Pinsent to inspire people to get on their bikes

The international law firm, which has 280 staff at its office in Leeds, is sponsoring the elite women’s race at the Otley Cycle Races in July 2014, just days before Yorkshire hosts the Grand Depart of the Tour de France.

With equal billing to the well-established men’s race, The Pinsent Masons’ Otley Women’s Grand Prix will see some of the UK’s best women racers compete around the legendary Otley circuit.

The Otley event has been running annually for nearly 30 years, and past competitors include reigning Tour de France champion Sir Bradley Wiggins and sprint king Mark Cavendish.

Jon Riley, a partner at Pinsent Masons, said: “We’ve been taking clients to watch Otley Cycle Races for the best part of a decade so knew it was a class act.

“We’re sponsoring the Elite Women’s race in 2014 because we believe it has an important part to play in the legacy of the Yorkshire Grand Depart of the Tour de France by inspiring young women to ride.”

Otley is the hometown of Olympic silver medallist Lizzie Armitstead, who raced to victory at the National Women’s Road Race Championships in Glasgow on Sunday.

Every year, the streets are cordoned off for cyclists who tear around a challenging closed circuit in front of crowds of cheering spectators.

Race organiser Giles Pidcock said: “Everyone has worked really hard to make the Otley races a real stand out event in the British cycling calendar.

“We now want to use the high profile to build women’s racing and show that this is a great sport for women to get involved with.

“We’ve invested a lot into this new race and are really pleased that a high profile business like Pinsent Masons shares our vision and is keen to support it.”

Pinsent Masons’ corporate responsibility programme, called Starfish, focuses on partnering with local communities to inspire young lives.

By sponsoring the Otley Women’s GP, the firm hopes to play a part in encouraging the cycling stars of the future.

Mr Riley said: “We believe our sponsorship deal is unique, because we want to spend the year ahead using our connections in Yorkshire, nationally and around the globe to help raise the profile of young female racers.”

Councils across the region are working with Welcome to Yorkshire, the body organising next year’s Grand Depart event, to make sure the interest it generates in cycling has long-term benefits.