COVER STORY
On the right track
IN AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH DIVA PUBLISHER LINDA RILEY, CYCLIST EMILY BRIDGES OPENS UP ABOUT COMING OUT, TRANS INCLUSION IN SPORT AND HOW SHE FINDS THE STRENGTH TO KEEP PEDALLING
28 Derry Girls Lesbian representation in the groundbreaking sitcom
30 Feeling myself How coming out at 40 changed my life forever
36 Aqueer romance Celebrating the beauty of LGBTQI love
When I meet 21-year-old Emily Bridges she tells me that the thing she loves most about cycling is the freedom she feels when she’s out training. Her face lights up as she describes the bliss of being alone in nature with only her thoughts and her trusty bike for company.
She’s been passionate about the sport ever since she was nine years old, when she moved to Wales and began training at a cycle speedway. Right next door was the National Velodrome and the first time she cycled on its steep track she was “instantly hooked”. She excelled, securing places on prestigious academy programmes and winning medals at championships. She describes the act of cycling itself as “liberating”. Yet when it comes to her battle to participate in female sport at a professional level, it’s an entirely different story.
Photos Courtney Nathan Phillip @Courtneynp (Cover, p22 and p25)
Ellie Robinson @elliecxpictures (p21)
Make-up Sophie Daly @sophiedaly_beauty
Styling Joey Bevan @joeybevan
At around the same time that Emily discovered cycling, she started to become aware of gender nonconformity. During lockdown she came out to her friends and family as trans. Then on Coming Out Day in October 2020 she came out publicly in a powerful essay for Sky Sports. She wrote, “If I can make even one young trans person feel less alone and more welcome in the sporting community, then I will have succeeded.”