Inspiring cyclists: Daisy Adams

Pint-sized cyclist Daisy Adams is the youngest person ever to be included on our 100 Women in Cycling list. At just 3 years and 11 months old, Daisy rides her bike every day – carving up mountain bike trails, competing in races, or inspiring her many fans on social media with her bike skills and tricks. 

“If Daisy encourages other families to go out and have little adventures with their kids, then that’s great” said Daisy’s mum Helen.

Daisy began her cycling journey at only seven months old when she pushed herself along on her four-wheeled toddler bike before she had even started walking. By the time she turned two, Daisy was already making national headlines after cycling 45 miles in just nine days for the charity Sands in memory of her older sister Lily, who died 45 minutes after being born.

Then in March this year she appeared on BBC Breakfast after cycling 47 miles in seven hours. When asked what she wanted to do when she grows up, she happily exclaimed: “I want to go do the Tour de France!”

Due to Daisy’s Internet popularity, Helen frequently fields questions from other parents asking for advice and recommendations about children’s cycling. “We get a lot of messages with people saying, ‘My daughter loves Daisy’s videos and it’s made her want to go out and do stuff on her bike.’ These are the nicest messages,” said Helen. 

“It’s so great to be talking about a positive cycling story. Cycling gets such a bad rap for so many ridiculous reasons and yet there’s so much positivity there. It’s such a great thing for kids to be out and having that freedom. It’s nice to be having a positive impact on something.”

In addition to cycling, Daisy also has a passion for ballet. She recently showcased both in a bike dance video in which she gracefully glides around Bristol’s Millennium Square doing tricks on her BMX wearing a pink tutu.

Daisy can often be seen in her videos wearing dresses as she rides, partly because of being mis-gendered when she’s speeding down mountain bike tracks wearing her full-face helmet. Onlookers frequently assume she must be a boy. 

“Just because she rides really well and on a mountain bike,” said Helen, “people make that assumption. It happened to her one day six times and she looked so upset. I shouldn’t have to explain to a three-year-old why people are making this mistake. Little girls ride too.”

This is why the 100 Women in Cycling list is so important: we have to show the next generation that cycling is for them. Like Daisy, every woman and girl on the 100 Women list has been an inspiration to others, giving them the support and confidence to give cycling a go. And as Daisy continues to smash her personal cycling goals, she’s also shattering the misconceptions of what women cyclists can do.

Cycling UK can’t wait to see what Daisy does next. We all look forward to cheering her on at the Tour de France in a few years!

Follow Daisy on Instagram.