Women Take On Tour de France Course

Nearly 200 men are currently cycling the long and very hilly route to Paris in the 2012 Tour de France.  But, one day ahead, amateur Kate Powlison and the other five members of the Reve Tour are pedaling the nearly 2173 miles, without the hope of a yellow jersey anywhere along the way.

"We have to work together to get to Paris," Powlison told Bill Littlefield this week on Only A Game. "It's tough sometimes because we are different strength levels, but there's no racing except for a fun, little sprint here or there."

The Reve Tour is in the company of a small peloton of mostly Dutch and Belgium riders who have helped keep them going.

"We've been able to work together with them on the flat stages with them that are very windy.  So it's been great.  It's providing some shelter for us."

Powlison and her teammates hope to raise $6000 for the non-profit cycling advocate organization Bikes Belong, encourage more women to take up cycling, and inspire "anyone, anywhere to tackle a dream that seems impossible."

Powlison admits that it will be hard to measure the success of those last two goals, but believes the riders are "reaching a new audience with this great platform of the Tour de France. "