Quick Facts
Biography
Sharon Laws (born 7 July 1974) is a British former professional cyclist, who currently works as an environmental consultant.
Early life
Laws was born in Nairobi, Kenya, grew up in Bourton-on-the-Water, Gloucestershire and has lived in Uganda, South Africa, Zimbabwe and the UK.
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 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, but the British official, Dave Brailsford, 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 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 in Beijing but Laws crashed twice and came 35th of 62 finishers. Later in 2008 she won the British National Time Trial Championships.
In 2012, she won the British National Road Race Championships.
In October 2015 she was announced as part of Podium Ambition Pro Cycling's squad for the 2016 season. Subsequently in June 2016 she confirmed that she would retire from competition at the end of the season.
Personal life
Laws retired from professional cycling in August 2016. In October 2016 Laws announced that she had been diagnosed with cervical cancer, for which she had started on a six month course of chemotherapy.