Women’s WorldTour Stories: Omloop Het Nieuwsblad by Alice Towers

It was slightly personal between SD Worx and FDJ: CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto racer Alice Towers recounts an extraordinary Omloop Het Nieuwsblad cycle race

The traditional professional cycle racing season opener began under sunny skies, with the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. This 138km long race from Gent to Ninove in Flanders, Belgium is a good test for professional cycle racers to test themselves out after their winter training and warm-weather training camps. It’s also a good chance to test out the bike handling skills on the numerous sections of cobbles, including the famous Kappelmuur at Geraadsbergen. This steep cobbled hill is generally a pivotal point in the race where a few people from the 143 starters will make their winning move – usually.

Alice Towers at the training camp (photo: Tino Pohlmann) 

This year’s race was a little different and played out in an unprecedented way, with a very unlikely but well-deserved winner.

Result:

1. Lotte Claes (Arkea B&B Hotels Women)

2. Aurela Nerlo (Windspace Orange Seal)

3. Demi Vollering (FDJ-SUEZ)

4. Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) 

5. Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Worx-Protime)

33. Alice Towers (CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto)

Alice Towers, of Team Canyon// SRAM zondacrypto competed in the Omloop and was doing it for the fourth time. The 22-year old former British National Champion from Staffordshire recounts her experience: 

Restarting my season in Europe

I started my season in Australia in January with the Tour Down Under, which feels like a long time ago now. It was a solid start because you spend all winter working on your shape and so I was quite keen to make sure my fitness was confirmed in the race - and it was. So I was happy with how the race went. [Alice finished in 10th place] 

Then I had about four weeks in between my last race and Omloop. So during that time I went back to my home in Andorra where I had a couple of days off and did some easy rides. Then I went back to the UK and caught up with family and friends. After that I started building back up again and I had some quite hard training weeks in the couple of weeks prior to Omloop. 

So coming into Omloop I felt fresh, which was good. Last year in the lead in to Omloop I went into the race feeling a bit like fatigued, so it was nicer this year to feel a bit more fresh.

However, this year it felt like I was starting my season again, so I had those pre-season nerves again even though I’d already six of seven race days in my legs. Still, it was good to have started in Australia as it’s less hectic compared to the Classics, and it’s a nice way to start the season. 

Omloop starts at Barcelona airport

I flew from Barcelona to Brussels, from where it's quite easy to get to Gent. Because Barcelona airport is a local airport for cyclists in Andorra and Girona, where there are a lot of cyclists based in both places when you fly to a race from Barcelona there’s always a lot of either team-mates or competitors on your flight. So you already feel like you’re at the race when you get to the airport, and you see everyone there in their team clothes and eating pasta out of a tupperware box. 

On the flight there's kind of a chatty atmosphere. You chat to friends you know on other teams, but sometimes some people like to keep themselves to themselves and they just put their earphones in and watch Netflix - I guess they just want to be left alone. But you always have to make a bit of smalltalk with other riders or else it’s a bit awkward!

Pre-race build-up in Gent

We arrived in Gent on the Thursday evening and stayed in a hotel there where there were a few other teams staying. We were quite close to the course, so could easily go and do the course recon on Friday where we rode on some of the more important cobbled sectors of the race. It’s good to see those sections and how the cobbles feel and how the bike is in case you need to adjust anything like your tyre pressures and things like that – just to make sure you’re like fully tuned in.

Team CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto (photo:Thomas Maheux)

I rode for an hour and a half. Some of the girls rode for longer because they wanted to see the Muur. I didn’t ride up the Muur as I've done ridden up it enough times to know what it feels like, but I did go to some of the other climbs and I thought that was enough for that day. I wanted to save a bit of energy for the next day.

Race Day

There was a nice atmosphere before the race. Omloop always starts in this warehouse car park thing and they drive all the team buses in and then they have a full team presentation on a stage with lights and stuff. 

With my team mates we were all talking before the race and and Tiff [Cromwell] and Kasia [Nieuwiadoma] were trying to count how many times they’ve done Omloop. Tiff’s done it 13 times, and she won it in 2013. Kasia has done it 10 or something. So I was feeling a little I had weak numbers with my four starts! 

