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Get your week started with the latest news in women’s cycling

• On their new website, the Giro d’Italia Donne has announced in a video that there will be 30-minute live broadcast of this year’s edition. Last year the race was downgraded from WWT to a 2.Pro status, because of a lack of TV coverage. With this move, the organisers hope to be able to return to WWT status in the future. The race will begin with a team time trial on 2 July and finish in the Julian Alps on the border between Italy and Slovenia on 11 July.
• Team Coop – HITEC Products has signed Nora Tveit, who made her debut in Belgium last Saturday. The young Norwegian will be riding for the squad for the current season.
• The Lotto Thüringen Ladies Tour has come closer to their aim of raising 35,000 Euros to help pay for necessary COVID measures to stage the event. If the organisers cannot reach their goal, they may not be able to run the race.
• The UCI has decided that the 2025 Road World Championships will be held in Africa. Kigale, the capital of Rwanda, and Tangier in Morocco have both placed bids. The Rwandan town is tipped to win selection but the final decision will not be made until the World Championships in Belgium in September.
• After doubts that the German national road race championships would not go ahead this year, the organisers have now received permission to stage the event from 19 to 20 June in Stuttgart. However, spectators will not be allowed to attend the races.
• Team Movistar has been at the forefront of making cycling a “green sport” and in a recent video, one of its star riders, Annemiek van Vleuten, has shown support for the team’s efforts of conducting responsible business through its environmental strategies.
• The women’s teams of the cyclocoss squad Pauwels Sauzen-Bingoal and Vondelmolen-De Ceuster will unite during the road season. The two squads are, separately, too small to receive starting rights in UCI competitions, so in this way they will be able to race on road for the very first time. Ellen Van Loy and Denise Betsema will be teammates this summer, with both riders having participated in their first race last Sunday.

Voxwomen Announcements

• The third Voxwomen Tour is on Zwift until 16 May. With this event being all about creating more fans of women’s pro cycling, the challenge will introduce Zwifters to the riders, training and the magic of the women’s pro peloton. This year, we’ll also invite men to participate as well! Every event will have a Women’s Only and an Open category. And when you take part in the Voxwomen Tour, you’ll unlock a special new Voxwomen jersey. It’s not too late. So why not get involved and join us!

Results

Zwift Blog

Shara Gillow

Team SD Worx’s Food Coach shares her delicious Hazelnut Choc Squares recipe, a fantastic snack that is easy to make and easy to eat during a ride. Check out how to make it here!

Mavi Garcia

The Spanish rider talks about starting cycling late, being over 30 in the peloton, and most importantly, why it is never too late to discover your talent and passion. Read her thoughts here.

Five minutes with…

This week in cycling history

Evelyn Stevens

Born on 9 May 1983, Stevens is a retired pro road rider and time triallist. After graduating from university, she worked in financial services but quit her job to take up cycling full time. She won the national time trial championship, several WWT races and broke the hour record in 2016. The Californian rider is one of only three women, along with Trixi Worrack and Ellen van Dijk, to have won four gold medals in the team time trial at the World Championships. She got into cycling through her sister, who encouraged her to try it, and she has not looked back since. After retiring from professional sport, she went back working in finance and for the past four years has been a principal of a private equity firm in San Francisco. Something you might not have known about her is a quirky habit she practices ever night: Stevens sets her alarm clock before bed to a time that has to have the number 5 in it.

Bella van der Spiegel-Hage

The former pro rider turned 73 years on 5 May. The Dutch rider comes from a family of cyclists. Seven of her family members, including sisters Keetie, Heleen and Ciska, were active in the sport. She rode professionally between 1967 and 1979 and held multiple national road championship titles. Together with her sisters she would accompany her father at an early age on long rides to his cycling club, sometimes clocking up 90 km per day. Never quite achieving the success of her younger sisters, she put it down to her lack of competitiveness. Nevertheless, the success of today’s Dutch women’s cycling has its roots way back in 1966 when Bella won the second ever Dutch national title, starting a movement that keeps still growing today.

“If in Doubt” – sweatshirt – men’s £37

We are constantly asked for men’s clothing so here we go! Support Voxwomen and women’s cycling with our first slogan sweatshirt for men. Made with all natural products. All Voxwomen products sold help us raise the profile of women’s cycling directly, so thank you for your support. Get shopping here!

“Be Part of the Journey” – long sleeve shirt  £22

From day one at Voxwomen, we knew we were on a journey to change the profile of women’s cycling. Everything we have done has required team and community. This statement has been part of that from day one. We asked the teams, fans and riders to ‘Be Part of the Journey’ and this still rings true. Our slogan long sleeve t-shirt supports us in bringing this great sport to more fans. And you can get yours here!