The Wiggle Win

I have been meaning to post this up for a few days now but unfortunately busy at work! 

So a few weeks ago I entered the Wiggle #goodstuff competition to win a VIP trip to Paris to watch the final of the Tour de France...I WON! The winning photo below:

The photo I entered was from a 50mile ride I organised in honor of my cycling clubs 80th Anniversary. In the pouring rain we had a great laugh, unfortunately one of the chaps got a puncture so I took the opportunity to take a soaked selfie and entered it via Twitter. I got the DM tweet from Wiggle and I can honestly say, I cried in my office at work as I was so excited! Having watched the race out in Felsted with the ladies I cycled to Paris last year, it was just so incredible to have the opportunity to watch the final. 

I didn't know who I should take, so my Mum definitely got first dibs as she puts up with my lycra, constant cleaning of bikes outside and their home in the dining room! I also hoped that she would become as inspired as I am and support me in my quest to race! 

Anyway - onto the real #goodstuff 

After a few exchanged emails with Wiggle (mainly me confirming if it was really true!) we had our train and hotel booked through the guys at Shift Active Media. 

Getting the first train out of St Pancras so we could get to Paris as soon as possible to see the La Course was crucial, watching the women's race a huge bonus for me as I am desperate to get into racing. 

We arrived in Paris, taxi to the hotel, and much to my poor mum's knees, hot-tailed it to our seats on the finish line of the course (obviously after navigating our way around the Champs-Elysees, asking many of the Gendarmerie to get to the right side). 

We arrived at Tribune Clemenceau, got our complimentary lunches which included an awesome apron, sat down and got straight back up so I could get lots of photos of the women's race. 

The speed these riders were going was just incredible, across the cobbly roads, up and down. A few riders were dropped but worked together to keep going. They were all riding so close together too, it is amazing to watch.

What I found most interesting is the difference in sizes of the women; there were some quite small riders, then some bigger built women with legs like mine! As I have been thinking quite a lot about my build and whether it is right for racing, watching La Course certainly put my mind at ease.

Marianne Vos was tipped favourite to win, and she did. As I am new to all this racing malarkey, I don’t really know much about many of the riders but I had heard of Vos before as she has been doing so much around promoting Women’s racing. With Greg LeMond also raising the awareness of female cyclists and the need to take women’s racing to the highest level, I cannot wait to see the magnitude of La Course next year.

As I won the prize through Wiggle I made sure I swotted up on the Wiggle Honda race team and my god were they fast! I’m gutted I didn't get to meet any of the ladies, but I avidly follow them on a variety of social media platforms to keep inspired for my own development. Hopefully one day I will get to see them racing again with many other inspirational riders.

The team at Wiggle and Shift Active Media were absolutely great. Made us feel so welcome and involved and I cannot thank them enough for the opportunity. 

Separate blog for Le Tour de France...