But there was a bit of a mix as a couple of the other girls had only done it a couple of times. 

The course is always the same, so it’s almost like you don’t even need to do the recon as you already know where the important points are and what to expect. But because it's always the first WorldTour race of the season everyone has got that extra bit of anticipation and they're not sure about how things are going to go.

Team tactics

In the race the selection is often made on the Muur, so Kasia is definitely our card to play for then, and she was kind of protected and saving herself for then. But we had a couple of faster girls as well like Chiara [Consonni] and Maike [Van der Duin] who we were gonna save and let them follow in case it came down to some sort of a sprint because there was quite a strong headwind on the run in, and it’s almost like one straight road which favours chasers so. You always like to have a couple of different options for how the race is going to go.

My role was to cover attacks or create moves coming into the final part of the race and keep the pressure on before going into the Muur, and looking for opportunities. 

How the race played out

During the race there wasn’t a lot of information that got given to the peloton in terms of how big the gap was to the breakaway. And then there was one point when one rider from UAE came to me and asked us if we were going to chase - at a point where no one was chasing. And I didn’t even know at that time how big the time gap was, so when I asked her and she said 12 minutes or something, I was like what?? 

So I didn’t even hear that from our team radio or from the commissaires. I heard that from another rider, so the information being given to the peloton was a bit vague. We didn’t have any sprinter that was the favourite; Kasia wasn’t the favourite on the climb either. So we weren’t going to be the first ones to chase. We definitely would have contributed if other teams had got something going, but it was a bit awkward, and then everyone was just waiting for each other.

It wasn’t a great situation for the peloton. I did try and attack a couple of times when the gap was 8 minutes, but it was kind of futile because of the gap to the break. I felt a bit silly when I was doing it. Sometimes you’ve got to do it, you never know. 

It did end up coming back to a bit of a bunch kick aside from the couple of girls that were ahead. Maike finished in 11th place but it wasn’t really the plan. We were supposed to sprint with Chiara and then Maike found herself in the front group and we didn’t have anything left to go for. So I think Maike did a good job of getting what she could from that group. But the team weren’t buzzing from the result. We did what we could with what was left.

It was a great day for the breakaway, and I was quite happy for the girl that won [Lotte Claes] because she’s Belgian and I think she’s been around for quite a while. So it was an amazing day for her. 

Alice's verdict

Everyone was playing the card of not chasing the break, and our team was also guilty of doing that. We were saying it’s not on us, and everyone was saying that. And really, it’s on someone. It’s on all of us. It’s just politics. And I think the tactics extended beyond the book - it didn't make sense. I think it was slightly personal between SD Worx and FDJ and there was an element of someone having something to prove to someone else, and I think that’s what happened.

I think that the racing is more wide open because the really fast riders are spread across more teams than before. So it’s going to be a lot more interesting for us and also for people watching as well. Though I think that Saturday [the day of the Omloop race] is not going to be the last time something like that is going to happen. I think that there are going to be some stand-offs in the Classics department!

Maybe there'll be other surprise winners, but it’s a shame because when we [our team] have a favourite, we’ll take the honest option and take to the front and ride for that rider who we want to do the result for, and I think it’s a shame that people try and bluff it and I know it’s part of the game, but it makes it quite a frustrating race for people who just want to keep the racing honest. You just want to do your job and then there’s all sorts of people trying to bluff and stuff.

An honest race at Hageland

The next day I raced at the Omloop Van Het Hageland, which was different from Omloop. That was super-hectic on all these small roads through towns and they were twisty and turny with some cobbled sectors. It was more to script, though there were a lot more smaller teams and it was a lot less predictable. It was quite a difficult race to be honest, and quite dangerous as well, because the level was a bit lower than at Omloop which had all the WorldTour teams. We had three girls in the front, then two, then there was just Maika left. And she also did a good job of representing us at the front and came 6th.

