Women and girls of all levels had a chance to take to the track at Derby Arena last weekend in an event organised by a local bike shop.

Samways Cycles put on the event at the velodrome which attracted 48 women of varying abilities to learn the basics, or improve their skills.

The session was advertised on Friday evening, and by Saturday afternoon over 40 places had already been snapped up suggesting a real keenness among women to have a go. 

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The velodrome was booked out for three hours, and women split into groups of similar ability – absolute beginners, those who had spent some time on the track and those wanting to learn more skills for racing.

The groups spent twenty minutes on the boards each, before then having a chance to have a break, try riding rollers, and gain some insight from coaches on hand.

There were of course some cakes on sale to answer the important need to re-fuel, the profits of which went to BBC Children in Need.

Kate Samways said after the event: “It was an absolutely brilliant day – the session has been getting rave reviews from all the women who attended. The response we had when we said this would be happening was phenomenal and it’s great to have something like this to empower women and give them an opportunity they might ordinarily not have.”

Kate thanked all those who helped her to organise the event – Derby Arena Coaches, officials from Breeze, British Cycling and colleagues at the shop including World Champion Liver Transplant Cyclist Diana Higman.

The bike shop in Derby work hard to promote women’s cycling, with a large in-store range designed to create a non-intimidating and women friendly environment, as well as regular rides and events organised by Kate and Diana.

The session was so successful that there will be more hosted in the new year – and you’ll be able to find out about them via the Samways Cycles website and social media channels, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.