Subscribe to L2P News London, UK. 02 April 2009
HERE COME THE GIRLS!
By Sybil Ruscoe
More women than ever before are taking up cycling and female entries to this year’s London-Paris 09 Cycle Tour are at their highest level in the event’s six year history.
London-Paris 09 Ride Captain Rachel Przybylski
Credit Photo: Michael Blann
Following the success of Olympians like Nicole Cooke, Rebecca Romero and Victoria Pendleton, British Cycling is reporting a boom in women participating in the sport. Female membership of British Cycling has risen by 25 per cent in the past year. Women’s cycling is the fastest growing category within the sport and 44 per cent of women members now hold a competitive racing licence.
Those figures are reflected in the entries for London-Paris 09. Of the 280 cyclists taking part, 25 will be women. Known as the “professional event for amateurs”, London-Paris 09 covers 520km in three days and is the closest the amateur cyclist can get to the Tour de France experience, with rolling road closures and full logistical support.
London-Paris 09 Cycle Tour Ride Captain, Rachel Przybylski said: “Last year I was struck by the strength and determination of the women participants. On the ride, there was no lipstick and high heels. We save that for the celebrations when we get to Paris. But as our photos show, we can be glamorous and what better way to promote women’s cycling? The boys at London-Paris have welcomed us and they say we have a positive impact on the peloton. I am proud to be part of the event again this year.”
London-Paris 09 Ride Captain Rachel Przybylski
Credit for Photo: Michael Blann
Przybylski, 28, who works at the NASDAQ OMX Europe stock exchange in the city, added: “Cycling used to be about old men in village halls but now the sport has successful, glamorous women winning Olympic medals and women are now realising that cycling is a sport for them too. The London-Paris Cycle Tour is a great opportunity for women to ride at the highest level. The event is a real motivation for mind and body. Last year I met some really inspirational people and I can’t wait for this year’s event.”
Antonia de Barton-Watson, 37, a London-based freelance PA, first rode in the London-Paris Cycle Tour in 2007. She said: “Women are becoming more aware that cycling is a sport for them and more of us are just getting out on our bikes. You don’t have to be a big strapping character to cycle. Women of all shapes and sizes can take part in cycling.
“The cycling community is sociable and allows women to encourage each other to join women’s cycling groups. Events like the London-Paris Cycle Tour provide great opportunities for women to be more proactive in their networking and experience top-level cycling".
London-Paris 08 cyclist Antonia de Barton-Watson
Credit for Photo: Michael Blann
British Cycling’s chief executive, Ian Drake, said: “British Cycling has seen a significant increase in the number of women getting involved in cycling, both in competitive and leisure cycling. The success of British Cycling's female athletes in recent years, and in particular the Olympic success in Beijing, has inspired a whole new generation of women to take up cycling as a sport and as an activity for improving their health and fitness.”
Sven Thiele, the chief executive of HotChillee the global events company which stages the London-Paris 09 Cycle Tour, said: “The success of the British women in Beijing and Victoria Pendleton’s success last week at the World Championships is fuelling women’s desire for high quality cycling events. At the London-Paris Cycle Tour, we have always tried to be inclusive and have encouraged women to enter our event. I am thrilled that more women than ever before will be cycling with us this year.”
The London-Paris 09 Cycle Tour runs from June 25 – 28 and is sponsored by adidas, Science in Sport, Subaru, Specialized, Cyclevox, Sigma Sport and British Cycling. This year’s event will have four partners, the Geoff Thomas Foundation (a leukaemia charity set up by former England footballer Geoff Thomas), youth education charity Christel House, Schools for Children of Cambodia and South Africa’s Morning Star, which works with children with HIV. The London-Paris women posed for a fundraising calendar to help support the event’s partners and riders raised £51,462 in 2008.