(Photo: Tino Pohlmann)

What’s next for Alice

I was happy with my shape, and I was really happy with the sensations. I think it’s about getting used to the dynamics of the Classics again because positioning is the most important thing. To ride in the front of the peloton is the most important thing, so I’ve definitely got some stuff to work on there. But I’ve got some nice hard racing coming up which will a bit more selective, so I’m looking forward to that. My brother races as well. He is based in Denia and races for Caja Rural development team. So we definitely talk about what we're up to and share our wisdoms. Though I think I give him more advice though!  

I’m off again to Strade Bianche next. I'm looking forward to it. It's always a good race to watch, and it's always a hard race. So it should be good.

Back doing cycle races and cyclosportives - kind of!

After years of no cyclosportives, this year I have decided to make a comeback to organised bike events. Interestingly, the coronavirus pandemic has played a part in that. After a couple of years of limited opportunities to do races and other mass participation events I now want to make the most of the chance to take part, at least while I've got my strength and faculties. 

Finish line at the Fred Whitton Challenge

When the pandemic hit us in March 2020 and sports events were cancelled, many of we sporty types felt a massive hole in our sporting programme of activities. 

Sure we still had the freedom (unlike some other European countries) to go outdoors and train, but not having a challenge to aim for meant that something was missing. It's not as though I was a prolific racer like I had been about 15 years ago, but pre-pandemic bike racing was something I had had in the back of my mind as something I was going to restart at some point in the future. 

However, as the old adage goes "you only appreciate something when you no longer have it", and this situation spoke exactly to that scenario when all racing was put on hold. All I could do at that point was to look whimsically at the list of races that I could have done here or there, and if only I could get up to the Lake District, Wales or Surrey Hills to do a cyclosportive here, a fell race there, or even a triathlon. 

So when the big, high-profile events opened entries I decided to apply - for (in order of difficulty) Ride London, Fred Whitton, and the Etape du Tour. However, the one snag about doing cyclosportives is that you have to do them - you have to put in the miles, do the training, feel confident in your ability and get yourself to the start line. So far, I have had a better year than most in recent times in terms of getting out on my bike and doing rides. I've got up to the Lake District a couple of times, the Peak District, and of course my local hills in Surrey and Kent. Plus, 

I have also been abroad for cycling, with trips to Italy and France. What I have found though now, in my veteran years is that it's quite difficult to get out and ride when I have to juggle that with life. When trying to run a house and keep the cheques coming in, that has to take priority over going out on your bike for six hours - even at the weekend. It's quite different from when I was in my 20s and 30s and felt relatively care-free. Also, back then you could turn up at a race and "wing it". 

These days one has to pre-enter races and I generally end up racing against young'uns who are 20 or 25 years my junior, who work on their power/FTP on all kinds of new-fangled gadgets and Zwift. They get themselves coaches, and quite a few race for a semi-professional team. 

So to turn up for a race now for me, has to be a properly considered decision with various questions to ask myself. Will I be competitive? How does this balance against the pile of admin, gardening, and DIY that I have to do at home - particularly if I have to allow four or five hours to do the event, and in these economic times can I justify paying this entry fee, particularly if there's a real possibility that I will finish in last place in the race! So despite all the best intentions these are the questions that run through my mind when it comes to bike events. 

Note, that I also like doing other events - running races, swimming events, triathlons and SwimRun, which I started doing last year. So that complicates the mix further. Consequently, my bike racing hasn't gotten into a full flow. I did the Fred Whitton Cyclosportive in May this year. Not feeling fully confident in my ability, I chose their cop-out option of doing the Lamb and Lion route - after Newlands Pass you can divert back to Keswick and take the main A591 road back to the HQ at Grasmere. Easy option, my a*se! I still did 73 miles and around 2,000m of climbing, including Honister Pass at the end of the day! 

I did another cyclosportive, Ride London-Essex cyclosportive. It was considered easier than the Surrey Hills version of the event. In fact, I would say it was different but equally challenging, as the course undulated constantly instead of the previous editions which had three distinct climbs through the Surrey Hills - Newlands Corner, Leith Hill and Box Hill - interspersed on a mainly flat route. The Etape du Tour (Briançon to Alpe d'Huez) is still to come, and we'll see how that goes.

