Deignan wants to use time off bike to push for greater equality

Lizzie Deignan wants to use her time off the bike to continue the push for greater equality in cycling after announcing her pregnancy earlier this month.

The 29-year-old former world champion is expecting her first child with husband and Team Sky rider Philip Deignan.

It means she will not be defending her title at the Tour de Yorkshire at the start of May, or going in pursuit of another world title in Austria come September, but Deignan has plenty of ideas about what she wants to do before she is ready to return to racing.

“Definitely now I’ve got more time it’s something I’m passionate about doing,” Deignan told Press Association Sport from the Y18 event in Bradford where she was helping to promote this year’s Tour de Yorkshire.

“Cycling has given me so much and it would be good to give back. It’s great to be at events like this because you can see how much passion there is around the Tour de Yorkshire and Cycle Expo Yorkshire. There is clearly an appetite on both the men’s and women’s side so it is things like this that can be a catalyst for change.

“Part of that for me is seeing things from behind the scenes, so when I return to the peloton I can continue to help bring about change.”

Deignan has been a prominent voice in the push for equality, and was present at the launch of the Women’s Tour at the start of the month where organisers announced prize money would be equal to that in the men’s Tour of Britain.

The Tour de Yorkshire arguably led the way in 2016 when it offered what was then the largest ever prize fund for a women’s race, while also introducing full live television coverage equal to the men’s race.

“I think it’s about small steps being made across the sport,” Deignan said when asked what needs to come next. “There is no one answer to change everything. For me the most positive thing is that we keep moving forward and we’re now at a point where we can’t go backwards.

“Events like the Tour de Yorkshire are setting a precedent for how races can be now and there are no excuses anymore that anyone will accept.”

Prior to announcing her pregnancy Deignan had suggested she might retire after the World Championships take place in her native Yorkshire in 2019, but she is now talking about continuing until the Tokyo Olympics and perhaps beyond.

That looks a realistic goal given the example of Laura Kenny and Dame Sarah Storey who have returned to racing after giving birth, and who have both been in touch with Deignan to offer their congratulations.

“I’d always envisaged I would finish my cycling career and go on to have children,” Deignan said. “That’s the reason I would stop because I do want a big family. But the fact I’m pregnant now, having seen women come back and be successful, it’s possible to do both.

“Being pregnant prolongs my career rather than shortens it so it’s really exciting.”