Race director Kimberley Conte approached the SLCC a few years ago to ask us to act as ambassadors for the Women’s Tour Down Under Teams. This was a new idea that involved a member of our club acting as a point of contact for each of the female racing teams coming to Adelaide. 

 

Roles of each ambassador varied greatly and was particularly helpful for international teams that were new to Adelaide and the TDU. Having a female cyclist with local knowledge helps a lot!

Whether it was giving hints on where to eat, ride or have coffee to assisting the teams managers with more practical hands-on tasks, holding bikes, sunnies or providing the odd snack or home baked treat. The ambassadors had to be versatile!

 

Over the past few years it was evident that the international racing women’s teams were participating at a competitive level, often with less resources than the men’s teams. It is pleasing to see that in 2023 they achieved UCI recognition improving the status and equality deserved by women cyclists and by women in sport generally around the world.