In terms of more competitive events, I did a criterium race last Friday evening at Herne Hill Velodrome. As expected I was dropped from the group of women who turned out. To be fair, it was a fairly technical course with a number of tight corners. I was happy to ride slightly slower and get around the corners in one piece, albeit in last place, rather than to stack it in front of a large captive audience! There will be some summer cyclocross events taking place on Friday nights at Herne Hill too. Hopefully, I will get across to do one of those. The journey continues, even through my advancing years!

Photo of the day - 23: Giro d'Italia breakaway to Abbiategrasso

Trezzano sul Naviglio, near Abbiategrasso 

As it's Flashback Friday I am casting my mind back to a bike ride I did along the Naviglio Grande from Milan to Abbiategrasso while on a visit to Milan two years ago. That in itself was a nostalgia ride as it reminded me of the two years I spent there between 2012 and 2013. Riding along the Naviglio Grande was a mainstay ride for me in those days, as it was my local run. I was staying close to Corsa Genova, so it was very easy to get onto the fashionable Navigli, ride past the trendy canal-side cafés and continue along the canal path (Naviglio Grande) to Abbiategrasso. This picture is actually taken at Trezzano sul Naviglio, just before Abbiategrasso. It's only about a 45 minute ride from the grand Milan metropolis, but it is pretty quiet, and has a very laid back feel close to the fields of the Milan suburbs. Interestingly, this is the place where today's stage of the Giro d'Italia began. It wasn't planned that way. The professional riders should have started in Morbegno, in the Alps and then headed into Asti (of fizzy wine fame) in Piedmont. But in typical Giro d'Italia tradition, there was a rider protest. The riders had spent yesterday racing in the freezing conditions up the Stelvio Pass, so some decided they weren't prepared to do today's 258km-stage. Instead, the teams were bussed over 130km across Lombardy to a big car park not far from where this photo was taken, and the riders raced the remaining 124.5km from there. Rider protests in the Giro d'Italia are not uncommon. They usually complain about the long transfers between stages, being made to race in difficult climatic conditions, racing over a wet slippery 25% slope like Plan di Corones, or even on the 100th anniversary edition where they were to race around Central Milan, weaving around parked cars on narrow streets! So this protest didn't surprise me - though the director, Mauro Vegni has vowed to take action against the ring leaders. I think rider protests are an Italian bike race thing. I remember in a cyclosportive  we were meant to do a cyclosportive across the Dolomites but it was bucketing down, with snow at the summits. Although the event was reduced to a race up Passo Fedaia, riders still complained that conditions would be unsafe.  On another occasion, at the Giro di Sardegna cyclosportive there was a big deal made about us doing a time trial that involved a long downhill section. After a big open debate between riders and the organiser the stage was cancelled and we did a leisurely ride along the coast instead. It's just an Italian thing, I guess.

Photo of the day - 17: Another hilly bike ride on the South Downs

 

On the way down from Bo Peep - great to see the paragliders out 

Continuing my hill climbing season, today saw me once again on the slopes of the South Downs. My day started with a hill climb competition up to Firle Beacon. It was similar to the one I did at Steyning Bostal last week, except that in this one I actually had the time to reccie the climb. Well, the sign-on was located at the summit, and given that I had chosen to park in Firle village I had no choice but to ride up the climb to pick up my number. Last week I had been the minute woman to local rider Cathy Wallace. I had managed to stay ahead of her, but she still put time into me and beat me by 30 seconds. This time she wasn't there and I was minute woman to another local rider, Erica Martin of Eastbourne Rovers. She caught me three-quarters of the way up the climb. For me, that was a good result as she is a strong rider and Firle is slightly harder than Steyning. I finished third last in this one, which was an improvement on last place in my previous hill climb! One thing about racing is how you keep bumping into people you recognise from other races. Debbie Percival, racing for Kent Velo Girls was there - she had been at the two races I did last week. Also, it was good to see Natalie Creswick, who I know from other cycle races I have done in the past. It's that that gives cycle racing a community feel too, as you go around the circuit and get to know different people - like in many competitive sports. 

