Sharon Laws (7 July 1974 – 16 December 2017) was a British professional cyclist and environmental consultant.

Early life

Laws was born in Nairobi, Kenya, grew up in Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire and lived in Uganda, South Africa, Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom. She gained an MSc in conservation and worked both before and during her cycling career as an environmental consultant to organisations including the British Government, the United Nations and for mining company Rio Tinto in Australia.

Cycling career

Laws previously competed in adventure racing and endurance mountain biking. She won the eight-day Absa

Cape Epic The Absa Cape Epic, founded by Kevin Vermaak and also known as the Cape Epic, is an annual mountain bike stage race held in the Western Cape, South Africa. First staged in 2004, it has been accredited as ''hors catégorie'' (beyond categoriza ...

mountain-bike race in South Africa in 2004 with partner Hanlie Booyens. She then competed again with Booyens in the Women's Category in 2009, once again claiming 1st prize. She began riding on the road to train for mountain biking and her form on the road was confirmed when she moved to Australia. She was approached to ride for Australia after coming second in the national championship in

Ballarat Ballarat ( ) is a city in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 Census, Ballarat had a population of 116,201, making it the third largest city in Victoria. Estimated resid ...

, but the British official,

Dave Brailsford Sir David John Brailsford (born 29 February 1964) is a British cycling coach. He was formerly performance director of British Cycling and is currently general manager of UCI WorldTeam . Early life Brailsford was born in Shardlow, Derbyshir ...

, signed her for Team Halfords Bikehut. After turning professional at the age of 33, she made her base Girona, Spain, and undertook winter training in Stellenbosch, South Africa. Her first victory in the team came was the Cheshire Classic stage race, which she won after coming second on the first and second stages. She got in the break on the first day in the Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin but eased up on team orders to let

Nicole Cooke Nicole Denise Cooke, MBE (born 13 April 1983) is a Welsh former professional road bicycle racer and Commonwealth, Olympic and World road race champion. At Beijing in 2008 she became the first British woman to win a Gold Olympic medal in any cyc ...

catch the leaders. Cooke won the stage with Laws fifth. Laws crashed on the fifth stage but rejoined the peloton after a long chase. Her elbow needed a stitch but she could continue racing. She finished sixth overall. Her addition to the British team, which included Cooke and Emma Pooley, was expected to improve chances of a medal in the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

in Beijing but Laws crashed twice and came 35th of 62 finishers. Later in 2008 she won the

British National Time Trial Championships The British National Time Trial Championships for cycling are held annually. The winners of each event are awarded with a symbolic white cycling jersey featuring blue and red stripes, which can be worn by the rider at other time trial events in ...

. In 2012, she won the British National Road Race Championships. In October 2015 she was announced as part of

Podium Ambition Pro Cycling Podium Ambition Pro Cycling powered by Club La Santa was a UCI Women's cycling team based in the United Kingdom, founded in 2013. The team folded at the end of 2016. Major wins ;2014 :Stage 2 Tour de Bretagne, Sarah Storey :UCI Track World C ...

's squad for the 2016 season. Subsequently, in June 2016 she confirmed that she would retire from competition at the end of the season. Laws was part of the ITV4 commentary team for the channel's coverage of the 2017 Women's Tour.

Retirement and death

Laws retired from professional cycling in August 2016. In October 2016 Laws announced that she had been diagnosed with

cervical cancer Cervical cancer is a cancer arising from the cervix. It is due to the abnormal growth of cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. Early on, typically no symptoms are seen. Later symptoms may include abnormal ...

, for which she had started on a six-month course of chemotherapy. Laws died on 16 December 2017, aged 43.

Major results

;2004 :1st, Women's Category, Absa

, South Africa (8 day International MTB stage race) :8th Cape Argus Cycle Race, South Africa ;2006 :5th TransAlps (8 day MTB International stage race, female pair) :6th Grand Raid Crist Alp, Switzerland (MTB 130 km, elite women) ;2007 :1st Tour of Bright (road, elite women) :5th (fastest 22 km MTB leg) Anaconda Adventure Race (solo women) :1st Gravity 12 hour (MTB enduro, mixed pair) :2nd Chase the Sun 5 hour (MTB enduro, female solo) :3rd Tour of Coleraine (road, elite women) :1st Big Hill event (MTB enduro, elite women) :2nd Mars Challenge (21km run, 80 km ride, 30 km paddle, female solo) ;2008 – Team Halfords Bikehut 2008 season :2nd

Australian National Road Race Championships The Australian National Road Race Championships, are held annually with an event for each category of bicycle rider: Men, Women & under 23 riders. The event also includes the Australian National Time Trial Championships since 2002. The Australia ...

(AUS) :1st Cheshire Classic (GBR) ::1st Stage 2, Cheshire Classic (GBR) :1st Olveston Women's Road Race (GBR) :1st

;2009 :1st, Women's Category, Absa

:5th

(AUS) ;2010 :1st Stage 1, Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin Team Time Trial :1st Stage 1, Tour Cycliste Féminin International ;2012 – AA Drink-leontien.nl 2012 season :1st British National Road Race Championships :1st Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge, South Africa :3rd

Team time trial A team time trial (TTT) is a road bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock (see individual time trial for a more detailed description of ITT events). The winning team in a TTT is determined by the comparing the times of ( ...

2012 UCI Road World Championships The 2012 UCI Road World Championships took place in the southern part of the Dutch province of Limburg, also known as South Limburg, between September 15 and 23. The event consisted of a road race and a time trial for men, women and men under 23 ...

;2014 :1st Jersey polkadot

Mountains classification The Women's Tour ;2016 :1st Overall Pirineus 3-day Mountain Bike Race :3rd Overall Alpentour Trophy

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Laws, Sharon 1974 births 2017 deaths People from Bourton-on-the-Water Sportspeople from Nairobi British female cyclists Cyclists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists for Great Britain Cyclists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games British cycling road race champions Cycling announcers Deaths from cervical cancer Commonwealth Games competitors for England