jolie into Paris, but UK government rules on quarantine meant that I couldn't travel to France. 

Photo: Marie Istil Photos

I have a lot of admiration for this group of women, and I feel inspired to go out and have a go as well. You can have a go at this ride by applying to be part of the Donnons des Elles au Vélo team. Applications open in October. Alternatively, you can guest ride with the group on selected stages. To find out more about the women's 2020 ride check out the Donnons des Elles au Vélo website. Also, 

Chapeau ladies!

Related posts

Let's hear it for the Women's Tour de France

52 Cycling Voices: Claire Floret

52 Cycling Voices: Maria Canins

52 Cycling Voices (in the time of coronavirus) - 29: Claire Floret

(Photo: Mickael Gagne)

Since 2015 during the month of July, Claire has done her annual pilgrimage around France in honour of women's cycle racing. With the women's cycling group, Donnons des Elles au Vélo she has ridden the entire route of the Tour de France one day ahead of the men's professional race to highlight the fact that there is no women's Tour de France stage race.

Like many women, the group is campaigning for a women's Tour de France to take place at the same time as the men's professional event, much like it did in the 1980s. The initiative started out as a couple of women from France in 2015, but has since grown to a larger group, including women from across the world, with support and sponsorship from big brands involved cycling.

This popular ride along the Tour de France route ahead of the professionals, known as Donnons des Elles au Vélo J-1 [J-1 meaning one day before] selects around a dozen women from a pool of over 100 applicants. Last year, Claire noted the large number of applicants from Anglophone countries who didn't speak French. She then suggested a need for a group where they could be part of the project and still bond, thus was born the InternationElles, women from various Anglophone countries, who rode the group in parallel with the Francophone group.

(Photo: Marie Istil)

I first met Claire last year in Paris, at the end of her three-week challenge around France with the team. I travelled to the Town Hall of the 8th arrondissement (near Champs Elysées) where Donnons des Elles au Vélo and the Internationelles were given a civic reception by the Mayor of the 8th arrondissement, and we all toasted their amazing achievement.

It was a good spread, and before I indulged in the canapés and Chardonnay I introduced myself to Claire and got chatting to her. Over the months I have followed what she and the group have been up to, including through these challenging times.

Claire Floret, aged 34

From: Bayonne, SW France

Lives: Courcouronnes, near Paris

PE Teacher, and Founder/Co-ordinator of Donnons des Elles au Vélo J-1

I don’t actually come from a cycling background, as I was originally a competitive rock-climber.

Previously, I lived in the Basque Country, in south-west France, and was working as PE teacher. Then I was transferred to the Parisian region where it wasn't easy to do mountaineering!

At that time I met my partner, Matthew who is a cyclist, and he introduced me to road cycling.

Nowadays road racing is much better than the early days of getting dropped (M. Gagne)

I was just 24 at the time, and would get dropped within the first 3km. It was such a massive jump in level for me. 

More than ten years on, I am still doing road races and doing okay, though sometimes I wonder to myself these days what made me stick with road racing back then when it was so tough. 

Donnons des Elles au Vélo is part of my cycling club, Courcouronnes Omnisports Cyclisme Feminin – based in the Parisian region. We created this club five years ago because we weren’t able to fit in well in a club that was predominantly male. 

Although we were made to feel welcome there were so few women that it was difficult to develop a training and racing programme specifically for women. So in order to deal with the things that were specific to our needs we decided to create a women’s cycling club, with it's own committee to make decisions. So the club is exclusively for women, run by women. 

As I got into cycling and saw that there was no women’s stage race at the Tour de France I thought, "I can’t believe it - we really have to do something about it."
I have always done what I can to achieve equality between boys and girls and between men and women. Since I was a child, I have never liked the thought of being prohibited from doing something because I was a girl. So I have always fought for equality. So I decided we have to do something about it. From our women's club we launched Donnons des Elles au Vélo J-1.

Sometimes the days can very be long!! (photo: Mickael Gagne)

The first year we did this J-1 ride, in 2015, everyone thought it was a crazy idea and people didn't believe we could succeed. 

We were an intimate group of just me, my sister-in-law Marie, and Matthew to set off from Utrecht, Netherlands. Then on Stage 3 in Belgium, a cycletourist, Marion, who was also doing the ride, joined us for the rest of the challenge. Along the way a few people would join us to do a stage or two, but most of the time there were just four of us. 

