Pendleton draws a Cycletta crowd

With the choice of a 20km, 32km or 57km course, women of all ages and abilities gathered early in the morning in the Cycletta Village to take on the challenge. Many of the riders were raising money for the official charity, Macmillan Cancer Support.

First up were the children’s Scootathlon events, which are a new addition to the Cycletta Series this year.

Pendleton was then on hand to set the rest of the women off, taking to the main stage to offer some final words of advice and encouragement, before leading the crowd of women towards the start line. She then started the waves of cyclists from 9am before joining them on her bike.

Speaking ahead of the start Victoria said: “Over the last few years women’s cycling has been growing rapidly. I see more and more women out on their bikes and it makes me proud to know that Cycletta has been a real driving force behind this. I’ve been involved with Cycletta since it began in 2011 with just two events, now there are seven events in England, Scotland and Wales and it’s a real pleasure to come along to the events and join the ladies out on the roads.”