Welsh Open Women’s Road Race – Cancelled
It is with much regret that we have had to make the decision to cancel this event. Sadly, with just 15 entries across all categories it was simply not viable to run a road race. The event would not have been a good experience for riders, and we would have had more convoy vehicles than competitors.
Cardiff Ajax CC has a rich history in women’s cycling. Our alumni include British, European, Olympic and World Champions across a number of disciplines such as Sally Hodge, Nicole Cooke MBE and Elinor Barker MBE to name a few. As a club we’ve been keen to run a women only race for a number of years but financially it’s not been possible. We had numerous discussions with various parties including Welsh Cycling to try to find a solution. We were, therefore, very pleased to have been asked by Welsh Cycling to organise the event this year, with their backing to underwrite the event. Despite having to cancel this year’s event we will not be defeated and will continue to strive to promote a women only road race in Wales.
Below is a statement from Welsh Cycling outlining their position. We would encourage you to engage with Welsh Cycling during this review so the voice of women competitors is heard. We will be working closely with them, following their review, to move forward and ensure that women’s racing is firmly in the calendar in future.
“Welsh Cycling are disappointed that the Women’s Road Race has been cancelled. With the low number of entries, the event wouldn’t have been the experience that we wanted for our riders, volunteers, and organisers. We acknowledge that there have not been enough quality opportunities for women of all ages to take part in our sport this year, therefore we have launched a review to focus on the quality of provision for female cyclists across Wales.
The review has started already, with the appointment of the Welsh Cycling Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (ED&I) panel being formed of members of the Welsh Cycling team. Chaired by Laura Twohig, the group has been set up to start collecting feedback and advice from cyclists, coaches, and clubs across Wales.
Coaches: We have a launch event, aimed at Female Coaches, on Saturday 15th October 2022 at the new Riverside Venue in Newtown. This will be a safe space where we are hoping that attendees will be able to discuss and exchange knowledge & experiences on some key issues like coaching the female athlete, breaking through barriers, etc. For more information, please contact email hidden; JavaScript is required
Events: We are also committed to supporting more races for Women across the disciplines. We have a working group who are having discussions on what events would grow female participation throughout Wales. If you are interested in joining in with these discussions, please contact: email hidden; JavaScript is required.
Young Riders: We have also launched a ‘Young Ambassadors Programme’ that will give young riders, both male and female, the platform to be heard by our Senior Management and Board. For full information on the initiative, please use this link: Welsh Cycling Young Ambassadors | Applications open
Should you have any feedback, or if you would like to help us with our review, then we would love to hear from you. Please email email hidden; JavaScript is required”