We rode as a chain gang, but with just four of us that made for each person doing some long turns on the front and the days were very long!!

Although we had a support vehicle in case of mechanical problems we still had to sort out our meals, laundry, and self-massaging after every stage. Then the rest days were spent going shopping for food and replenishing provisions.

Our arrival on the Champs Elysées, in Paris was a bit strange. There we were in the middle of all the cars, trying to navigate our way through the traffic.

We had aimed to do this ride in 2015 as a one-off, but then we received interest and engagement from others, and people were interested in our story. 

Then we had a boost when organisations came forward to provide funds for us to do another ride. The French Cycling Federation, the Minister for Women's Rights, and Cycling Fans who sponsor our club, plus other companies all sponsored our ride. This was really good to receive this recognition of the message we were sending.

Logistical support is very important in completing the challenge (photo: Mickael Gagne)

So as a result, we ended up doing a second, a third, a fourth, and a fifth edition of the event with more and more people wanting to join us. 
The second year that we did the ride there were eight of us and I felt more emotional on that occasion than on the first time, as it was great to share the moment as a group, and see the others cry for joy.

In the last three years we have had a great support team of eight or nine people - physiotherapists, osteopaths, mechanics, a photographer, and a safety and support motorbiker, along with others who deal with our logistics. 

Within the riders and the support team we motivate each other during those difficult moments, as we are all working towards the common goal of reaching Paris. The project is as big as it is ambitious, and even though we have managed to get around the route previously, we can't be complacent and assume that we will get there the following year.

In fact,

Conquering the col d'Izoard (Photo: Mickael Gagne)

Normally we break the stage up by having a few cafe stops - a 10-minute break in the morning and then in the afternoon, and a 30-minute stop at lunchtime. 

The mountain stages are the hardest, but they are less monotonous as we have different cols to climb. 

The long flat stages are the hardest psychologically, as your mind is less focused, and you notice the aches and pains that bit more, especially in the undercarriage department!

I do have some great memories though. For example last year, I really loved the climb up the col d'Izoard because the previous time I did it was in 2017 and struggled so much. This time I enjoyed every metre of the climb and really took in the scenery. It was lovely to go over the summit with Matthew, and do a victory salute. 

It was a beautiful stage from Embrun to Valloire where the Mayor and hundreds of people welcomed us with a guard of honour like we were professionals from the Tour de France

Civic reception in Paris (photo: Maria David)

We start the process of recruiting team members for the following year's tour around November. 

We decide how many places there will be on the challenge, depending on the available vehicles and logistics. 

For the last three years we've had around 100 applicants for around 13-15 places. 

We receive the CVs and make an initial selection of around 50 women whom we interview to see how engaged they are in the campaign for the developing women's cycling. 

We also want to see how athletic they are, and how sociable they are, given that we will be spending a lot of time together. Being able to speak French is therefore quite important. Based on that we make a final selection for who will be on the team. 

These riders are part of the official sponsored team that rides the full Tour de France route, but during our ride, people are welcome to sign up to ride with us for part of a stage or for one or two stages along the way as guests. Those people sort out their own logistics and support for the time they are with us.

The riders on the team don't have to be road racers, but they need to be fit enough to ride 3,500km in three weeks at a comparable pace with the rest of the group (25km/h on flat terrain)
The training to prepare for this varies depending on the person in terms of their experience as a cyclist and if this is their first time doing this challenge.

For me, it'll be the sixth time I'm doing it so I guess I have a bit more muscle memory. I can't say it gets any easier though as each year my body is that bit older! I don't tend to do specific training for the J-1, as my training is for my overall racing season which includes various road races in the national and regional series.

(Photo: Mickael Gagne)

My training consists of five sessions per week, and I do around 1,000km per month. I also do two sessions of crossfit per week and training camps at Christmas, February, and April. In addition I simulate the cols, given that I don't have access to mountains in the Parisian region!

This year, because of coronavirus, our ride will be M-1, and not the usual J-1. That means we will be doing the ride one month before the Tour de France, from 29 July to 20 August

Of course we will still be promoting our message on equality, and promoting women's cycling. We also hope people can join us along the way for one or two stages (depending on government coronavirus policy at the time). I understand the InternationElles are planning their ride for September.

