Inside the UK women's racing boom

As more British teams than ever race at UCI Continental level, Adam Becket speaks to three squads at different levels to find out what's going right

For the first time ever, there are six British women's teams racing at UCI Continental level, pointing to a boom in British cycling. Alba Development Road Team, DAS-Handsling, Doltcini-O'Shea, Hess, Lifeplus-Wahoo, and Pro-Noctis-200° Coffee-Hargreaves Contracting are all flying the flag at the second-highest level, but there's more to women's racing than this. While there has been much talk about the peril the men's domestic scene is facing, three women's team managers spoke to CW to discuss their realities.

Jen Lemen - PDQ Property Elite

PDQ Property Elite has only been around since August 2023, and was created in the South-West of England to set up women on their racing journey, as its captain and co-owner, Jen Lemen, explained.

“What I realised was needed was a regional development team, which was really focused on just giving women the confidence to get on the start line,” she said.

“We’re funding entries to the British Team Cup for the riders, and we just want people to get to the start line of races and know someone else there.

“We had way more interest than we ever thought,” Lemen continued. “We have a roster about 27/28 riders, some of whom have never raced before, some of whom are quite seasoned. It goes from 20 up to the early 60s.”