Scottish Cycling Announce Team for Women's Tour of Scotland

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The Scotland Team is set and ready to roll as part of a 16 team peloton comprising of some of the leading international teams in women’s cycling.

Katie Archibald. Neah Evans. Anna Shackley. Jenny Holl. Jennifer George. Sophie Lankford.

The inaugural Women's Tour of Scotland will take place 9 - 11th August and is shaping up to be an outstanding, permanent UCI level event. The three day, three stage race will be contested by some the world's top cycling talent and the Scotland Team has big ambitions to challenge for the honours.

Find out which teams will be joining the Scotland Team for the Women's Tour of Scotland HERE

Lining up for the tour will offer a platform for homegrown talent and provide inspiration to future generations of young bike riders. Scottish Cycling Endurance Coach Mark McKay feels that having a Scotland team racing in the tour will have a lasting impact on the sport.

He said, "The new Women’s Tour of Scotland will be a chance to showcase the top of our sport to a new audience that could attract and inspire more people – especially young girls – to take up cycle sport. The event also gives us the opportunity to further grow our performance development pathway by giving some of the athletes that we work with access to a higher level of competition that they might not otherwise get."

The team will be led by Olympic and Commonwealth Games champion Katie Archibald who has been an enthusiastic supporter of the Women's Tour of Scotland since it was first announced, appreciating the opportunity to race on home roads for equal prize money to a men's race of this level.

"How special to compete in a UCI road race at home. I'll be with teammates I know well, and in Scottish kit which is always something to treasure. The racing will be hard but I can't wait to lay down our best for home crowds."

For Glasgow born Jennifer George this race is going to be an emotional one.

"The importance of this event didn't really hit me until I recce'd the route. As I descended Dukes Pass and passed places which hold childhood memories I got a lump in my throat. It's going to be an absolute thrill to race against some of the world's best on roads I'm so familiar with."

Jenny Holl from Blairdrummond said,

"I’m really looking forward to racing on my home roads in Scotland kit and hoping for some exciting racing."

Sophie Lankford can't wait to be part of the team and experience everything the Women's Tour of Scotland has to offer.

“It means a lot for me to represent Scotland for the first time in my cycling career, it’s something that I’ve always wanted to do, so I feel honoured to have the opportunity. It’s great to have the race, which is paving the way for women’s cycling and demonstrating that we can have a stand alone event. This year has been a big learning curve for me and I’m looking forward to being part of a really strong team, where I hope to learn from them and gain more experience. All in all, I’m very excited!”

Meet the Riders

Katie Archibald	A household name across Scotland, Katie Archibald started out racing on a grass track before progressing to the velodrome and road where she has had a series of impressive results. She has a gold medal in the team pursuit at the Rio Olympic Games, gold in the individual pursuit and silver in points race at the Gold Cost Commonwealth Games, and many Track World Cup medals to her name. A past British Criterium Champion, Katie has competed nationally and internationally on the road for Team Wiggle and WMT, racing in her trademark aggressive style. Most recently, Katie represented the Scotland team at the Tour Series where she took second in the Aberdeen round.
Anna Shackley	Anna is the youngest member of the team and is currently on the Scottish Cycling performance development programme. So far, 2019 has been a brilliant year with a win in the first round of the HSBC UK British Junior Women’s Road Series, 11^th overall and first junior at the Tour of the Reservoir and claimed several Scottish National Junior Track titles. Anna also rode as part of the Scotland Team at the Tour Series in Aberdeen and Motherwell finishing well up the field in both races.
Neah Evans	After being discovered at the Scottish Cycling Track League, Neah Evans progressed quickly through the Scottish Cycling iDevelop programme and onto the Great Britain Cycling Team Senior Academy where she has medalled at multiple Track World Cups and took silver at the European Championships in team pursuit. Over the last few years, Neah has been on the podium at the HSBC Women’s Road Series and the Tour Series while continuing to fine tune her track riding. She represented Scotland at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, winning silver in the scratch race and bronze in the points.
Jenny Holl	Jenny Holl is currently on the Great Britain Cycling Team senior academy having come up through the Scottish Cycling development programme. This year she has split her time between the road and track, racing the Six Day in Manchester and also spending time out in Belgium. As a Stirling BC alumni, she has won a host of Scottish National Championships in a variety of events. Jenny was recently part of a silver medal winning women’s team pursuit team at the 2019 European
Jennifer George	The 2018 Scottish National Road Race Champion is an experienced road racer having competed in Europe and America with Drops in 2016. Currently riding for Torello-Assure-Madison, Jennifer is a regular feature in the top ten at the HSBC UK British National Road Series and the Tour Series, animating the peloton and achieving fantastic results.
Sophie Lankford	Sophie had a brilliant 2018 with multiple wins on the track both nationally and internationally. She swept the board at the Scottish National Track Championships, enjoying success in all the endurance events. 2019 has seen Sophie make the leap to road racing with Team Jadan Weldtite-Vive le Velo where she had a brilliant spring featuring top 10 results in the Tour Series and an outstanding win at the HSBC UK National Women’s Circuit Series in Bristol.