Like with everything else we are going to have to be flexible in our organisation, given the changing circumstances and announcements the government makes. With this in mind, we will adjust our logistics in line with the government rules and the local rules in the different regions at the time. This could be in terms of accommodation or the number of guests that can ride with us on the different stages.

Team-mates can provide a great support network (Photo: Mickael Gagne)

We are also keen to support good causes during this time, and so profits from the sale of our Donnons des Elles au Vélo jerseys will be donated to a medical research organisation. So we will dedicate our ride to the current medical crisis, as well as to equality in sport.

For me, this has been a difficult period. When the lockdown was first announced it really knocked my schedule off balance and my goals were uncertain. I didn't know what I would be training for, or if my events would be taking place at all. It was difficult to stay motivated. 

I was lucky enough to live in a house with garden, though the hardest days were on those when it rained and the effect of being under lockdown felt even more acute. Initially I had a routine where I would do core stability work first thing in the morning. Then after a one-hour walk to the bakers I would do cross fit, pedalling on the turbotrainer, kettle bell, step-ups and virtual yoga classes.

I was still quite busy as I was giving virtual classes to my students. I also saw it as a time to try new things like making puff pastry, picking dandelions to make a salad, doing gardening, and playing board games.

Unfortunately, I was diagnosed with COVID-19. Initially felt tired, with aches and pains all over my body for about two days. After recovering from those symptoms I lost my sense of taste and smell.

Claire with Trek-Segafredo's Audrey Cordon-Ragot (Photo: Mickael Gagne)

It was helpful to be in the Donnons des Elles au Velo chat group and we could support each other - especially as a couple of the women are nurses working in the front-line and things were stressful for them.

Things are getting better for me now, and having something like the M-1 to plan has been the best form of therapy!!

There are a few people who inspire me in my cycling. I admire Audrey Cordon-Ragot (Trek-Segafredo) who is straight-talking, and not afraid to step forward and stand up for the interests of professional cyclists. I also really like Roxane Fournier (

I also love Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (When you listen to Cecilie you really feel like getting on a bike and racing. And let's not forget to mention the men.....I like Mark Cavendish because he small and a sprinter, like me, and he is a bit of a rebel!

Shared cause and celebration: Donnons des Elles au Velo and an InternationElle (M.Gagne)

Being part of

I really like the human aspect of it, and how it brings so many different people together - amateurs and professionals, cyclists and triathletes, or skiers - French with foreigners, young riders with experienced racers, men and women....no one cares where you are from, or where you're going, but we are all together for one common cause - to advance cycling for women.

Follow the team on their Facebook Page

Also see the route and the women's progress, plus other stories about them on the website

Other Cycling Voices
Maria Canins

Janet Birkmyre

Monica and Paola Santini

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig

Jenni Gwiazdowski

Sarah Strong

Rochelle Gilmore

Rebecca Charlton

Giorgia Bronzini

Emily Chappell

52 Cycling Voices - 28: Maria Canins

For those who are into cycling history the name, Maria Canins may well be of note to you. She was one of the stand-out acts in women's cycling during the 1980s. La mamma volante (the flying mum), as she was affectionately known by her Italian compatriots, won 20 races between 1982 and 1995. Bear in mind that this was at a time when there weren't many women's international races.

Apart from the World Championships, the big international races in those days were the Tour de France, Giro Femminile (Tour of Italy), Coors Classic (Tour of Colorado), Norwegian Post Giro, and Trofeo Alfredo Binda. Maria won the Trofeo Alfredo Binda four times - a feat that has only been matched by Marianne Vos - and the women's Tour de France twice.

The modern-day calendar still includes those races (apart from the Tour de France) as well as many other international professional races. The women's Tour de France was originally held as a subsidiary race concurrently with the men's professional event, (over a short section of selected stages of the men's race) between 1984 and 1989. Thereafter the event was spun off into a separate stand-alone women's stage race under various names, most recently La Grande Boucle Feminine, until it was last held in 2009.

Now in her 70s, Maria enjoys the good life in the Italian Dolomites, where she has lived all her life. I caught up with Maria Canins recently and she reminisced about her racing days, and talked about her cycling today.



Maria Canins, 
aged 70

Lives: La Villa, Italy

Women's Tour de France Winner (1985 and 1986); Cycle tour guide in the Dolomites



I got into cycling when I was a competitive cross-country skier, and I would sometimes ride a bike as part of my training. 

What got me into cycle racing was the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics where they had the first women’s road race. 

In 1982 the Italian Cycling Federation was looking for athletes who were good enough climbers to tackle the hilly course at the upcoming Olympics. 

There was a lack of good climbers in the Italian cycle squad, so a coach came to the cross-country teams and presented the idea of trying cycle racing with a view to competing in the Olympics.  

No one in my team wanted to do it, but I was quite enthusiastic and decided to have a go – it sounded great. They sent me a training programme and a racing schedule that included a few hilly races. At my first race in June 1982 I came 7^th, in my second race I came second, and I won my third race. I found I was quite strong in the hills and was able to stay with the select group, and be in the final sprint for the line with the few remaining riders. 

So based on my strength I was able to compete in the 1982 World Championships in England at Goodwood. There, I came second behind Mandy Jones. And so I became so enthusiastic about cycling and things just continued from there. 

I enjoyed cycle racing so much more than skiing because it gave me the opportunity to travel, and see lots of places. Cycling allows you to go out in the streets, look around and get to see different places.

The 1980s saw a growth in women's cycling, generally led by the Americans. The first women’s Olympic road race was held in Los Angeles, and that was of huge interest to everyone as well as the media. The race was won by Connie Carpenter, and Rebecca Twigg got silver - two American racers. 

America was always a good place to launch something new. I did the Tour of Colorado a few times, and when I did it we were treated the same as professional male cyclists, with television coverage, journalists and the public who were interested. 

The Europeans were like "wow"; they wanted to copy what the Americans were doing. This gave a boost to women's cycle racing.

I didn't do the first women's Tour de France in 1984 because I was at the Olympics, so my first one was in 1985. 

Canins on the col d'Izoard (1986) ( Rene Boulay)

The women's Tour de France was a wonderful new experience for me. I didn’t know France very well so it was great to see more of the country.

I have great memories of us racing for many days in many different places. We were constantly packing our suitcases to go to the different parts of France.

Having the Tour de France on television made it like a big party. There were loads of people in the street. We did our race before the men's – the professional race. 

When we raced it was more like a hobby as women's cycle racing wasn't professional, but we still had a lot of spectators. 

There was a lot of press and interest from the French. Around Grenoble there were many Italians fans too. They were Italian immigrants, nostalgic for their former country and so they really enjoyed watching Italian riders in the women’s race. 

There was a male Italian rider called Vesantini who was quite strong, but during the Tour de France he was a bit slow, so the Italian journalists focused more on my results than on his. I was riding well and was also a novelty in every sense - being a woman, not very young - aged 35, having my daughter, Concetta [now a journalist and lawyer] with me. I had only recently started cycle racing having done cross-country skiing and had won championships in that sport a few years before. I even made the cover of Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper.  

It was great to be on the podium with the men's winners. I shared the podium with Greg Lemond and after with Pedro Delgado, and Stephen Roche.

I retired from cycle racing because when I was at the top I didn't feel I could get any stronger. The cycle of preparing myself psychologically for a race, getting to the start line, talking to journalists got really demanding. I was no longer enjoying it and I realised it was time to get out. 

Nowadays there are international stage races of eight or ten days, but it is not like the Tour de France that we had in our day which took place at the same time as the men's race. 

I think the fact that it was possible to hold a Tour de France in the 1980s means that it would surely be possible to do that today . All that’s needed is the wish to do it, and it would be wonderful. Nowadays there are massive sponsors, so it’s only fair that there be a women’s event. They just need to allocate a bit of television time for women’s professional cycling.  

Sometimes you have stages in the men’s race where there isn't anything interesting happening. So during that time you could do a quarter of an hour of the women’s race – a type of round-up in which you show highlights of the women's race including the winner, and then return to broadcasting the men’s race. 

All that is needed is a quarter of an hour out of a three- or four-hour long men's race. This wouldn’t need to be so much extra work, in my opinion. It’s important to give more broadcasting time to women’s cycling, and also give the spectators something else to see. 

Women's Tour de France attracted a lot of public interest (Rene Boulay)

I know there are many logistics involved and the organisers mention that, but when you don’t want to do something it’s natural that you will find a reason to not do it and say that the logistics make it impossible. 

In short, the organisers have a budget for the Tour de France, but it seems that they’re not prepared to add much else, like a women's stage race, to the event.

