British National MTB Marathon Champion Announces Cancer Diagnosis

In a statement via her Podium Ambition road team, Sharon Laws has announced that she is being treated for cancer. It is treatable, but not curable. In the statement, Sharon says:

I had exciting retirement plans – learning Spanish and volunteer work in South America, bike guiding and environmental consultancy. These will now have to be put on hold. As a professional cyclist I’ve had my share of setbacks, in particular the horrific crash I had in 2013, which put me in hospital for 2 weeks with serious injuries. I have come back each time. I hope that these experiences and my life as a professional athlete have prepared me for what will be my biggest challenge so far.

The diagnosis follows a period of check ups and tests, which it seems were underway when Sharon took the National Champion’s jersey for Mountain Bike Marathon at the end of August.

https://twitter.com/SharonNLaws/status/769992511951691776

Sharon has been competing at the highest level in both mountain biking and road cycling since 2004, and is an inspiration to many female cyclists (and male ones too). We wish her all the best, and hope that she’s back on track with her retirement plans soon. We’ll let the socks do the talking here.

Sweary Socks

Want these socks? All proceeds go to charity, and we’re told they’ll be back in stock soon.

Hannah Dobson

Managing Editor

I came to Singletrack having decided there must be more to life than meetings. I like all bikes, but especially unusual ones. More than bikes, I like what bikes do. I think that they link people and places; that cycling creates a connection between us and our environment; bikes create communities; deliver freedom; bring joy; and improve fitness. They're environmentally friendly and create friendly environments. I try to write about all these things in the hope that others might discover the joy of bikes too.