A year ago, Lauren Dickson was one of the most inexperienced riders on the 2025 Tour of Britain Women start line. Back then, she had just a couple of years of experience on a bike and no knowledge of what it felt like to ride alongside the best riders in the world.
12 months on, the Scot is not only a professional bike rider with the world’s top female team but has also transformed herself from someone who has potential to someone who has racked-up several hugely impressive results.
Dickson’s ascent in the sport is not only remarkable, it’s near unprecedented.
The 26-year-old’s early sporting life was spent in hill running and duathlon and as recently as two-and-a-half years ago, had never entered a bike race. In April 2024, on a whim, Dickson entered a cycling race and the rest, as they say, is history.
The Scot’s progression through the sport has been astonishing.
Since her initial regional race, Dickson has moved through the ranks and, in late 2025, signed with the top women’s team in the world, FDJ United-SUEZ. The Edinburgh woman is now just over halfway through her first season as a professional, and to say her rookie season is going well would be something of an understatement.
Having begun this season feeling a touch of apprehension - understandable, given Dickson was stepping into the unknown - the Scot has proven she’s not only worthy of her place in the FDJ United-SUEZ squad, she’s a genuine asset in a team which also includes the world’s very best female rider, Demi Vollering. And slowly but surely, Dickson admits she’s beginning to feel more at home as a professional bike rider.
“Until I started racing, there was still some nerves because I hadn't been fully immersed in the race environment. That's where things differ so much from the levels below because everything just feels so much bigger. And there's much more importance placed on the races because this is my full-time job now, it's no longer just a hobby,” says Dickson.
“It was completely unknown how I would do this season but knowing the team had confidence in me gave me confidence in myself. Our first race in Australia was a good start to the season then it was about carrying that momentum forward.”
Dickson’s most notable result to date is her eleventh place finish in the general classification standings of the first of the year’s grand tours, the Giro d'Italia Women. Having been within touching distance of the podium for a significant proportion of the race, which was ultimately won by Dickson’s teammate, Vollering, the Scot proved to herself, as well as the wider cycling world, that she has the potential to be one of the world’s best stage racers. And while Dickson’s inner confidence has blossomed since turning professional, she admits her debut grand tour performance surprised even herself.
"Going into the Giro I was just so excited,” she recalls.
“It was a crazy race - everything’s bigger than other races and also the length of it makes it feel like a real adventure. It’s a tough race but when you know you're riding for somebody and you really believe in their ability, and believe in the team goal, then you're actually able to perform even better than if you were just riding for yourself.
“I rode well and I actually surprised myself a little bit. It was so encouraging to have performed so well - I always knew I liked stage racing and the Giro just confirmed it.”
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The learning curve for Dickson over the past six months has been steep. Riding alongside and against the world’s very best has forced her to step-up her level quite considerably but she’s managed the transition with admirable ease. The one major setback she’s had came in June when, while placed second in the general classification standings of the Tour de Suiss e Women, a crash which broke her collarbone saw her not only abandon the race but also endure a stint on the sidelines.
Dickson is now, however, back to full fitness and heads into the 2026 Tour of Britain Women, which begins today in Cockermouth, intrigued to gauge just how drastically things have changed for her over the past year.
The 2025 Tour of Britain Women was the Scot’s first-ever World Tour race and 12 months on from that debut, Dickson is now recognised globally as one of the brightest talents in the sport. And while this reputation does, acknowledges Dickson, bring with it increased pressure, she’s relishing being in the position of Scotland’s top female road racer.
“I'm so excited about this Tour of Britain,” she says.
“There's home crowds, home roads and us British riders know what the British roads are like.
“It feels like way longer than a year from last year's Tour of Britain - I've gained so much experience in that time and so I'm really interested to see how different I feel. Having experienced a lot of World Tour races now, and knowing how they pan out, I think it'll feel much more normal to me.
“I guess there is more pressure on me this year but actually, because pressure increases gradually, it just normalises itself. And so, as long as you keep enjoying the racing and you stick to your plan, you forget all about the pressure.”