I must say I prefer the racing from the 1980s rather than what it is today. When I raced I never had to use an earpiece. I didn't have anyone saying to me “now you have to attack” “now you have to go in the breakaway” “attack on the climb." I think this is absolutely wrong. 

In my opinion an athlete should be strong, and also be able to read the race and race intelligently. Yeah, losing out because of a tactical error is part and parcel of racing, and if you don’t win you learn something and think about how you will do better next time. I don’t understand how a person can race with an earpiece. A racer is not a machine. 

Cycle racing was a lot more raw back in those days. When you watch someone attack on a climb for 5km or 10km you don't know if they will stay ahead of the bunch or if they will get caught. This sort of thing is what makes cycling wonderful, and a great spectacle on TV. 

Yes, I sometimes I got it right - sometimes I got it wrong. It's like when playing a game of cards, and you have to decide when to play or not play an Ace or a Joker. Whatever the outcome I still enjoyed the race. 

Cycling needs moments where people can improvise and get things right or wrong. That’s what makes cycling great. Riders don’t have radios during the World Championships, but then suddenly people don’t know how to race – even those who have been racing for 20 years - because they're so used to using earpieces. How miserable is that! No, I don’t like earpieces.

Of course, sponsorship has a lot to do with the way cycling has gone. We didn't have so much sponsorship in my day. It's only fair that sponsors want something back after spending so much money. For sure, cycle racing needs money, but when there’s too much it spoils cycling – the races, the athletes, sometimes taking a psychological toll on them.  

Also women’s professional cycling is a bit strange nowadays because although there is more money, there is less coverage compared to the 1980s. People don't seem that interested in women’s cycling, unless a woman does something particularly impressive. I think that applies to all women’s sport, not just cycling. 

Women's cycling is seen very much as a minority sport with a lot fewer fans than men's professional cycling. In the area where I live, in Alta Badia there are many women cyclists who cycle as a hobby, but no women’s professional cycle racing. 

Often when I look on the internet to find out about, say the Giro Rosa (Women’s Tour of Italy) to know when or where the stage starts, who won, etc I can’t find anything so - I just don’t know what has happened in the race! Nothing is reported in the local paper unless the race starts or finishes right in that town. 

Maratona dles Dolomiti (By Maratona dles Dolomiti organisers)

It just seems like women’s professional cycling is snubbed around here. Women's professional cycling is invisible.

Nowadays I still ride - usually about four times a week. I am also a cycle tour guide and do rides during the week of the Maratona dles Dolomites. 

We have around 20 or 30 people in the group and we ride at a leisurely pace. I enjoy these rides, showing the people the area, talking about the local culture and history, and taking photos.

We get a lot of young women who join the rides too. They look so elegant in their chic jerseys and shorts on stylish bikes. Sometimes they worry about not being able to manage the Passo Gardena or the Passo Pordoi. But then they only need to look at me and how old I am, and they think to themselves "if she is doing it at her age then I should be capable too!" I usually ride the Maratona too, with my daughter and a friend.

With the current situation with Coronavirus things aren't going well in Italy. The tourists have left and there is no one in the streets. In this area of Alta Badia there are only a few people infected compared to other regions, but we still have to follow the measures in place.This is not the time to be selfish.

Dolomites viewed from Passo di Sella

It's not easy to stay at home all the time, but I prefer to go out as little as possible, and be safe. 

It’s a difficult situation, but we are staying calm. People aren’t panicking but they’re scared for the future.

I normally go out and do  activities like walking, cycling and skiing, but with the Coronavirus I am finding other things to do at home. People are having to learn to change their lifestyles.

At times like this I feel lucky to be blessed with beautiful countryside in Alta Badia. But I realise that life isn’t always beautiful. Life also has things that aren't so good and we have to know how to deal with that. As an old lady that's how I see things at least! 

But overall, when I look out of the window at the beautiful landscape, the animals and breathe in the clean air of the Dolomites I feel grateful to still have these lovely things to appreciate. 

  

Other Cycling Voices
Janet Birkmyre

Monica and Paola Santini

Jenni Gwiazdowski/Bike Kitchen

Judith Worrall

Helen Wyman

Rochelle Gilmore

Gema Fernandez Hernando

Giorgia Bronzini

Tracy Moseley

Lucy and Grace Garner

Carolyn Hewett-Maessen

Maria David