Women's Tour

Up earlier than planned to pick up a barbecue from London (Of course we could squeeze something else into the day and I'm told it was an eBay bargain!) before heading over to Hertfordshire to catch day 4 of The Women's Tour. First, on a bit of a climb past Haileybury College before heading over to Welwyn Garden City for a spot of lunch and the finish. We were on the wrong side of the road for decent photos but the better side for seeing more of the race. We also didn't have the right equipment, or at least, we didn't have a working battery for the right equipment, so you have the best my phone could manage from a distance.

As someone who worked quite hard a few decades ago to raise the profile of women's sport (in a different sport admittedly), I've been slightly emotional as to how well this event has been received. Great organisation, promotion, decent coverage, amazing support and some absolutely stinking riding. I'd have been immensely proud to have been involved in this rather than just an interested spectator. Women's cycling is making huge steps this year and from the quality of this competition deserves to make many more. Equal prize money is a good start (this event is actually higher ranked than the equivalent male race later in the year) but the team salaries are so much lower. This though was a great step forward in proving that the crowds and TV will come which should help the spiral upwards. Friends Life may just have bagged themselves the sponsorship deal of the century so far.

Vx