BikeBiz Industry Insights: A Conversation with Hannah Wilson from Extra UK

In our latest BikeBiz industry insights, a conversation with, we catch up with Hannah Wilson.

If you’ve been to a trade show or event this year, chances are you would have seen Hannah. As a brand manager at Extra UK, no two days are the same. Riding since the 1990s and working in the bike industry for over a decade, Hannah is not one to shy away from a challenge.

In a few weeks, she will take on two stages of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift (TdFFAZ) a day before the pros as part of ‘The Route‘. We chat to Hannah about her work, recent training and how she feels about dusting off her road bike for the first time in a while.

What does a typical day in your role at Extra UK look like for you? 

One thing that I love about my role as a Brand Manager within Extra UK is how varied it is. For instance, we’re in event season just now, so over recent weeks I have been planning and preparing product displays and event kit, and I attended a gravel event recently, representing my brands, which allowed me to speak directly with riders. We also have a sales meeting this week, so we’re working on product and promotion presentations for that, and I’ve also started planning for the 2026 season already.

In reality, a lot of our work does involve computer time, so when the opportunity arises to combine riding and work, it’s the dream, as the vast majority of us within the industry joined to allow us to combine our passion with our careers.

The cycling industry’s relationship with gender has improved over the years. Reflecting on your career at Extra UK and within the broader cycling industry, what have been some of your most significant experiences, positive or challenging, as a woman in this space?  

I’ve been in the cycling industry now for 15 years. My first role was as a Product Manager at Halfords, where I had an incredible Category Manager, Lousie Robinson and Head of Bike, Karen Bellairs above me, as well also feeding into a female Commercial Director, so I feel I had some incredible role models right from the start. When I moved to Extra UK (11 years ago), there were less women working around me, but I don’t feel like my gender had any influence on my position within the company.

I’m a passionate and driven individual and a pretty strong character, so I think that set me up well to succeed. I had the honour of being mentored as part of the Uplift Programme, which is a mentoring and networking scheme designed to help keep more women within the industry and enable those within it to succeed. It was perfectly timed for me after a period of change and helped me to reflect on my position within the business and how I could continue to bring the same dedication, drive and job satisfaction.  

Let’s talk about industry marketing. From your perspective, how effectively does the cycling industry currently market to women? Where do you see the biggest differences in approach, messaging, or product focus, and do you think this has an impact on female participation and purchasing habits?  

The women’s cycling market is growing, so to not focus on it would be nonsensical. It certainly feels like women are part of the conversation now, it feels like we’ve got past the point where a few people were having to encourage the use of female athletes in images or marketing campaigns, to it feeling much more natural. I am lucky to work within a distributor whose brands see the women’s market as an important category. I’m not sure if that is the same everywhere, though.

We also have a growing list of female ambassadors here across many of our brands, with the likes of Amy’s Cycling Adventures and Molly Weaver really showing different sides of what can be achieved on a bike and how much fun it is. There’s also some incredible research being done around how to market to women by Project Fias and Fiona Spotswood. We all need to keep learning and being open to new ideas. 

You’re embarking on an incredible ride and taking on The Route. What inspired you to take on the challenge?

fizik is a key sponsor of the ride, which is how I was given the opportunity to participate. I’ll be honest, as mentioned above, the opportunity to ride bikes as part of work is not always as regular as we would all like and should definitely be seized when they arise. As fizik are supporting riders with kit, it’ll be great to be on hand to help them with set up and talk them through the products they’re using. I’d already committed myself to several other fitness challenges for the year, but none involved road bikes. I’d class myself as a leisure road cyclist; my favourite road rides have been those where I get to use the bike as an opportunity to spend time with my Dad.

I’m normally found on a mountain bike or ebike these days, on an adventure or enjoying time at a local trail centre. So this, for me, is a big challenge. To get to ride two stages of the Tour de France Femmes a day before the pros is amazing. The fact that I get to do it as part of a peloton of incredible women and as part of a team raising funds for Cure Leukaemia is incredibly humbling. Once I’ve done my two stages, I’ll be cheering the rest of the team who’ll go on to complete all nine stages. They’re aiming to raise £150k for Cure Luekaemia and are currently almost at £100k before the ride starts, fantastic effort!

Building on that, how well do you feel women’s cycling events, like the Tour de France Femmes and by extension The Route, are being covered and promoted by the media (both mainstream and cycling-specific)? 

We have two journalists coming along with us from road.cc and Women’s Fitness, so we should see some coverage through their experiences. I feel like I see a lot of amazing coverage of races and events across social media generated by the riders themselves, cycling media and fans of the sport, but I’m not sure women’s cycling gets as much mainstream focus as their male counterparts, sadly.  

Preparing for an event like this takes incredible dedication. Can you walk us through your training, from its early stages to now? Have there been any unexpected physical or mental hurdles? What’s helped you remain focused, and how does it connect with your personal fitness journey outside of work?  

I’ve not really had much time to prepare as I only signed up in May. I’ll be honest, I hadn’t ridden my road bike since lockdown. For me, the hardest challenge was getting used to being back out on the road, the bike position, the traffic and the lack of motor on my bike! As you hint at above, over the past two years I’ve been on a big personal journey focusing on getting fitter, happier and healthier, so, although I’ve not been riding road bikes, I’m pretty physically and mentally strong right now, my power-to-weight ratio having dropped 32kg, should be better too.

I’ve built some habits and routines around training most evenings and weekends when I’m not working. I’ve also been competing in a non-bike sport called Driathlon, and I’m proud to say I’ve qualified for the National finals in October. The competitive element for me is a real motivator; I love having something to aim for.

Events like The Route and the Tour de France Femmes are crucial for raising the profile of women’s cycling. In your view, what’s the importance of having dedicated women’s cycling events, both at the professional and amateur level, for the industry as a whole?  

For women, seeing other women competing or just taking part is essential. It feels like there’s a growing community focused on making cycling events less intimidating (for women and men alike). For instance, at the event I was working at recently, Gravel Rocks, two incredible women completed the event having only recently taken up cycling recently and they were welcomed by all entrants and organisers alike to ensure they were able to complete their challenge and feel inspired to attend future events (they even won a prize for doing so).

There are also so many amazing ambassadors (as mentioned previously), event organisers and athletes who are actively encouraging more participation, not just within competitive events but also social rides and gatherings. We need a variety of different options. Seeing the professionals race will hopefully inspire future racers, but perhaps other women who see the riders of The Route (who are not full-time cyclists) take on the challenge and inspire others in a different way.

Looking ahead, what steps or changes would you like to see the cycling industry implement to continue creating an inclusive environment where women feel equally represented, valued, and catered to, both as employees and as customers?  

There’s so much happening already, but we need to share the messaging and stories to get the word out there more. Support the events, ambassadors and athletes who are doing the same. Also, be visible, talk about the rides you’ve loved and encourage others to give it a go.

You can donate to riders taking on ‘The Route’ to raise funds for Cure Leukaemia on their JustGiving Page.