She’s in the vanguard, keeping her bike a day ahead of the world’s most famous cyclists.
And now, Inverurie woman, Lucy Ritchie, has reached the halfway point in her team’s epic trek round France and is preparing for a lung-bursting Pyrenees adventure.
The former Dunnottar and Mackie Academy pupil from Stonehaven is the only Scottish participant in one of the toughest cycle challenges on the planet, to raise awareness of gender equality in cycling.
As part of an international team, she and nine other women are riding 2,150 miles in 21 days across France, a day in front of the Tour de France professionals.
Yesterday’s stage for Ms Ritchie and her teammates was from Toulouse to the spa town of Bagneres-de-Bigorre, nine miles east of Lourdes in the French Pyrenees.
The location had special significance, because it is also Inverurie’s twin town.
Pete Lowson, founder and chairman of the Inverurie cycling club, Team Ecosse Northboats, has travelled to France to cheer on his compatriot and meet local cycling enthusiasts in Bagneres-de-Bigorre, which celebrated the arrival of the 12th stage of the annual Tour yesterday.
He said: “We didn’t have long to chat as they are working to a very tight schedule, but she is going really well and she is loving every minute of it.
“She is doing a really great job proving that anything the men can do on their bikes, women can do, too.”
Ms Ritchie, 44, only took up road cycling in her late 30s, but has made remarkable progress in the sport and gained her Category Three racing licence last year.
She has represented Team GB at the UCI Amateur Gran Fondo World Championships in France in 2017 and in Italy in 2018.
A keen member of TEN in Inverurie, she also surged to victory in the women’s amateur race at the Tour Series event in Aberdeen last year.
She is the only Scot on the team of women from the UK, Australia, Ireland, USA, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
After a time-trial in Pau yesterday, the women will then face some of the toughest climbs in cycling, including the fearsome Col de Tourmalet in the Pyrenees before heading to more summits in the Alps and then on to the finish in Paris on July 27.
You can follow their progress on the internationelles.com website.
