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With the Tour de France Femmes kicking off on July 23 for a week of thrills, cycling and entertainment, it will also be highlighting the women making this sport what it is. In its second official year as the Tour de France Femmes, races of this calibre have happened in the past, but never on such a global stage. So, what is happening in the women’s cycling scene, how did we get here, and why does it matter?The women changing the game Women are working hard to bring the sport to people of all backgrounds. “The Amy D Foundation, Black Girls Do Bike, Get Women Cycling and Little Bella’s are all fantastic organisations, helping and encouraging women – and young girls – to get into cycling in spite of age, race and background,” explains triathlon cyclist Kate Dunbar. This year’s Tour de France Femmes will have a determined line-up of women championing the sport. Who should we look out for? “Annemiek van Vleuten was a fantastic contender in 2022, and I expect her to do well again this year. It’s her final year ahead of retirement, so she will want to do well,” says Dunbar. “The course this year is suited to van Vleuten’s skill set and she will have a stronger Movistar team to support this target, including Sarah Gigante and Liane Lippert.”A growing sport There has, in recent years, been a marked increase in the interest of this sport. “There is, without a doubt, a rising interest in women’s cycling,” says Amanda Braverman, global director of brand marketing at cycling tech brand, Hammerhead. “With more events geared towards women’s cycling and growing viewership in the Tour de France Femmes year on year, we’re seeing measurable gains in both interest and access to the sport.” “But we can’t ignore the fact that The Women’s Tour in the UK was cancelled, even though sponsors saw a huge return on investment in 2022, and the Women’s World Tour race Vårgårda, West Sweden was cancelled permanently after 25 years,” says Dunbar. “Even though we are seeing bigger efforts from organisations and the industry as a whole, as with most women’s sports, the Tour De France women’s tournament is still vastly overshadowed by the men’s – we still need more support and encouragement to boost women’s cycling,” she stresses. Cycling as a tool for liberation There is an important link between cycling and women’s liberation, that goes back a long way, beyond racing, to basic transportation. “It gave women social mobility and allowed them to travel faster and further than ever before. They could cycle further for work opportunities, and it also advanced fashion, as women needed cycling-suitable clothing. It allowed women to take control of their fitness and health in an easy way,” says Dunbar. Women’s cycling also subverted norms. “Cycling challenged femininity in the late 19th century, and bicycles were used heavily to support the English suffragettes movement. The bicycle became – and to this day remains – a symbol and a tool of female empowerment, independence, freedom and opportunity,” says Braverman. Trailblazers Some hugely inspiring women came before today’s Tour de France Femmes stars. “Some of the first women to get involved in cycling were true trailblazers, cycling as early as the late 1800s,” says Braverman. “Montreal-based Louise Armaindo raced on the high wheel, also known as the penny-farthing, which was much more dangerous than the modern bicycle. Armaindo set the North American long-distance record in 1872, and was praised as “the champion female bicycle rider of the world”. She also credits ‘The Big Five’ – Lizzie Glaw, Helen Baldwin, May Allen, Tillie Anderson, and Dottie Farnsworth – an influential group of female cyclists who raced in the 1890s, fitting their racing careers into busy lives that often included their families and other jobs. Today, there’s no denying defending champion van Vleuten leads the modern ‘big five’, but who else will be in the mix? Lorena Wiebes is likely to have another great first stage, Elisa Longo Borghini will give it her best shot, alongside the phenomenal Demi Vollering, and maybe Juliette Labous will make even more progress this year. Whatever happens, we are surely in for an exciting week of women’s sport.

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At the beginning of the season, a mere 10 races ago, Lando Norris endured an opener of excruciating torment in Bahrain. With his stricken McLaren impacted by a “pneumatic pressure leak”, the Brit valiantly took the chequered flag in dead last after pitting an astonishing six times throughout the race. It was, simply, a shambles. But that now seems nothing but a distant memory, four months on in the safe haven of the British Isles. Most observers did not raise an eyebrow when McLaren announced a number of upgrades to their car ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix last week. It is the phase of the season where every team is changing parts in search of that extra tenth or two of speed. Usually, by way of natural progression, the improvement is gradual. Yet out of an abyss of doom to start 2023, the papaya have come storming back into contention. The signs were there in Austria when Norris qualified third on the grid. Race-pace on that occasion last week was his downfall. But this time, what a sparkling Silverstone weekend it proved to be for Norris and his team-mate Oscar Piastri. One-lap pace on a Saturday? Tick. Backed up by enhanced speed on Sunday? Another tick. If it wasn’t for a mid-race safety car, it would have been a first double podium since Monza two years ago for McLaren, with Piastri unfortunate to not grasp his first top-three in F1 after finishing fourth. But it was Norris who was the star of the show at Silverstone. On paper the slowest out of the British triumvirate, with Lewis Hamilton and George Russell sporting the might of Mercedes, cautious optimism was the talk of the day heading into the British Grand Prix. Saturday was a statement. Norris had top-tier pace throughout all three qualifying sessions and for a moment, it seemed he’d grabbed pole position before Max Verstappen, inevitably, snatched it from him. Still, a front-row start. And inspired by a record 160,000-strong crowd on Sunday, Norris reacted quicker at lights out, storming down the inside past the previously irrepressible Red Bull. Such was McLaren’s raw speed to start, Piastri also almost steered his way past Verstappen. But a McLaren was out in front: Lando Norris was leading the British Grand Prix. Yet there were still 52 full laps to complete. And while Norris could do nothing to defend against the might of the Red Bull DRS on lap five, the pace of the MCL60 – so named to celebrate 60 years since the team was founded by Bruce McLaren – remained impressive. Both Norris and Piastri, in scenes unfathomable a month ago, were keeping Mercedes, Ferrari and Aston Martin behind them with ease. But the mid-race safety car changed the complexion behind Verstappen. Hamilton benefited, leapfrogging Piastri, and was on quicker soft tyres compared to Norris’ hard compound. Right on the heels of his former team. But right then, lap 39, was the coming-of-age moment. Under pressure down the Wellington Straight, Norris positioned his car exquisitely on the inside of the racing line, with Hamilton surging around the outside. He remained inches in front around Brooklands and stayed cool down at Copse Corner, scene of that infamous Hamilton-Verstappen crash two years ago. A lap later, the same scenario presented the same result. Hamilton noted afterwards that the McLaren was like a “rocketship” in high-speed corners. This time at Copse, Norris was on the outside but stayed firm on the throttle, whizzing around in front and remaining ahead of the Mercedes. Hamilton never got so close again. A much-deserved and highly-impressive second place for Norris; his joint best-result in Formula 1. And although a first win for the 23-year-old remains elusive for now, McLaren’s pace – while particularly suited to this track, in juxtaposition to the next race in Hungary – was striking. Those positive steps, so long nothing but cliches rattled out in the media, have finally been taken by Zak Brown and his team at Woking. That top tier of four teams in F1 in 2023, with Aston Martin’s arrival at the start of the season, has briskly become five. Read More Max Verstappen storms to British Grand Prix victory with two Brits on the podium Toto Wolff admits Mercedes will soon have ‘no choice’ but to switch focus to next year ‘I laugh at the bad comments’: Lando Norris on dealing with online abuse and a ‘tough’ year on-track