AFTER Britain's top cyclists crashed out of the Tour de France, female racers will be setting their sights firmly on the finish line when they compete at Beverley for the first time.
Beverley's annual East Yorkshire Classic elite circuit races on Friday will include a women's event for the first time in its history.
East Yorkshire-based Team Jadan will have four riders in the 24-strong women's race at 7.10pm, an hour before the men's elite race.
Inspired by the likes of Olympic medallist Lizzie Armitstead, local riders will be going shoulder to shoulder with some of the country's best women road racers.
Team Jadan captain Victoria Hood, says: "It will be fast and furious.
"We have not really raced across cobbles before, it's a hard thing to practice – you can't really go racing round Beverley on a bike at 30pmh in the daytime. It can be a little hairy at times, you have just got to hope everyone has good bike-handling skills to race a course like this. If it rains that will add another dimension to it."
Victoria, 36, is hoping the crowds, expected to number about 6,000, will get behind the local team.
She says: "In circuit races like this you are hanging on and it would be really great if the crowd gets behind us.
"To have people shouting for you as you race round gives you extra energy to keep going."
Victoria says any nerves will disappear once the race gets under way.
"There's bound to be a bit of anxiety at first. It's all about positioning, you have to clip in [to the pedals] and get away immediately.
"Once you are away, all the anxiety goes and you are absolutely hammering it. You don't think about anything else, you just push yourself to the limit and stay there."
Victoria, a nutritionist who has been racing for three years, will be hurtling round Beverley's narrow streets with fellow team members Annabel Sill, Sam Thoy and Olivia Tomlinson.
She says: "This race best suits Annabel and Sam, so we will be racing as a team to help them.
"We are really looking forward to it.
"We have been to watch the elite men's race at Beverley every year and it's fabulous to now have a women's race here."
Sponsor Pam Wainman, of Hull printing firm Jadan Press, is keen to help raise the profile of women's cycle racing.
Pam, whose late mother Barbara Wainman was a road racer with East Yorkshire Cycling Club in the 1950s, says: "I don't think there's enough recognition for women's racing.
"This is the first time Beverley has had a women's race, it's usually a male domain.
"I think the achievements of Britain's Olympic medallists, such as Victoria Pendleton, Laura Trott and Lizzie Armitstead, has raised the profile of women in cycling and it's great we now have a women's event in Beverley."
Race director Martin Cockerill, of organisers Hull Thursday Road Club, is delighted to have women taking part for the first time at the event.
He says: "It will bring a new dimension to the event. There will be some very good juvenile racers taking part, so the crowds could be looking at the next Victoria Pendleton racing around Beverley's streets."
There will also be a field of top elite riders in the men's race, including brothers Russ and Dean Downing and Graham Briggs – all previous winners of the annual British National Race Championships.
Martin says: "There will be 70 riders in the elite men's race. They will be cycling for one hour plus five laps at speeds of up to 40mph.
"When they race past, the rush of the wind creates a backdraft and you hear the sound of wheels careering over the cobbles, it's a great spectacle for the crowds."
On Friday night, the racing will begin with a regional race at 6.10pm, followed by the women's elite race at 7.10pm and the men's elite race at 8.10pm. Visit eastyorkshireclassic.co.uk for more details.
Record number of entries for Big G CyclosportiveTHE annual cycling weekend will continue on Saturday with the Big G Cyclosportive series of rides across the Yorkshire Wolds.
Almost 1,000 riders have signed up for a choice of four distances, from 30k to 160k.
The record entry, up from 750 last year, has seen the Big G base switched from Beverley to Bishop Burton College this year.
Paul Kilvington, president of organisers Hull Thursday Road Club, says: "The event has been sold out for weeks.
"Cycling is becoming very popular, the Olympics and the Tour de France has helped, with the Grand Départ in Yorkshire taking it to another level.
"People come from across the UK to take part in the Big G. Some people come year after year. They just like the atmosphere and the routes across the Wolds."
The weekend of cycling also has a spin-off for the local economy, with hundreds of riders staying for two days of cycling.
East Riding Councillor Jane Evison, cabinet portfolio holder for economy, said: "Major sporting events are enjoyed by residents and visitors alike and provide a whole host of business opportunities for local companies, as well as the chance to showcase the East Riding as the perfect tourist destination.
"It is essential that the council, race organisers and local commerce capitalise on this event, especially as Friday's race is being broadcast on Sky Sports."
