I’m always on the look out for ‘good news’ stories that promote the joy of women’s cycling – and these amazing images fit the bill perfectly. They were shot by photographer Dan Monaghan and capture the agony and ecstasy of The National Hill Climb Championships, which took place last weekend, in a stunning photo-essay.

The event was held at the appropriately named Bank Road in Matlock – an 834m slog with a maximum gradient of 20%, and an average of 14%.

I love the timeless quality of each image (and by the way, riders choose not to wear helmets in order to save weight).

I also love the total commitment on the face of each rider, capturing their absolute effort as well as the total exhaustion that these incredible athletes experience as they push themselves to the limit.

These women are a wonderful reminder that this is how we are when they ride a bike and give it our absolute all: 100% awesome.

Thanks to Dan for allowing me to share these images – and I recommend you take a look at the rest of the images from the event,  including the male riders, at Cadenceimages.com – there is some serious self-inflicted suffering going on!!

P.S. Initially I was unable to find out who these riders are – thanks to everyone who helped out with comments here or on Twitter so I could amend the captions!!