For Thursday night will see the first ever all female Classic Criterium race to be held locally.

Bermuda national cycling coach Greg Hopkins expressed great excitement at the addition of the new event, which he said bode well for the sport locally.

"I think it's a very positive thing for the event,'' said Hopkins. "The women's field has been growing in strength from year to year, but it seems this year the organisers have really put together a strong field which will make for an exciting race.

"Particularly with our very own Melanie Claude and Julia Hawley riding so well, and riding at the top level, it's going to make it an interesting race.

And I think the addition of a women's race on the Thursday night is going to add even more spice for the spectators because they wouldn't have seen women racing at that level before.'' Bermuda has been somewhat slow to catch up with Europe and the United States in terms of the number of women cycling, however the quality of the fields are on the up and up.

And playing no small role in the improved stature of the sport have been the quartet of Claude, Hawley, Jeanna Jones and Wenda Godfrey.

Claude has, without a doubt, stood out as the yardstick for others to be measured against. Since electing to cycle full-time after years as a triathlete, Claude has been virtually unbeatable on local soil, and even upstaging the guys during a memorable race last season.

"I think women's cycling has got a little more credibility now than it's had in past years,'' said Hopkins. "It always has been a strong sport in Europe, but I think that with the sport growing in the US as the men's fields grow so will the women's as well.''