A new mural celebrating women’s cycling, inspired by the iconic road markings of the Tour de France, has been unveiled on the Zig Zag Road, Box Hill, Surrey in southern England.
The mural is part of a new campaign, entitled MOMENTUM, launched by British performance eyewear brand SunGod. This celebrates the growth being made in women’s cycling, and the steps towards gender equity in the sport.
The campaign has been launched in conjunction with this summer’s inaugural Tour de France Femmes, the showcase eight-stage race for elite women’s cycling that signals a momentous milestone in the profile of the sport.
The site of the new mural, the Zig Zag Road on Box Hill, is seen by many as hallowed ground for British cyclists. One of the country’s notable climbs, it played centre stage during the London 2012 Olympics in the men and women’s road cycling races.
The climb is tackled by thousands of cyclists each year with the fastest recorded climbs being 4mins 42secs for men and 5mins 27secs for women on Strava.
The mural is open to the public from 16:00 BST on Friday 13th May to give cyclists an opportunity to be part of the SunGod campaign and to ride the mural.
Created from biodegradable chalk paint, the lifespan of the mural will be dictated by the Great British weather, but with no rain forecast for the coming days, it is expected to remain throughout the weekend and beyond – up to several weeks.
SunGod, the brand behind the campaign, is a supporter of women’s cycling and sport. The brand supports athletes of all levels, from grassroots to elite sportswomen and teams. The teams the brand sponsors include Liv Racing Xstra, Bianchi Hunt Morvelo and the InternationElles.
Louise Vardeman, SunGod ambassador and team captain of the InternationElles, an amateur cycling team who campaigned for a female Tour de France said “The MOMENTUM mural is testament to the rise of women’s cycling and a chance to further inspire new riders to engage with the sport.
“There is of course, work still to be done for gender parity, but this campaign provides a moment to take stock of the excellent progress that has been achieved to date and celebrate the momentum that has been created.”
Zoe Watkiss, CEO & co-founder at SunGod said “Momentum is the force that drives us forward and we believe on the road ahead lies something better – a sport and industry with gender equity at its heart.
“Through the mural and the wider campaign, we want to be loud, be bold and be committed to change because the more momentum we gain, the more change we create.
“At SunGod, gender quality and community spirit have always been core values. We’re excited to engage the wider cycling community, men and women, of all ages and abilities, through this special celebration.”
The MOMENTUM campaign will run throughout the summer and will also include a limited edition pair of cycling sunglasses and film featuring Liv Racing Xstra, celebrating the progress made – and highlighting the work that’s still to come – in women’s cycling.
