L'Etape Tour de France Femmes

🚴‍♀️ 117km. 3,500m of climbing. One unforgettable ride for women's cycling.

In August, Orla and I rode 112km with 3,500m of climbing (including three categorised mountain passes, two of which were at least 13km of JUST GOING UP) after six months of training in one of the flattest countries on earth.

We did it:

For the challenge 💪

To prove it's possible to take this on while working full-time and raising three feisty kids between us 👶👶👶

And to be part of the first-ever L’Étape Tour de France Femmes 🚴‍♀️✨

Completing an Étape is on every amateur cyclist's bucket list: racing on closed roads, following the same course as the pros. Until now, it’s been a tradition linked only to the men's Tour de France, so this was a landmark moment for women’s cycling.

Why I'm fundraising: Support The Cyclists’ Alliance 

I served on the board of The Cyclists' Alliance for five years, and I’ve seen firsthand the incredible work they do. TCA is dedicated to improving conditions for women in professional cycling by fighting for fair contracts, mental health support, maternity rights, and post-career transitions.

Whilst women's cycling is growing fast, and I'm proud to have been a part of that, there are still huge gaps in pay and opportunity. A few sobering stats:

🔸 27% of professional women outside the WorldTour receive no salary at all
🔸 Over 70% earn less than €10,000 per year
🔸 The 2025 men’s Tour winner earned 10x more prize money than the women’s winner
🔸 Only 46% of riders can rely on cycling as their sole income
🔸 84% of Continental-level women earn under €20,000 annually

These are the realities TCA is working to change through advocacy, legal support, education, and direct rider assistance.

If you believe in a fairer future for women in sport, please consider sponsoring our L’Étape effort and supporting TCA’s mission.

Thank you for all the support I received along the way ❤️