Cycle racing Archives - Page 3 of 11 -

Cheer on the women in the Giro Rosa 2016

June 28, 2016 Nicola Cycle racing, Professional cycling, Women cycling

Every year I write about the women’s professional race the Giro Rosa 2016, and I always lament the fact that it’s held at the same time as the very high profile Tour de France. As a consequence it passes by almost unnoticed to any sports fans. A few years ago it was considered the biggest stage race on the women’s calendar, but I’d argue that the much newer stage races – the Women’s Tour of Britain and the Women’s Tour of California – have now got a higher profile. Nonetheless I’d like to play my part in promoting the race

Nettie Edmondson – firmly focused on track cycling Gold in Rio

May 24, 2016 Nicola Cycle racing, Olympic Games, Professional cycling, Track cycling, Women cycling

I recently touched base with Australian road & track cyclist Nettie Edmondson who is firmly focused on track cycling gold in Rio. I had the pleasure of meeting Nettie for the first time about four years ago and soon after wrote my first post about her. By coincidence one my friend’s daughters Keira, who is a keen track & road cyclist herself, is a huge fan of Nettie’s. So last year when we all visited Adelaide for the Tour Down Under I arranged for us to meet up with Nettie. Keira is pictured here with her hero. I was really

Female pro cyclist Kimberley Wells focused on a huge year in 2016

March 29, 2016 Nicola Bike skills, Cycle racing, Professional cycling, Women cycling

One of the many topics I love to cover in my posts is the world of the female pro cyclist. They receive so little coverage compared to their male counterparts that I feel it’s part of my responsibility to help. Plus I really love to interact with them. I first spoke to Kimberley Wells three years ago so thought it was about time we caught up with her. Kimberley and I exchanged a few emails for this interview….. Q: What are you up to Kimberley? A: Racing up in Belgium at the moment. Ran 7th in the Dwars Door

A catch up with women’s hour record holder Bridie O’Donnell

January 26, 2016 Nicola Commuting by bike, Cycle racing, Professional cycling, Track cycling, women specific bike

When I started this blog four and a half years ago my very first pro cyclist interview was with Australian Bridie O’Donnell. Bridie’s recently hit the headlines by breaking the hour record on the track in Adelaide so I thought it was timely to catch up with her. Q: Firstly, huge congratulations on breaking the hour record on the track recently. Was it the hardest physical challenge you’ve ever taken on? A: Thank you very much! The physical challenge of the Hour itself was not the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but the 6 months preparing for it was.

Upcoming 2016 events for female cyclists in NSW

January 19, 2016 Nicola Cycle racing, Cycling Club, Cycling Club racing, Women cycling

I’m a member of Cycling NSW’s Women’s Commission which I joined earlier this year. By way of background, the Women’s Commission (like a committee) works “across the sport of cycling in NSW to ensure the development of policies and initiatives which promote participation amongst women and girls of all ages into the sport and recreation of cycling”. I must admit that I wasn’t sure if volunteering for this role would be a complete waste of time and we’d just sit around ‘shooting the breeze’, but I’m pleased to report that the focus is on action and getting events happening. Here’s

Exciting women’s pro road racing cycling calendar for 2016

January 13, 2016 Nicola Cycle racing, Professional cycling, Women cycling

I know I said last year was going to be an awesome year for professional women’s road cycling and 2016 is shaping up to be even better. Here’s a few races that you should definitely follow this year. Unfortunately we won’t see too many of them on TV in Australia but you can keep up with them, and other races via social media and various internet sites. Cycling Tips Ella has great coverage of women’s racing as well as Prowomenscycling.com. 6 May to 8 May – Tour of Chongming Island, China This event is the first multi-day event of the

Should I buy a road bike with disc brakes yet?

December 1, 2015 Nicola Bike retail, Cycle racing, Professional cycling, Women cycling, women specific bike, women's bikes

I’ve recently bought myself a new road bike with disc brakes. It won’t be replacing my beloved carbon road bikes (yes I have two of them) which have caliper brakes but it will suit another purpose – commuting to work, short trips here and there, and maybe even some off-road riding. I chose to buy the Specialized Diverge because it has the ‘go anywhere’ capability and while I’ve only ridden it once I’m already in love. The hydraulic disc brakes are probably the biggest difference this bike has with my others so I thought it was worth a blog post

Strongher – a movement to inspire more women to ride

October 13, 2015 Nicola Cycle groups, Cycle racing, Professional cycling, Women cycling

I was really interested to read over the weekend about a new women’s international cycling initiative called Strongher. I must admit that when I first saw the name I thought it was some sort of weird European spelling for the word ‘Stronger’, but on my second attempt I realised it was the combination of ‘Strong’ and ‘Her’ which is quite clever. The founders of the movement, aiming to “give women a stage to show themselves”, are a large bunch of female professional cyclists. It was launched in London over the weekend by professional cyclists Marianne Vos, Hannah Barnes, Lauren Kitchen,

Should I buy a flat bar road bike or road bike?

September 22, 2015 Nicola Bike retail, Commuting by bike, Cycle groups, Cycle racing, Women cycling, women specific bike, women's bikes

As regular readers of this blog probably know I work in a bike shop and one of the most regular questions I’m asked by both men and women is: Should I buy a flat bar road bike and a drop bar road bike. So I thought it would be useful to talk about the pros and cons of both types of road bike. Firstly I have to confess that I ride a drop bar road bike and love it, so I won’t be changing to a flat bar any time soon, but I can see some merit in them, and

Top tips for following the Tour de France

August 4, 2015 Nicola Cycle racing, Cycle tours, Professional cycling

My partner and I have just finished our third trip to the Tour de France so I thought I would share a few tips for following the mighty race. I know it’s not strictly a women’s cycling topic but I know many female (and male) cyclists who would like to undertake a similar trip. Choose your transport wisely Lots of people follow the Tour in campervans but it can also be tackled by car and either camping of staying in hotels. We hired a campervan so I can’t really tell you about the other options and in my opinion a