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At the beginning of June, Dame Sarah Storey, Rachel Riley of Countdown fame and Sport England’s Chief Executive, Jennie Price, joined British Cycling in central London to announce the latest milestone for the #WeRide Women’s Strategy.

Launched in 2013, the pledge aims to influence one million more women to ride a bike regularly by 2020 - and two years in it has been announced that 254,000 more women are cycling regularly on Britain’s roads.

The Go-Ride team also attended the event in Regent’s Park with pupils and staff from Richmond Park Academy, where the students took part in a coaching and racing session. Alongside our Go-Ride Coaches, Sarah Storey played an active part in coaching the group with activities designed to improve technique and develop confidence.  Providing a perfect backdrop to the media activity on the day, it was great to be able to showcase the Go-Ride programme and cycling opportunities on offer for girls.

Go-Ride Coach, Graham MacNamee, who led the session on the day, said:

“This was a fantastic event for the girls to be involved in, with all riders making progress with their bike skills to enjoy the competitive racing at the end of the session.  It was inspirational to have Dame Sarah Storey getting involved, too”.

#WeRide Week 22-29 June: celebrating opportunities for women and girls

British Cycling are now following up this announcement with #WeRide Week; a chance to celebrate and promote all of the opportunities on offer to women and girls to get involved in our great sport. Find out what we’re doing and how you can get involved.

It couldn’t be better timed either, with all of the action from the recent Aviva Women’s Tour adding to a considerable buzz around women’s cycling. The Go-Ride team supported the tour with exciting club and school racing events on the start and finish lines of the pro race, giving young people an insight into how it feels to compete in front of huge crowds.

Where does the Go-Ride programme fit into the women’s strategy?

Over 40% of young riders participating in the Go-Ride programme are female. And while this is really encouraging, we will continue to focus on providing opportunities for girls to get involved by supporting schools and Go-Ride Clubs across the country to increase the number of young people in cycling.

Following the success of the British Cycling Women’s Road Series, the first La Course at the Tour de France and the Women’s Tour in 2014, the demand for more competitive racing for girls is greater than ever before.  This year the Go-Ride Racing programme will shine a spotlight on events that include a girls-only race by offering clubs additional resources and support.  To celebrate racing for girls, clubs are being encouraged to host girls-only competition within their series or a dedicated event just for girls.

Go-Ride Coaches will continue to deliver Rider Development Sessions for women and girls, providing participants with an opportunity to ride with others of a similar ability and develop bike handling techniques and fitness.  Sessions are hosted across the country and cover a number of different cycling disciplines, from mountain biking through to track.

What has the Go-Ride programme already achieved?

  • 40% of young people participating in the Go-Ride programme are girls
  • Over 30% of riders donning their first racing bib at Go-Ride Race events are female
  • 50% representation on British Cycling’s National Youth Forum; a group of 12 proactive young volunteers who represent other young people and ensure their voice is heard to shape the future of cycling.

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