After racing up Firle Beacon, I thought it would have been rude not to pay a visit to the other nearby well-known climb, Bo Peep. So I did a little loop further to the east where I picked up the little lane that took me to the summit. That climb is shallow initially, and there is around a 10% ramp as you turn the first bend. However, the real sting is the final bend, which must be more like 18%. I am glad that wasn't included in the race. Along the way, I saw a couple of guys on hybrid bikes who were really suffering on the slope. We congratulated each other when we met again in the car park. Talk about solidarity in pain!

As well as the company of other bike riders mad enough to ride up Bo Peep for pleasure, we had many paragliders up and above us, making the most of the thermals. Gee, the lengths people go, to reach the summit without pedalling a bike - cheats!

Photo of the day - 13: The pain of hill climbs

Grinding up Steyning Bostal at the Hill Climb (photo: Dave Hayward)

This was me struggling up Steyning Bostal, on the South Downs during last weekend's hill climb. I had only had time to reccie two thirds of the 0.9-mile route, but I had an idea of what to expect. Setting off I pushed as hard as I could on the early steeper section of the climb, making an effort out of the saddle. As the middle section was less steep I continued to push a hard gear though with a higher cadence, while in the saddle. Then when the final section steepened again, I had that slightly anxious moment where I thought "Help, I am fast running out of gas here; how will I get up that last 12% gradient??" At that moment I just ground away with my head down. I didn't want to see the road as that would have freaked me out, so I focused purely on turning my legs. Then my breakfast was wanting to repeat itself on me. No, I must not vomit. I could hear the few spectators [in low numbers due to Covid restrictions] cheering and encouraging me, but I couldn't acknowledge them as I was concentrating on hanging in there. Breathing really hard, sweating, dribbling, full of snot, my bike weaved all over the road as I was willing the finish line to come soon. Then at last, as the the gradient seemed to lessen a little, I made a final effort out of the saddle to the chequered flag. Finally, the pain was over and I heaved a massive sigh, spinning my achy legs, and feeling gaga while trying to get my breath back.

That had felt like a Herculean show of force from me, though looking up my result on the Cycling Time Trials website today the result shows that I came second last! In the other hill climb I did that afternoon on Mill Hill, near Shoreham-by-Sea I came last and was a full minute behind the second-last placed rider. So it goes to show, you may be in pain and giving it beans, but at the end of the day the hill climb just slaps down my effort and puts you in your place. One light at the end of the tunnel is my future results can only go in one direction! Funnily enough, there's something slightly addictive about these quirky kinds of races that makes me want to do more! In fact more hill climbs are on the calendar, so I look forward to doing it all again. I'm just a glutton for pain!  

Photo of the day - 12: Cyclocross is boss

Cyclocross at Astor College, Dover [Photo: Matt Bristow]

I enjoy that Monday feeling after having spent the previous weekend racing. There were two hill climb races, a bit of trail running, and of course, cyclocross race. After all, it is that time of the year. This was my first cyclocross race of the season (though the second race in the series). So I took myself over to the course in Dover and took the start line. (I had pre-entered, as is now compulsory during these Covid times.) Still feeling tired after the previous day's efforts at the two hill climbs and a bike ride, I didn't imagine I would be able to ride really hard. So, over the 40-minute race, I just raced to get round. There were a lot of twists and turns on the cambers of the hills, as well as a couple of steep climbs and a sand pit. I negotiated my way around these obstacles somewhat sketchily like Frank Spencer, though that was part of the fun. I finished 12th out of 14 women, and was lapped twice by the winner, Emily Ashwood. (22 women had entered the race but there were eight non-starters.) In any case it was an enjoyable afternoon out, with a friendly atmosphere. It was good to catch up with the old faces from last year too.   

Photo of the day - 6: Hill climb (no turning back now)!

