'I was throwing up every 20 minutes' – British rider battles illness to finish debut Tour de France Femmes

British cyclist Robyn Clay endured a grueling first Tour de France Femmes, battling through illness in the sweltering heat to complete her debut race. The 22-year-old rookie with Picnic PostNL described the nine-day event as "really, really hard," and expressed emotional relief upon finishing in Nice on Sunday. Despite feeling completely overwhelmed at the finish line, Clay's determination helped her reach the end of the challenging nine-day race.

She placed 114th overall, just two places ahead of her teammate Mia Griffin and nearly three hours behind the winner Demi Vollering. At one point, Clay was so affected by the 35°C heatwave that she experienced vomiting every 20 minutes and was dropped by her teammates. Initially, she feared she might not finish the race, but as the days went on, she began to adapt to the extreme conditions.

Clay reflected on the scale of the event, noting that everything was bigger, with more people, media, and staff. She expressed her excitement about being surrounded by the massive crowds, but also lamented scaling Mont Ventoux, the 1,910m-tall mountain that concluded stage seven. Despite the hardships, Clay's passion for the sport and her desire to compete in world-class races like the Tour de France Femmes remain strong.