It's 'Women's Week' on Cycling Weekly: your guide to the training, tech and inspirational tales of (and by!) cycling's key women
We've got detailed articles on training with the menstrual cycle, a look back at the woman who entered the 1924 edition of the Giro d'Italia, and a dive into 'women-specific geometery' and its relevancy today - plus much, much more!
From 6th-10th March, here at Cycling Weekly we'll be celebrating Women's Week, with International Women's Day this year landing right in the middle and marking the apex of our coverage on Wednesday, 8th March.
We'll be covering a full spectrum of cycling, from the training tips guiding female professionals (and a growing number of amateurs) to inspirational stories of female empowerment - from the women who've taken up cycling in middle age to the racers who forged their own way when the odds were stacked against them.
From motivation to mechanics, we'll be sharing the common bike-fit issues faced by women and smaller cyclists - plus how to overcome them - as well as guiding you through the differences between unisex bikes and those with women's specific geometry.
On the bike comfort will not be neglected, and we'll be going in depth into the science of sitting comfortably and sharing the best women's bike saddles that we've ridden and rated. Slight spoiler for the article: although having the right saddle shape is key, there are other important adjustments that are generally necessary to make.
And we'll also be taking you through our top kit picks of the best women's cycling shorts and the best women's cycling jerseys for comfort, performance and - for those lucky people living on more southernly latitudes - cooling.
This is all just to tease what's coming up - those may be the topics, but we've got a lot more lined up for each of them. Here are the articles you can jump into now and, for the ones which aren't live yet, we'll be putting the hyperlinks in throughout the week.
Fitness and tech
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- Nature's Steroids: How to harness your hormones and improve your performance
- Does sports science only tell us half the story?
- Cycling and pregnancy: expert advice on staying active whilst growing a little person
- Club life: Why do some cycling clubs attract so many more female members?
- RED-S and cycling: Could you be affected by cycling’s hidden under-fuelling epidemic?
- Is 'women's specific geometry' a myth?
- Stock setups are often stacked against women and smaller adult cyclists - here’s how to achieve a better fit
- Female physiology’s best kept secrets: the keys to improving your cycling performance
- Female-specific nutrition strategies: how to adjust your nutrition at each stage of the menstrual cycle
Inspirational stories
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I’ve been hooked on bikes ever since the age of 12 and my first lap of the Hillingdon Cycle Circuit in the bright yellow kit of the Hillingdon Slipstreamers. For a time, my cycling life centred around racing road and track.
But that’s since broadened to include multiday two-wheeled, one-sleeping-bag adventures over whatever terrain I happen to meet - with a two-week bikepacking trip from Budapest into the mountains of Slovakia being just the latest.
I still enjoy lining up on a start line, though, racing the British Gravel Championships and finding myself on the podium at the enduro-style gravel event, Gritfest in 2022.
Height: 177cm
Weight: 60–63kg
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Forget distance covered, these are the key stats to note in your Strava Year in Sport
We asked a coach how to best analyse our end of year Strava data
By Tom Davidson Published
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'She should show a bit more respect' - Lotte Kopecky responds to Demi Vollering comments
The pair seemingly had one last fractious year together at SD Worx-Protime in 2024
By Tom Davidson Published
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Female-specific nutrition strategies: how to adjust your fuelling at each stage of the menstrual cycle
Your carbohydrate and protein demands vary greatly throughout the month - here’s how to make sure you’re giving your body what it needs
By Andy Turner Published
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Strava data shows women restricted by daylight hours for exercise - but female Gen Z Brits prove more active than men
Global data reveals women 8% less likely to exercise outside post-sunset
By Anna Marie Abram Published
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Seven ways ‘traditional’ cycle training approaches don't work for women - and what you can do instead
Female physiology demands a different approach to training, nutrition, weight management and recovery – Dr Stacy Sims explains
By Deena Blacking Published
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Stock bike setups are often stacked against women and smaller adult cyclists - here’s how to achieve a better fit
From frame size to stance width, crank length to brake levers, here's eight common issues faced by smaller adult cyclists – and a bike fitter’s advice on how to overcome them
By Nicole Oh Last updated
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Cycling and pregnancy: expert advice on staying active whilst growing a little person
Cycling Weekly's digital editor was never going to spend 40 weeks off the bike...
By Michelle Arthurs-Brennan Last updated
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Three's peak: How a trio of veteran women TT racers set a blistering new Three Peaks record
Three women, three peaks, one target: to hike up and down each mountain, cycling from one to the next, in record time. CW finds out how they got on
By David Bradford Last updated
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Ideal time of day to exercise differs between active men and women
Dig deep and make it count - new research shows that the optimal time of day to burn fat is not the same across the genders
By Anna Marie Abram Last updated
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How hormones affect cycling performance - and what you can do to harness them
No, testosterone won’t give you superpowers any more than being on your period writes off your race prospects. Michelle Arthurs-Brennan debunks the myths around sex hormones
By Michelle Arthurs-Brennan Last updated