Sharon Laws, a former British individual time trial and road champion, died on Saturday after a battle with cancer.
Laws’ professional career began in mountain biking and she captured the overall title of the brutal eight-stage Cape Epic mountain-bike race in 2004 with Hanlie Booyens. The duo would win the overall again in 2009.
The Briton began racing on the road professionally full-time in 2008 with Team Halfords-Bikehut and would go on to represent Great Britain on multiple occasions on the international stage. She competed in the road race at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and finished 35th out of 62 finishers. Her countrywoman Nicole Cooke captured the Gold medal in Beijing.
Laws won the British individual time trial in 2008 and the British road race title in 2012. She earned a bronze medal at the 2012 UCI World Road Championships in the team time trial with AA Drink-Leontien.nl. She captured the medal alongside Kirsten Wild, Emma Pooley, Jessie Daams, Lucinda Brand, and Chantal Blaak. Her best individual result at the world championships was 16th in the road race in 2010. She helped her countrywoman Nicole Cooke to fourth place that day.
Laws retired from professional cycling after the Tour of Norway in August of 2016. She announced in October of that year she had been diagnosed with cervical cancer. Her passing was made public by Voxwomen, who posted a message on Twitter. She was 43.
VeloNews would like to extend its deep condolences to Laws’ family and friends.
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