Gapped Cycling

Dylan van Baarle rode into the history books on Sunday when he won the fastest edition of Paris-Roubaix by completing the 257.2-kilometre cobbled classic at an average speed of 45.8km/h.

It was the nature of Van Baarle’s win, though, that impressed more than the speed of the flying Dutchman who secured the biggest one-day race in British team Ineos Grenadiers’s history.

Me & Rob go into it all!

Like Sarah before, and Rashid bhai who was on during Episode 1, Shams has helped create a club that has been the reason for literally hundreds of Muslims getting into cycling. They offer a host of rides throughout the year, both nationally and internationally, training people up from novice to expert within a matter of months.

Cycle Sisters started in 2016 when they set up their first Muslim women’s community cycle group in Waltham Forest in East London - since then their work has been recognised as being ground-breaking and hugely successful in supporting large numbers of Muslim women to cycle.

Cycle Sisters was started by Sarah Javaid who saw the need for Muslim women’s cycle groups that offer supportive, inclusive, sociable rides. Their first group started with just Sarah, her friend and her two sisters in law and in just a few years, they have grown to have multiple groups and hundreds of women on their rides!

They work to address the inequalities in cycling by ensuring that the needs of Muslim women are understood and met. Levels of cycling in the UK are low with the majority of journeys being undertaken by men. Women - and particularly those from minority backgrounds - experience many barriers to cycling and are less likely to see cycling as an option for themselves and their families.

Cycle Sisters provide support and role models while our partnership work with local and national cycling organisations helps to tackle stereotypes and make cycling more inclusive and diverse. Their longer-term goal is to grow into a nation wide network of Muslim women cyclists, ensuring that Muslim women cyclists have a voice on a national level.

Ramadhaan Mubarak to you all!

This is a fab episode where we hear from several in the community with regards to riding in Ramadhaan. One thing is mentioned over and over, take it easy and ride within yourself. There is no prize for killing yourself during this month, but do get out & enjoy it!

Rhianna has already been on an impressive journey. Her recent achievements become even more astounding when you consider that she had only been in the sport for a year when she placed 4th in the 500m individual time trial and 5th in the sprint at the National Youth and Junior Track Cycling Championships in 2019, her first national level competition.

Off he bike Rhianna is studying Sports Coaching at the University of Derby, a course and university that not only allows her to pursue her cycling ambitions but develop her knowledge and passion for sport as a whole.

Rhianna is part of the KC Academy, here she goes into it all!

The KC Academy was born in 2021 out of the lived experience of Kadeena Cox. As an athlete Kadeena developed her athletic prowess in track & field before transitioning into cycling, where the comparable lack of diversity at the elite end of the sport was undeniable. As the only Black British cyclist to ever win a gold medal at the Olympic or Paralympic Games and as the only one, at the time of founding the KC Academy, on podium level funding for track or road cycling from the UK Sport, it was clear to Kadeena that more needed to be done.

Kadeena was assured by her own success in the sport that the lack of diversity was not due to a lack of talent or ability but by a lack of inspiration, opportunity and support. The KC Academy has set about delivering solutions for all 3 of those barriers by providing inspiring content and oppurtunities for current and future riders looking to enter and progress in the sport and by offering vital funding, mentoring and support to highly talented individuals looking to develop along the sports pathway.

The KC Academy is building into its second year and is always happy to hear from athletes, individuals and brands looking to get involved with the program. If you are an athlete looking to join the team there are some exciting oppurtunities ahead.

It was incredible to get Sumayyah on the pod! A true pioneer of the sport, racing World Cups across Europe, with little support other than her family. Sumayyah goes into detail about her upbringing and how that allowed her to reach such a high level in the sport, including some of the sacrifices her family had to take for her to get to where she is.

Unfortunately, Sumayyah has taken a little break for now, but we truly hope she gets back into it very soon! It all looks very gnarly! 

Super chuffed to have on a professional cyclist, Henrietta, talking all things racing. She goes into her pathway here in the UK, working her way up through British Cycling, before then making the switch to Europe at the tender age of 18. She talks about the challenges and the resilience it takes to make it. Super insightful and well worth the listen!

Ever thought about doing a degree in sports science, or even gaining a PhD in cycling!? Well we have someone on doing just that. Rob is a PhD student at Loughborough university, researching intermittent exercise in cyclists. Although he won’t admit it, he is at the cutting edge of research currently in the world of exercise physiology. 

We break up this episode in to two parts. First Rob talks about his research and the pathway into studying physiology to a high level.

You can imagine Rob is a very smart guy, which leads us to the second part of the episode. Professional cycling is full of jargon and technicalities, so I thought there is no one better than Rob to explain it all! So sit back, and enjoy as Rob does a super deep dive into all things cycling!

Every top athlete in the world, cycling or non has a coach. Increasingly, amateurs are turning to coaches to become the best version of themselves. Coaches can offer objectivity and accountability to oneself and their goals. Today we have Henry from 2020cycling, a qualified coach to talk about the need for a coach and what they can offer. Henry has raced at a high level here in the UK and in Europe and has deep knowledge into all things cycling. Henry is brutally honest throughout and even gives his thoughts into why he thinks there aren't enough coloured people racing, be sure to catch that towards the end. 

With Ramadaan just around the corner, it's no better time to introduce you all to Zahir, founder of the Fasted 500 cycling challenge! A cycling challenge based in the month of Ramadaan, to encourage Muslims to keep fit & active during the month. In its inception last year, over a hundred people took part from all over the world, this year I imagine far more of you will take part! Let's hear all about it from Zahir himself!