British Cycling unveils inaugural junior women's road race series for 2018

British Cycling (BC) has announced a new junior women's road cycling race series for 2018, the first time that such a series has been run by BC specifically for women aged 16-18.

BC has described the new four-date series as a "progressive step forward for women’s road racing", with the series aiming to create a bridge between youth and senior levels.

“This is fantastic news and represents another progressive step forward for women’s road racing in Britain," said BC's director of cycling, Jonny Clay.

"It means that there is now a more structured pathway for progression for female riders moving up from the youth category, which can only aid their education and development as competitive riders.

“This development follows on from some great work by dedicated volunteers in building fledgling events and allowing us to create an appropriately-sized series which further underlines the continued growth of women’s racing.”

>>> Former UCI president Brian Cookson announces intention to start a women’s WorldTour team in 2019

The series comes after the running of a stand-alone junior women's national championship race category in 2017.

Venues for the new series will be announced at a later date.

The series inclusion in BC's calendar for 2018 is part of the organisation's commitment to get one million more women cycling by 2020.

A statement issued by BC on Thursday said that it "further underlines British Cycling’s desire to reduce the traditional gender imbalance in the sport".