‘Every kilometre is a statement that women of colour belong in this sport’ - Meet the woman cycling the Tour de France Femmes before the pros

Ayesha McGowan became the first African-American pro cyclist, and now she’s raising money to bring more women of colour onto the professional stage

Ayesha rides at the front of a pack wearing purple
(Image credit: Ayesha McGowan)

It’s early when I speak to Ayesha McGowan, but you couldn’t tell. She’s bright and full of energy as the day's heat sets in over her Girona home, despite the late-night training sessions she’s been fitting in when the temperature drops at dusk.

The American is deep in training for her Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift challenge, which will see her complete the route four days before the peloton sets off from Lille.

“This isn’t just about riding hard, it’s about riding for change,” McGowan says.

“Every kilometre is a statement that women of colour belong in this sport at every level.”

McGowan hopes that money she raises will be enough to bring a squad of elite riders to Europe to race – following in McGowan's own footsteps – to help cement their progression from beginner to pro.

Her weekends soon filled with street racing at Alleycats (a fixed gear city race) and in dramatic, head-to-head ‘Gold Sprints’ on rollers in front of throngs of spectators. Then the Red Hook Crit came her way. The fixed-gear criterium was an annual race held in Red Hook, Brooklyn and in 2014, hosted the first of its women’s races.

“That was the link from me transitioning from being a fixie kid commuter advocate into competitive racing,” she remembers.

Even in the short amount of time I spent with McGowan, it is clear she is someone intent to carry her community with her on her inevitable rise. McGowan's dream to become the first African-American professional cyclist wasn’t a standalone record to hold, but one that could inspire other women and girls who didn’t see themselves represented in bike races - one that could platform other women’s dreams, too.

Because, for anyone watching professional cycling, there is a clear demographic composing the peloton, and with it a prevailing myth: cycling is only for men - more specifically, white men. Even in this year’s Tour de France, there is only rider of colour - Intermarché-Wanty rider, Biniam Girmay, who recently finished second in the first stage of the 2025 Tour. Over in women’s racing, the peloton still remains overwhelmingly White and European, too. McGowan wants to change this.

In 2021, McGowan got her first bike contract with Liv Cycling’s WorldTour team as a satellite rider. It came at a whirlwind moment. Amongst continued global Covid induced anxiety, continued lockdowns, and the ramifications of the the brutal, racially motivated murder of George Floyd by White police officer Derek Chauvin, McGowan was building her professional cycling career.

“I found that the narratives about black people and people of colour in general was [at this time] really pain oriented, and I really wanted to see something focussed on Black joy," she said.

"So I created the Abundance Summit. It was this virtual conference where people hosted workshops that circled around Black and BIPOC joy in cycling and the outdoors. And it was really fun.”

A group of riders pose in front of a tent

Team Abundance

(Image credit: Ayesha McGowan)

“And so the first year [of doing the Abundance Project] in 2021, I used it as a fundraiser for this project that I had in mind to send women of colour to the Tour of America’s Dairyland in Wisconsin, to race bikes," McGowan explained.

Described as “a bike race surrounded by a block party”, the criterium race is a short 1km looping course that travels throughout Southeast Wisconsin over 11 consecutive days of racing. McGowan wanted to get women to this race in particular, because the crit format offered riders the chance to get back in the saddle day after day, regardless of finishing times or setbacks during the race.

“I wanted to eliminate as many of the barriers as possible to just get them to try it.

"I personally didn’t know you could race bikes even after I became a commuter - it took me seven years to get from starting to ride into racing. So I think it’s an access and information thing, as well as [the lack of] resources being a barrier. So I figured if I could trick people into trying it, then they’ll know if they want to keep going.

"We cover housing, transportation, on-the-ground transportation, food and people support.”

Now almost four years into this work, McGowan is cycling the Tour de France avec Zwift course from Tuesday, 22 July to raise money to continue inspiring - and facilitating the possibility of getting - more women of colour onto bikes and into racing.

“If I’m being honest, I feel like the interest in Black and BIPOC initiatives has dwindled quite a bit since 2020,” she told me.

“It’s harder to get the signal out, and reach a larger audience.”

“I feel like the world has made me feel like the things I have to say are less important than the things that are happening. So that’s something that I’m struggling with right now, [and] maybe this is the thing that I want to emphasise: we can care about more than one thing, and we can find a way to prioritise joy in this chaotic world.”

You can follow McGowan's tour on Instagram at @ayesuppose and donate to her fund here.

A selfie of two riders cycling on a road with a hill in the background

Emily and Ayesha training for their Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift challenge

(Image credit: Ayesha McGowan)
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News Writer

Meg is a news writer for Cycling Weekly. In her time around cycling, Meg is a podcast producer and lover of anything that gets her outside, and moving.

From the Welsh-English borderlands, Meg's first taste of cycling was downhill - she's now learning to love the up, and swapping her full-sus for gravel (for the most part!).

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