How Nana Cycling Club Built a Double Century Contender | Old Mutual Wealth Femme DC Series
Five years ago, Nana Cycling Club scrambled to find 12 women willing to try the Double Century. This November they’re bringing two teams. Rinette and Nicola take us back to the beginning: a founder who was tired of riding only with men and asked where all the women were, a first DC team pieced together with whoever said yes, and a name borrowed from French slang for “girl” that the Cape Town peloton now shouts at them on the road. Nicola only started riding as a London commuter and did her first Cape Town Cycle Tour on a borrowed bike that was too big for her, wearing a skateboarding helmet. Renette grew up watching her parents come home from the Cycle Tour every year. They talk about women who arrived at Tuesday rides unable to grab their bottle and were racing a few months later, why the kit is half the fun, and why their DC jersey can’t be bought. Then it’s the 2026 Old Mutual Wealth Double Century: a Racing Division and a Joy Division, a stronger top eight than last year, the climbs where someone ends up pushing a teammate, and whether third place in 2025 can turn into something more. Part of our Double Century Femme 2026 series.