Huge increase in women cyclists at local club

Women in Winchester have been going against the national trend when it comes to cycling with a local club seeing a dramatic increase in women members.

Since 2016, VC Venta has seen a 150% increase in women joining the cycling club.

The trend at VC Venta coincides with the creation of the ‘One in a Million’ campaign, which is trying to tackle the reasons women aren’t cycling as much as men.

Club chairman Crispin Quail said: “We are really pleased to see the recent growth in the club membership and there seems to be no sign of it slowing.

“In 2018 we worked hard to broaden the appeal of our rides and activities to attract a more diverse membership, so it is especially pleasing to these groups thriving.”

A British Cycling survey conducted last year discovered that 64% of women don’t feel confident riding a bike and almost 70% of cyclists are men. VC Venta are looking to tackle this through their bi-weekly women only rides on a Thursday evening.

The One in a Million campaign is hoping to get one million more women cyclists on the road by 2020, the initiative is backed by ‘This Girl Can‘ and has already helped 800,000 more women onto the road.

VC Venta are hoping that the increased participating of women in their club rides will also increase the amount of women taking up the sport competitively. Mr Quail said: “We are pleased to be able to support these teams by providing equipment and race kit with the help of our sponsors and local grants.”