This year, the Tour de France has made history by introducing La Course, a circuit race that happens on the last day of the Tour, before the riders enter Paris. The racers will do a circuit around the Champs-Élysées, and the winner of La Course will take home as much as the winner of the final stage of the Tour.
The truly exciting part?
This is a race for women.
Optum Pro Cycling presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies team is thrilled to be part of the historic occasion, and six of their top racers are already over in Europe getting ready for what might be the most televised women's cycling event ever.
And during the in-between time of serious racing and training? They're wearing Club Ride as they pedal around town and head out to enjoy Belgium and France.
Sprinter and triple-crown Canadian National Champion Leah Kirchmann told us, "The team recently received our Club Ride casual clothing and we all really love that the clothing is both functional and fashionable."
She added, "I can see myself wearing certain pieces when I want to run errands around town by bike and don't want to stick out as a pro cyclist by walking through the grocery store in full kit. My favorite piece so far is the Sprint Hoody— it's cozy and has a useful hidden pocket for keys and change!"
The indigo Sprint Hoody is clearly the frontrunner for favorite pieces so far.
Jade Wilcoxson, 2013 U.S. National Champion on the road, joked saying, "I've been forced into wearing some pretty awful casual clothing over the years. If the material isn't quality, it starts stinking as soon as you put it on and then you're stuck being the smelly athlete at a sponsor event!"
Thankfully, that isn't the case here, and she explains, "My favorite thing about Club Ride is that the material is good quality. A lot of times on the road, I have to be able to wear things multiple times without washing it. That's the ultimate test of a quality piece of clothing for me. If I can wear it multiple times on sunny days without smelling awful, then I'll keep it in the rotation. I've been wearing my Club Ride clothing every day since I got it."
We'll check in with the ladies after they get back from Paris—we're betting they'll have a lot of great stories about their favorite Club Ride pieces by then, and some great tales from the race to tell!
Follow the Optum Pro Cycling women's team during La Course on their Facebook page and using the hashtag #RoadtoLaCourse.
