Today is National Cycle to Work Day, aimed at encouraging commuters to leave the car at home and take to two wheels instead.

The initiative, being marked with events across the district, is open to all cyclists – male, female, young and old.

But where competitive cycling is concerned, getting on your bike isn’t always so accessible to women.

Despite the success of female cyclists – among them Otley’s own Lizzie Armitstead, in last year’s London Olympics – women don’t have a place in the Tour de France.

Silver Olympic medallist Emma Pooley, who won Le Grande Boucle – formerly known as the Tour Cycliste Feminin, a female equivalent of the Tour de France which discontinued in 2009 – is among those behind a petition asking the Tour organisers to put on a women’s race from 2014.

With the Grand Depart for the world’s greatest cycle race heading to Yorkshire for the first time on July 5 and 6 next year, the issue of women cyclists is highlighted further.

Sports Minister Hugh Robertson recently insisted he would do everything he could to make sure women are included in the Tour de France after Labour called for a women’s race to be included in next year’s event.

Currently, only men compete in the gruelling annual road race, but shadow sport minister Clive Efford described the lack of a women’s race as controversial and “very hard to understand” in light of the success of female British cyclists.

Marjorie Dunn, Lizzie Armitstead’s grandmother, says Lizzie is behind anything that can be done to bring more women into the sport.

“I think it will be wonderful,” says Marjorie, in response to calls for a women’s race to be included in next year’s Tour de France.

Anna Green is the West and South Yorkshire area co-ordinator for British Cycling’s Breeze network, set up in 2011 to encourage women into cycling.

Bradford currently has 13 Breeze champions, and since 2011, 500 women from the district have participated in 160 rides, indicating an increasing popularity of cycling among women.

Says Anna: “It does seem ridiculous there isn’t the equivalent in this day and age, especially when women cyclists performed very well in the Olympics.”

Nineteen-year-old Brit Tate, from Ilkley, who competes in the National Road Race Series and the National Elite Criterium, also welcomes the idea for a women’s race: “I think it would be a good platform for women cyclists who are some of the best in the country,” she says.

She says the event would raise the profile of women’s racing which is already seeing a surge in TV coverage through the Tour Series and would hopefully attract more sponsorship.

Liz Barrett, women’s officer for Ilkley Cycling Club, says the club aims to showcase women’s cycling during the week leading up to the Tour de France’s arrival in Yorkshire in 2014 with a new women’s tour race in Ilkley called the Criterium.

Keen cyclist Martyn Bolt has been busy promoting cycling during his role as the current mayor of Kirklees.

Martyn, who wears a specially-designed cycling top befitting his official role, was involved in the bid to bring the Tour de France to Yorkshire in his capacity as a cycling development officer with a national cycling organisation. He says: “The argument should be how do we promote more women cycling? Part of reason why the last event folded was because of the lack of commercial sponsorship.”

Brian Robinson, the first Briton to finish the Tour de France in 1955, who went on to win a stage in the race in 1958, welcomes the possibility of a women’s race.

Cycling is a family affair for Brian. His daughter Louise was a silver medallist in the Mountain Bike World championships and competed in the Sydney Olympics.

“I think they have made great strides, both men and women since my day,” says Brian. But he believes lack of sponsorship has been the stumbling block for women’s racing.

“It is a question of the will to do it and funding,” he says. “We need more ladies taking it up; the bigger numbers the better the sport becomes, that is the other side of the story to encourage ladies to ride.”

Cyclists taking their bikes to work today were being treated to a free bike breakfast in Centenary Square, as part of National Cycle to Work Day.

Those arriving in the square from 7.30am until 10am were being served free pastries, fruit, coffee, tea and fruit juice.

The event is funded through go:cycling, the West Yorkshire adult cycle training programme.

For more information, e-mail tom.jones@bradford.gov.uk.