Briton aims to be first woman to ride Tour de France route in three weeks

A cyclist from Berkshire will this July aim to become the first woman to ride the entire course of the Tour de France the day before the professionals tackle it, to help raise money for charity and prove that women are up to the rigours of covering the race’s  route in three weeks. She will also be testing some innovative clothing from a company founded at the University of Reading two years ago.

Nicki Aitken is signed up to be the only woman among 20 cyclists accompany former England footballer Geoff Thomas on his Tour de France Ten Years On ride, which celebrates his going into remission from leukaemia a decade ago.

They will ride all 21 stages the day before the pros do so and intend to raise £1 millionfor the Cure Leaukaemia charity of which Thomas, who played for clubs including Wolverhampton Wanderers and Crystal Palace, is patron.

Thomas entered remission in January 2005 and six months later, inspired by cancer survivor Lance Armstrong’s exploits, set himself the task of riding the entire route of that year’s Tour de France one day ahead of the race; this year's ride, besides raising funds, celebrates the tenth anniversary of his exploit.

Yesterday Aitken, a European age-group duathlon bronze medallist, was featured on BBC News South talking about her participation in the event, in which she is now being backed by Reading-based clothing firm Kymira Sport.

She will be testing its products, which the business says “have been developed based on thorough scientific research into the biological effects of infrared radiation and result in a reaction on a cellular level.”

The clothing works by the cyclist’s body heat reacting with the fabric, which converts it into infrared radiation which gets into he muscles and allows blood cells to carry more oxygen.”

Aitken, who works as an IT relationship manager, will also be aiming to demonstrate that she can cover the same ground – 3,300 kilometres – over the same period of three weeks as the Tour de France peloton does.

Last year, on the final day of the Tour, race organisers ASO added La Course by Le Tour, a women’s race covering the same circuit in central Paris as the men tackle on the final stage, however there have been calls for a stage race following the men’s route to be introduced.

We don’t know if Aitken will be the first woman to ride the route of the Tour, but we’ve certainly not heard of anyone completing it in the same three-week period that the men’s professional peloton takes to cover the race.

When her participation in the ride was announced last month, she said: “I’ve always been active, whether competing in athletics, triathlon or duathlon so I’m used to pushing myself hard physically and mentally in training and competition.

“I regularly train and compete alongside men so I’m thrilled to be the first woman to sign up to Le Tour and hope that I can inspire more women to sign up for endurance challenge events.

“When I heard about Geoff’s challenge I knew this was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I had to be part of, especially as it would help drive a cure for an illness that had affected my family directly. I know it will be a tough challenge and I am looking forward to being part of Geoff’s team of fundraisers.”

She added: “I’m less daunted by the physical aspect than the financial challenge of raising £50,000.

“I’ve received great support from family, friends, colleagues and my community so far and can’t stress how much every pound donated will make a huge impact to finding a cure for blood cancer.”

You can find her Just Giving page here.