Tweedlove Stories no.3 Katy Winton tells it like it is

This year's TweedLove Bike Festival includes seven separate events for women. What's going on? Is there now a vendetta against the blokes? No, it's purely a response to the success of last year's women's events and, more importantly, a reflection of the huge increase in popularity of women's mountain biking and cycling in general.

'There was a hugely enthusiastic response to the women-only rides last year and we were asked for more. So we've now got free skills sessions and some great ride-outs for women, and there's even a full-on women's road race crit at the Peebles Sprint', says TweedLove organiser Neil Dalgleish. 'The POC Queen of the Hill title is looking like it's going to be hotly contested too.'

Local rising XC star Katy Winton is among the favourites for that race, and is proving the point about the rise of women in the sport. She's a great all-round rider with sights on Commonwealth and Olympic Games among other goals. We filmed her riding on some favourite sections at Innerleithen - she can clean stuff that many riders of both sexes struggle badly with, and can nail the steep DH/enduro tracks, even on a short XC bike with very ungrippy XC tyres on. Awesome. (And she told you so!)

Full details of events at: Here