This weekend brings some great racing from across the world, as well as our 1st birthday!
OMLOOP HET NIEUWSBLAD
The women’s professional peloton returns to Europe to kick start the classics season at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. The 11th edition is the first of the cobbled classics, taking place on Saturday 27th February. The race will acclimatise the peloton to the cold and wet conditions of the classic season, who have opened their season in the warmth of Australia and Qatar.
The 2016 edition is set to be the biggest yet, with 33 teams bringing 6 women to its start line at the Flemish Cycling Centre Eddy Merckx.
The race will see Lizzie Armitstead (Boels Dolmans), who has finished third in the race over the last two seasons, debut her new World Champion rainbow jersey.
Last seasons winner Anna van der Breggen (Rabobank) also starts the race and after an incredible 2015 season, she is definitely one to watch out for. She narrowly lost to Lizzie at the World Championships and will be keen to take first place on the podium once again.
Former race winners Amy Pieters and Tiffany Cromwell are also serious contenders to the race which has an impressive roster of women. Their previous success mean they will more than likely be battling it out for the top spot at the finish line in Gent.
Unfortunately there will be no live coverage of the race, however you can follow live updates of the race on social media by using the hashtag ‘#OHN2016’.
Voxwomen also have a Twitter takeover for the race with Cervelo Bigla’s Gabrielle Pilote! Be sure to head over to Voxwomen’s Twitter to see what she has to say!
Check out what Voxwomen got up to at Het Niewsblad in 2015:
Reports of the 2016 edition of Het Niewsblad can be found at:
EVELYN STEVENS RECORD ATTEMPT
This weekend also sees Evelyn Stevens attempt to beat Bridie O’Donnell’s UCI hour world record in Colorado Springs, which was set only last month.
Bridie welcomes the competition saying it opens up discussion about women’s cycling:
“I hope the record gets broken…it generates more interest in the development of women’s cycling. Anything that gets more women on bikes and more women racing is a great thing”.
Stevens has some impressive results behind her with two national time trial champion titles as well as a Silver and Bronze medal in the individual time trial at the World Championships. The rider will not only be aiming to beat O’Donnell’s 46.882km, but also Jennie Longo’s UCI best human effort record of 48.159km.
Tickets to the event sold out in just 6 minutes, but don’t worry if you weren’t one of the lucky few to get a ticket! Evelyn’s record attempt can be watched on our website:
