In 1986, Shelley Verses became the first woman to work as a soigneur at the Tour de France, when she was part of the American 7-Eleven team's support staff.

Shelley had been at the Giro d'Italia with 7-Eleven the previous year but the attitudes towards women being involved in professional cycling were such that she was confined to duties at the team hotel. That changed at the 1986 Tour when she was able to work in the feed zone.

A month ago, Shelley contacted Lionel Birnie keen to share her stories from life on the road and so this is the first part of a series called Chapter & Verses. The first three parts focus on her early days as a soigneur in cycling and the 1986 Tour.

Of the ten 7-Eleven riders, only Doug Shapiro had experienced the Tour before, and so the whole team – on and off the bike – were going into the unknown. This is Shelley's story.

This episode of KM0 is available for everyone to listen to for free, thanks to you the support of our Friends of the Podcast. To sign up to listen to all our KM0 episodes go to thecyclingpodcast.com. An annual subscription works out at a few pounds (or dollars) a month and plays a huge part in keeping the show on the road.

The episode artwork is a photo from Shelley's archive. It features the 7-Eleven team's three soigneurs for the 1986 Tour – Etienne Illegems, Shelley, and Marc Verroeye.