A movement in favour of women’s cycling is under way in the Netherlands and rapidly extending further afield.
‘We own yellow, take the stage’ is a program launched last year by four Dutch women pro riders, including the reigning Olympic Champion Marianne Vos, together with the organisers of this year’s Tour de France Grand Depart from the city of Utrecht.
The aim was to encourage more women to get on their bikes for the first time, and help other women improve their cycling skills and fitness. This has been achieved through led-rides, beginners and development courses, social nights, training programmes and training tips.
The latest event on the programme was the ‘We Own Yellow’ festival, held in Utrecht one week after the departure of the Tour de France from the same city. The event attracted more than 1000 women cyclists from the Netherlands and abroad, with ages ranging from 16 to over 80.
With a choice of three rides of different lengths (45K, 85K or 145K) beginners and accomplished riders took to the roads accompanied by the pros.
Marianne Vos accompanied the ride and was delighted by the participants’ enthusiasm: “The goal was to create an event where we could inspire women to get on the bike and to create synergies between the absolute beginners and professionals. I am proud that this goal has been met. They have become stronger, gained confidence and just had a lot of fun. That is exactly the feeling that we want to share with these women. It was a great success.”
Families and friends were welcomed to the post-ride celebrations in the hangar of the Dutch national military museum, Fort Vechten. These included refreshments, champagne, beer-tasting, a slow biking competition, a ‘selfie corner’, bike washing by Shimano and a ‘pimp your bike’ area.
This Wednesday, 22 July, an international group of women will leave Utrecht for the second ‘Road Trip to Paris’, which was so successful last year they decided to organise another edition. After four days cycling through the Netherlands, Belgium and France, they will arrive at the Champs-Elysées in time to watch the second edition of the women’s professional race – La Course By Le Tour de France.
The momentum continues with a similar ride being organised in September, leaving from New York to arrive in Richmond for the UCI Road World Championships.
www.weownyellow.com
www.uci.ch