 

Full start list of riders for the hill climb is on Cycling Time Trials website

Well I'm in it now! I signed myself up to do a day of hill climb races, and I received confirmation that my entry has been accepted. So Steyning Bostal and Mill Hill here I come!

It's been ages since I did one of these races. The last time was on Swains Lane, Highgate, at the Urban Hill Climb about 10 years ago. They are quite a fun - well more for the spectators than the riders who, at the time, grimace and strain their way up the steep incline while spectators shout into their faces, egging them on. With a bit of distance, I have good memories of these races even if they were painful at the time. There is something quite exciting about these quirky types of races over 800m-1500m with steep gradients. It's not that I am particularly good at them, but I guess living in hilly Crystal Palace has taught me to "like" hills, thus why not test myself out with a race number on and an official timer. So when I heard that the double header of the Catford and the Bec Hill climbs would be taking place in Kent and Surrey I planned on entering them. However, as with a lot of events this year, these races were cancelled. But I found an alternative, in the shape of two hill climbs being organised by Brighton Mitre Cycling Club, along the South Downs. In the morning I will "race" up Steyning Bostal. The fact that I am the second rider off means that I am hardly going to trouble the competition! If I manage to stay ahead of the young local girl, Cathy Wallace, without vomiting at the finish line, that'll be an achievement! Then I just need to save a bit of energy to do it all again on Mill Hill a few hours later. Wish me luck!

One day one photo - 6: Crystal Palace Bike Park?

Last weekend London held its annual Open House, in which various official buildings, famous landmarks and residential homes with special architecture open their doors to the public.
I always want to get out for this and visit a well known establishment, but I am often away from London.

Hidden gem - Crystal Palace subway

This time I thought I'd make an effort, and the no-brainer option for me was the Crystal Palace subway. It was also the favoured option for a few thousand other people as there were very long queues to get in, and many people were turned away due to the sheer numbers. Opening up the subway for one weekend was not enough.

Earlier on this year I took part in a relay running race around Crystal Palace Park, the proceeds of which went towards the restoring of the Crystal Palace subway. This historical thoroughfare ran between Crystal Palace High Level train station and the grounds of Crystal Palace during the Victorian age at the time of the Great Exhibition.

While the Crystal Palace no longer exists, having been burnt down in 1936, and the High Level train station went in the 1950s, this subway, along with a few other aspects of the palace are still intact.

I can't believe that such a lovely ornate subway exists underneath the unglamorous bus station on Crystal Palace Parade!

It is also close to the area where the local cycle racing takes place every Tuesday in Crystal Palace Park. Wouldn't it be great to have this as an alternative venue on those days when racing in the park is cancelled due to rain. Or even just hold a party there with a bit of Rollapaluza or Rapha twist thrown in!

Whatever it is used for, I look forward to a time when the subway can be reopened and the public can go there regularly - with or sans bike.
Details of when next it will be open can be found on the Crystal Palace subway website.

Female Cycling Legends

For International Women's Day a couple of years ago I saluted a few outstanding women in sport. I still salute them, as well as a few more like Serena Williams (tennis), Joanna Rowsell (cycling), Lizzy Yarnold (skeleton), Katie Taylor (boxing), Katie Walsh (jockey), Charlotte Dujardin (dressage) and Sarah Storey (cycling).

This year I also wanted to mention a few more women who were legends in their day.

When it comes to cycling Beryl Burton (who I profiled a couple of years ago) is the standout performer for me. Her prowess went to places no one else's went then, or since. Taking various British records some of which took a number of years to be beaten even by male cycle racers, Burton is arguably the greatest female cycle racer in Britain.

Another legend is Leontien van Moorsel. Her name has been mentioned recently as Sarah Storey recently tried unsuccessfully to break her world hour record. The record that she set of 46.065km in 2003 has become a high bar for women racers, especially given this Dutch racer's brilliant pedigree. She won a number of titles in the 1990s and noughties on the road and on the track, including battles with one of her then rivals Jeannie Longo-Ciprelli during the women's Tour de France.

