Cycling Weekly – August 22, 2019

Cycling Weekly | August 22, 2019 | 53

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“It was bittersweet,

knowing that pro

women don’t get to

experience that”

THE FOUNDER

“FIVE YEARS ON, WE’RE STILL FIGHTING”

Frenchwoman Claire Floret set up the

original Donnons des Elles au Vélo J-1

project in 2015

“Our message of equality between men and

women in sport, including access to major

races, is universal. The Tour de France being

such an international event, it seemed

important for us to involve women of

various nationalities — to spread our

message beyond French borders. Helen

and her team-mates have been great

ambassadors around the world for the

Donnons des Elles au Vélo J-1 project.

“After five editions, the results are very

positive. We have raised awareness among

cyclists, the public, the media and race

organisers, making the case for a women’s

stage race worthy of the Tour. ASO’s

setting up of a working group to investigate

creating a women’s equivalent of the Tour

de France is a great step forward. We’ll

keep campaigning until it happens.”

“I

’m a total amateur,” says

Helen Bridgman, modestly.

“I’m a third cat and I’ve been

racing for a couple of years;

I enjoy it, but I’m not very good.”

Last year, an unusual video by Škoda

caught the self-deprecating rider’s

attention. #ThisIsOurTime was a special

campaign appealing for applications for

the Donnons des Elles au Vélo, a French

women’s team which since 2015 has ridden

the course of the Tour de France one day

ahead of the race to

draw attention to the

fact that women’s

racing still has

no equivalent.

As Bridgman was

mulling over taking

the leap and applying,

she heard about the

InternationElles, a 10-strong, all-amateur,

English-speaking women’s team who were

setting out to follow the French example

and complete the exact same politically

charged ride. What motivated the

40-year-old Londoner to get involved?

“The premise of the whole project:

fighting for equality in the sport. Women’s

cycling deserves an equal platform to

men’s, and the Tour de France is an event

that transcends cycling — everybody has

heard of it.”

When it comes to raising the profile of

women’s cycling, Bridgman, whose day job

is in marketing, is a seasoned campaigner.

“I’m co-chair of London Women’s

Racing; we’re constantly trying to

encourage more women to get into racing,

finding partners and people to help grow

the sport in the London area.”

It wasn’t all about the politics, of course.

“My reputation precedes me for being

somebody who will say yes to crazy

challenges,” Bridgman admits. The

prospect of riding more than 2,000 miles

over three weeks, up to 143 miles per

day, struck her as a unique, irresistible

opportunity to test her limits. Did she

train specifically for it?

“Yes, I took a break from work, allowing

me to do a fair bit of riding beforehand. I

came into the ride the fittest I’ve ever been

on the bike, which gave me cofidence.”

Des-

pite the

solid

prep-

aration,

there was

no telling

how her

body

would respond to day after day of long

miles and high peaks.

“Looking back at my TrainingPeaks data,

I was on minus form score for the whole

time, and my fatigue levels went over 300.

If you looked at the stats alone, you’d

think, how the hell am I doing this?”

The notion of ‘riding into fitness’ was

borne out in Bridgman’s experience; she

completed each day without serious

difficulty, stopping only once, on Stage 19’s

mighty, 2,770m-high Col de l’Iseran —

when a minor bout of altitude-queasiness

combined with a beautiful view of a

waterfall to justify a short breather.

What was the hardest aspect of the

entire three weeks?

“Dealing with the lack of sleep,” says

Bridgman without hesitation. “I averaged

about five and a half hours a night.”

Each day, on top of the riding, there was

the packing, unpacking, van transfers, and

all the logistical chores which, for the pros,

are taken care of by team staff. In fact, the

InternationElles got a glimpse of the pro

life when they bumped into Team Ineos.

“We weren’t allowed into their catering

facility — fair enough, they’re minimising

contamination risk — but they take

that set-up everywhere, and don’t eat

in restaurants or hotels; everything is

cooked especially for them.”

It struck her as a “stark difference”

when compared to the sight of the

CCC-Liv women’s team, whom they had

encountered a few days earlier, huddled

around a picnic table making their own

lunch — “dining exactly like us”.

Was it hard to cram in enough calories

every day? “Yeah, it was quite hard to

judge, as after a long day, you’d feel a bit

sick. We had to keep reminding each other

to keep topping up.”

Experiencing the entire course provided

a spectacular glimpse of the full magnitude

and beauty of the Tour — but, in doing so,

left Bridgman with mixed feelings.

“The crowds and the atmosphere were

just incredible — there’s nothing like it

— but in a sense it was bittersweet,

knowing that the pro women don’t get to

experience that.”

It was a fitting irony, therefore, that

Bridgman’s team of amateur women

actually rode two magnificent sections

that the men were deprived of by bad

weather: the climb to Tignes on Stage 19

and the 71km lopped off Stage 20,

including the Cormet de Roselend

which Bridgman describes as

“absolutely stunning”.

How does it feel now, returning to the

day job, having had such an epic, special

insight into ‘the greatest race on Earth’?

“It’s quite surreal — it felt like the

longest and shortest three weeks of my

life. Every day was very long, yet overall it

flew by. It’s almost like I need to pinch

myself to check it really happened.”

As for the equality aims of the ride, there

is at least a glimmer of hope.

“It was good to hear that the UCI and

ASO are having conversations and plan to

form a working group to build an event

that is to women’s racing what the Tour is

to men’s,” concludes Bridgman. “It’s good

to know they’re getting the message.”

David Bradford