Location: Birchall, Dronfield
Events: 19 May and 8 September 2012
Stilettos on Wheels is a new mountain bike race for women only aimed at creating a greater focus on women in mountain biking. It is set to take place near Sheffield on 19 May and in Brighton on 8 September 2012.
Stilettos on Wheels is for both beginners and experienced riders and aims to get more female riders into the sport. “At the last race I entered there were only 14 women in a field of almost 300 racers. This means racing is not as exciting as it could be, you can often ride for the entire race and not see anyone who you are competing against,” said Emma Peasland, organiser of the Sheffield round. Stilettos on Wheels aims to turn that around and get more female riders into the sport, so women are better able to compete with and against each other. Riders will be able to pick their challenge from a two hour or four hour race either as a solo rider or as a pair in a relay format.
World Championship mountain biking silver medallist Annie Last, who is local to the Birchall round of the race, encourages everyone to join in saying: “It's great to see more women riding and racing bikes. My advice is just to get out there, give it a go and have fun and enjoy yourself. Good luck to everyone taking part.”
New starters can access online advice, where questions on how to prepare for a race, what to eat during a race, etc are answered. There will also be opportunities to pre-ride the courses with experienced racers in the run up to the events, so you can dial the racing line.
The races are inspired by the Danish mountain bike series heelsonwheels.dk which is now running in its fourth year and is famous for its unique atmosphere. The event has become a fixed date in many ladies race calendars and races have an average of 130 competitors of all skill levels taking part.
Details and further information about the races can be found on the website www.stilettosonwheels.com where registration for both rounds is also open.