Van Moorsel won gold medals in the road race, the time trial and on the track, plus a silver on the track at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, as well as a gold and a bronze medal at Athens in 2004 in the time trial and on the track. This makes her the most decorated female cyclist in the Olympics. And she managed this after having battled with anorexia nervosa some years before. Today, Leontien van Moorsel is a coach and motivational speaker.

Further back in time was the so-named "Miss America" from the late 1860s when cycle racing first began. Women were not encouraged to take part in sport as it was assumed they would stick to doing household duties! But it was later found that sport may benefit women's as well as men's health so they were encouraged to do light exercise. Cycle racing in France was becoming popular, with many cities up and down the country hosting cycle races, usually in conjunction with festivals - watching the men race on velocipedes provided a lot of entertainment, especially as these machines weren't easy to ride, the races contained obstacles to run or jump over and crashes occurred.

Although organisers welcomed women taking part, few or none signed up as their large skirts made it impractical for them to ride. Cycle friendly women's clothing was only in its infancy and many women did not possess the new garments advocated by Amelia Bloomer. Furthermore, many women didn't know how to ride and would not want to embarrass themselves in front of large crowds. Then "Miss America" turned up. She hitched up her revolutionary bloomers and took up the contests held in 1868 in the suburbs of Paris, winning a number of races.

Fortunately for her, the few other women who turned out were still mastering how to ride a velocipede so her wins were quite convincing. Her performances proved a spectacle and her appearance at the races was a crowd puller. What really impressed people was when she competed in the very first cycle race in 1869 - the Paris-Rouen. 

At 7.30 am on 7th November under torrential rain the one hundred competitors, which included Miss America and one other woman set out from the Arc de Triomphe. Only 34 riders completed the race, many abandoning due to mechanical failure, fatigue in the difficult conditions or missing the 24-hour cut-off. Miss America finished in 29th place around 6 o'clock the following morning - some 12 hours after the winner, a British man called James Moore who completed the 123km in 10hours 40 minutes.

Completing the race was quite a feat, and Miss America, as the only woman to have withstood all the rigours and challenges was seen as an instant heroine. It is not known what her real name was. She was the wife of a cycle racer, but she raced under a pseudonym, like other women who competed. Society frowned at the idea of women doing such unladylike things as riding velocipedes, still less, racing. Their participation was seen more as a novel spectacle as an aside to the real races contested by the men - women couldn't possible engage in serious competition! How times have changed!


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'Lympics Innit!

So the London 2012 Olympics have finally arrived. After all the grumbling about disruption and gridlock, threatened strikes by UK Border staff, and protests by taxi drivers things have gotten underway - albeit with more business being done in the East End than in the West End.

An effort to jazz things up in the London rain!

I missed most of the Opening Ceremony as I was in transit from Milan back to London.

When I arrived in Croydon late last Friday night there were alot of people milling around in rather zany costumes, like glittery nurse outfits an skirts made out of silver coated plates. One woman was draped from head to toe in everything you could possibly wear in Union Jacks. Just an ordinary night out in Croydon's clubland? No - it was people who had taken part in the opening ceremony.


They'd played their part in television history and were on their way home, to watch the show on catch-up TV or i-player. Participants in the ceremony will have been rehearsing every weekend since April, but they still will have had no idea what the whole spectacle looked like because they were only exposed to their section of the event, which in itself will have had around 1400 performers. It's a bit ironic that even though they were at the centre of the action they would be the last people to see the opening ceremony! I have only seen highlights, but from what I have seen it looked quite spectacular.

Watching the peloton go by in the men's cycle road race near Box Hill

For me what has been very impressive has been the way that areas that I normally go to have been transformed beyond belief in order to accommodate the venues. For instance, the road race venue at Box Hill. The National Trust Centre on the hill had a new coat of paint, lots of new signboards giving information, facts and figures about the area, and various artworks painted on the walls. Even the ladies in the tea-shop had dressed up specially for the occasion and were even smilier than usual!

