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.

Their flagship offering is the 3 cities, whereby they travel from London to Istanbul each year, 3 cities at a time, starting again where they left off. I was fortunate enough to join them during their second trip, riding from Brussels to Luxembourg, taking a detour to Cologne and the largest Masjid in Europe. That was more than 6 years ago, and it's incredible how the face of Muslim cycling has changed in such a short period of time. It was refreshing to sit back and reflect on it all with Shams.

H&K has since gone from strength to strength, expanding their offering, including their most recent ride, Makkah to Medinah, mimicking the Hijra taken by our Prophet Muhammad SAW. Shams goes deep into his journey, and so shall we!

Inspiring and enabling Muslim  women to cycle - That's their moto, and they're not wrong!

 

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.