Today we remember Sharon Laws, Queen of the Mountains in the inaugural edition of the Women’s Tour in 2014, on the anniversary of her passing.

Sharon is still missed greatly in the world of cycling; her enthusiasm, energy and passion for the sport were unrivalled.

The 2012 British road race champion, she rode and finished the first two editions of the Women’s Tour, winning the Queen of the Mountains jersey in 2014 and finishing third in the classification in the following year. Sharon raced aggressively throughout both editions, while also charming everyone involved in the event with her personality and willingness to promote the race and women’s sport.

In 2017 Sharon returned to the event to join the ITV4 commentary team alongside Hugh Porter. She again proved to be a star thanks to her insight, analysis and warm, engaging tone.

She passed away on 16 December 2017, aged just 43, 14 months after announcing her cervical cancer diagnosis.

Sharon in pictures

Sharon Laws Women's Tour Northampton Laws led the Queen of the Mountains classification for the duration of the 2014 race. Here she is collecting her first leader’s jersey on the podium in Northampton

Sharon Laws Women's Tour Queen of the Mountains leader Hertfordshire Laws – wearing the polka-dot jersey – rides attentively at the head of the peloton in the hunt for Queen of the Mountains points on Port Hill in Hertfordshire.

Sharon Laws attacking Women's Tour 2014 On the hunt for Queen of the Mountains points, stage three, Essex 2014

Sharon Laws 2015 Women's Tour peloton The Briton returned to the Women’s Tour in 2015 – here she’s in the thick of the action (right) as the opening day’s finish in Aldeburgh, Suffolk

Riding for Cervélo-Bigla, Laws leads eventual Queen of the Mountains Melissa Hoskins (Orica-AIS) and 2022 champion Elisa Longo Borghini up Rockingham Hill

Sharon Laws Queen of the Mountains fans

The British Olympian was a fan favourite

Sharon Laws ITV4 Women's Tour commentator Laws joined Hugh Porter in the commentary booth to voice the television coverage of the Women’s Tour in 2017. Picture credit: twitter.com/cycleoptic

Her legacy

Sharon will forever remain one of our greatest champions and will be greatly missed by us all.

Stage four of the Women’s Tour 2018, held between Evesham and Worcester, was dedicated to her. The roads used during this stage, which took in part of the Cotswolds, formed part of Sharon’s old training routes. Her mother, Joy, was a guest of race organiser SweetSpot for the day.

Joy Laws chats to Wiggle HIGH5 rider Kirsten Wild in Evesham

Furthermore, and somewhat fittingly, our 2018 champion Coryn Rivera (Team Sunweb) was crowned that season’s Sharon Laws Road Rider of the Year at the Rouleur Classic.

Coryn Rivera Rouleur Sharon Laws Rider Of The Year Coryn Rivera named the Sharon Laws Rider of the Year at the 2018 Rouleur Classic. Picture credit: Rouleur Classic/Simon Gill