Sunday was a special day in Paris! We were granted a race by the ASO, the Tour de France. One of the largest sporting events world wide. It was an incredible day and everything I had dreamed of.

It was not just a bike race but a huge and unique opportunity to show a global audience a womens bike race at the highest level. I was primed mentally and physically and had a great day on the bike being active in many critical moves during the race and a solo breakaway attempt with three laps to go, second to World Champs 2012 all round one of the best days on my bike ever. The feeling of having crowds behind you on the streets via social media and viewing at home was humbling and uplifting, an incredibly proud feeling. It adds a special element, foreign, but shouldnt be. It brings what we do to the peoole who love cycling,  love sport, love big dreams, love seeing the world change / progress for the better and ultimately those wanting to show their little girls equally what one day they can do too.

Thank you to Cycling Australia and my team mates along side me for the opportunity to race in the green and gold. To be recognised and cheered on by roadside fans along the Champs was a memorable moment. Thank you to Marianne Vos, Kathryn, Bertyne, Chrissie Wellington and Emma Pooley. Four women who less than 12 months ago put together a movement for change and proposed a women’s race at the TDF. Thank you to the global media who have enjoyed capturing not only the race but the significance of the event, change and progress in our sport. Finally thank you to the UCI and the ASO / Le Tour for the green light. I imagine we put on a showcase you are proud of and this is now a small but pivotal step to bigger and better things!

Posted with love from Rach…

The wings of change have arrived in Women’s Cycling! For the first time in history we will have a race named La Course hosted by Le Tour on the final day of the tour de France on the Champs-Élysées just hours before the men roll in to their iconic finale, central Paris.

Our race will be broadcast to the world. The TDF as a whole attracts a worldwide television audience of approximately 3.5 BILLION people, through 188 countries across 121 television channels!

This is a game changer for our peloton, an opportunity to showcase our sport to the world – fans and potential investors, who at present merely get a glimpse of what women look like on bikes.

I am thrilled and honoured to be selected in the Australian National team who have been granted one of the elusive places on the start list of this year’s premier women’s UCI calendar event! Keep an eye out on my social media channels for the lead up…

Sometimes the sets just come rolling in – you are on top, riding each wave in succession, in control, flying effortlessly. Other times the wash churns, you are dumped by the small angry ones, caught in the riptide. That is the very nature of nature of a professional athlete’s life, a life that is unpredictably unique.

It is no secret that things have not gone smoothly here in the past 18 months since the 2012 World Championships. Major oral surgery, a season-ending knee injury last year and being hit by a Range Rover on a training ride in February. Enough said!

What I want to celebrate is opportunity…

The opportunity I have had to learn how to ride the rough waves – and find the delightful barrel through the middle, staying upright and focused on light ahead. Embracing this as part of the thrill, the adrenalin and satisfaction of the ride. On a normal day the pro cyclist is pushing out watts solo up a mountain, going to bed early, living a disciplined life oriented towards one’s ambition. Podiums, TV cameras, and glistening medals represent small and infrequent moments.

If we don’t embrace the rough and tumble of the ride, so much of what can be a spectacular journey is missed. We learn little when things go perfectly. We thrive from the curveballs, twists, turns and ultimately triumphs over ugly, unwanted circumstances – challenged to stop, think, feel, act and change. This gives life to new and alternative stimuli, a catalyst to transform any given situation.

Self-instilling the capacity to turn life’s obstacles into opportunities is what being an athlete, and more importantly, being human is all about – a life skill to be learned, trained, practiced and cherished. Accomplishing each challenge amalgamates, gathers momentum and one day does become glory.

Being healthy and injury free, I am looking forward to some incredible opportunities for the remainder of the season, a full race program with the Australian National Team building towards selection for this year’s World Championships, my ultimate ambition in late September.

I love to share what I am learning on this journey, to give others the insight to know what is in fact possible if you search, learn and discover that you can win your own race every single day of your life. There is a rip roaring barrel waiting for you in every set that rolls in, find it, grasp it and make it your own…

http://m.cyclingnews.com/news/rachel-neylan-hoping-to-get-back-to-her-best

I’m pleased to have the support of Cycling Australia in 2014 for my European season ahead racing with the Jayco AIS Women’s Team…. thanks to Cycling News for the chat featured above!