Olympic rings feature in various parts of the city, and there were some in the side of the hill above Dorking. Also, a road like Headley Common, which just gets horsey traffic and hikers and a few club cyclists was suddenly packed to the rafters with cycling fans, and team cars - just like in the Tour de France.

The Treasury Building was completely transformed for the Olympics

Horse Guards Parade, where the beach volleyball was held, looked surreal considering that this area is largely occupied by government offices hosting the corridors of power. What a contrast, having bikini-clad ladies playing in the sand next door to the suited and booted in the Prime Minister's office, or the Treasury Building!

 I am glad to see that the Olympics have still kept a London feel about it, with many events taking place in venues that we already know and love.



The police, the military, the gamesmaker marshalls and all other staff have been good spirited and shown some London humour. And we have even had some London rain, but nobody seemed to mind! So there we were worrying that things might be a bit shambolic, but in fact it's not been bad so far. May the games continue smoothly!

Enjoying women's beach volleyball at Horse Guards Parade

Fear and Loathing in Brentwood

I made it down to the start line at Brentwood high street - something which is an achievement in itself for me. Women's National Series cycle races are quite scary affairs. Just looking at the list of names on the start sheet is enough to make me quiver, wonder what I've done, and ask for my money back !

It was a warm day, The sun was out, and this was only going to last for an hour at most so I knew the pain would be only short lived. I hadn't done any of the Hillingdon women's races, or the Crystal Palace circuit races at all this year. The last criterium race I'd done was at the WCRA circuit races at Milton Keynes in February. Many of the girls from there would have raced an awful lot since then. And there was I, hoping I could mix it with a peloton containing the UK's elite riders at this round of of the Women's National Series. Oh well, I'd paid my money and made my choice. If nothing else this would give me an idea of how much work I needed to do, as well as a good hard interval session. Hey, when else would I get the chance to tear around an Essex town centre on my bike ?? I was going to savour the moment !

My aim had been to get as near as possible to the front of the field on the start line, so that I would not be at the back of the pack once the gun went off. I knew I wouldn't be able to stay with the group for the duration, but at least I would get the chance to see a little of the peloton if I wasn't tagging on at the back. Unfortunately that plan was foiled - I arrived at the line 10 minutes before the start to find all the women (just 25 of them) had had the same idea as me - except they'd arrived there 10 minutes before me ! So I was relegated from the start. Not wanting to compromise myself further, I removed one of my drinks bottles from my bike. Even in the hot humid conditions most girls only had one small drinks bottle for the hour long race. A few lean, mean types had no drink at all. They definitely meant business.

Finally, just before 2pm the Commissaire explained proceedings to us. Standing at the back, I couldn't really hear what he was saying - something to do with primes, I think. That wouldn't concern me ! A minute later the race began. Oh no, trouble - a couple of women in front of me struggled to get into their cleats. They faffed around. Guess who was stuck behind them ? So all I could do was wait and watch the group disppear down the road before I'd even started pedalling ! I might as well have not bothered to start. I did anyway, but I knew I was not going to have a race.


The best I got was a bit of a spa-ing match with the woman from Twickenham CC who'd had problems with her cleats. Then she dropped out. I got lapped by the bunch after about 15minutes. I picked up pace and tried to latch on, but I lost them on the chicane. They absolutely tore round the bends. It was quite impressive to see. There was a crash on one of the 180 degree bends - fortunately, nothing serious.

Later a gruppetto containing strong local riders lapped me, but this time I was able to sit in with them. Probably if I'd started off ok in the first place I would have formed a group with them earlier. I felt more comfortable riding around with them, and being in a group made me feel like a credible road racer, rather than a joker. But we were all lapped later on, and were eventually asked to stop after 45 minutes. The race was won by 17 year old Alice Monger-Godfrey of Glendene CC. Shouldn't she have been at home revising for her GCSE's ??

It wasn't my finest hour by any means. I did manage to get in lots of cornering and sprinting practice, so it wasn't a wasted afternoon. But it would've been nicer to have done it as part of a bunch. This was meant to be a road race not a time trial !
It was a tough lesson in criterium racing, but at least I now know what I have to aim for.