Get your week started with the latest news in women’s cycling
The Cyclists Alliance has teamed up with Cannondale, Liv Cycling, Specialized Bicycles, SRAM Road and Trek Bikes to provide a new and innovative program for professional female cyclists. Elite riders will be connected with businesses in the sport of cycling as well as fellow cyclists through a mentoring program that is aimed at assisting riders before, during and after their career.
After her second place in Nové Město, Haley Batten has now qualified, alongside Kate Courtney, to represent the USA at the MTB event at the Olympics in Tokyo.
The UCI officially launched the Track Championships League, a new and exciting format of track racing, commencing in November.
Amanda Spratt (Road), Grace Brown (RR and TT), Sarah Gigante (RR and TT) and Tiffany Cromwell (Road) have been selected to represent Australia at the upcoming Olympics. It will be Spratt’s third time at the Games, while her compatriots will be making their debut in Tokyo. The women’s road race will be held on 25 July over a 137km course with 2,700m of climbing while the time trial runs over 22.1km starting at the Fuji International Speedway.
The organisers of La Course by Le Tour de France announced the 22 teams that will take to the start at the 8th edition of the race. In addition to the nine WWT teams, 13 Continental teams will also participate.
The UCI has released a report by an external auditor investigating the development of salaries in the women’s peloton. The report indicated that the average salary of members of the UCI Women’s WorldTour teams has increased by 25% from 2020 to 2021. According to the report, this is due to the introduction of a minimum salary for WorldTour team riders. The study also showed a significant boost in the budgets of WWT teams, having increased by 22% between 2020 and 2021.
The coffee brand Segafredo will continue its partnership for a further two years with Trek-Segafredo, the team of Italian road champion Elisa Longo Borghini.
The Italian national road race championships will be held on 20 June in Puglia.
The Postnord Vårgårda WestSweden TTT and road race have been cancelled for this year. The organisers have cited financial difficulties due to Covid-19 and reduced opportunities for sponsorship of the event, which was originally scheduled for August. The event also had to be cancelled last year due to the pandemic.
Last June, Trek Bikes designed its “All In” plan, outlining steps to develop a more inclusive culture among their employees through training and new hiring practices. Plans also included liaising with underrepresented communities and creating partnerships with cycling associations to create a more diverse future for competitive cycling. In a report this week, the company shared the progress of its “All In” plan, and other initiatives.
Results
Durango-Durango Emakumeen Saria: Anna van der Breggen (Team SD Worx) ahead of Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar Team) and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope)
Vuelta a Burgos Feminas Stage 1: Grace Brown (Team BikeExchange) ahead of Elise Chabbey (Canyon//SRAM) and Niamh Fisher-Black (Team SD Worx) Stage 2: Anastasiia Chursina (Ale BTC Ljubljana) ahead of Alice Barnes (Canyon//SRAM) and Amalie Dideriksen (Trek-Segafredo) Stage 3: Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope), ahead of Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM) and Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx) Stage 4: Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx) ahead of Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar Team) and Demi Vollering (SD Worx) General classification: Anna van der Breggen ahead of Annemiek van Vleuten and Demi Vollering
Zwift Blog
Alison Jackson
Check out the latest installment of Alison’s entertaining vlogs, in which she shows what it’s like to prepare for Paris – Roubaix, a race that has been cancelled, re-scheduled, cancelled, and re-scheduled…
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!
Café Talk with…
In the first of our Café Talk series, presented by Liv Racing, we delve into Ayesha McGowan’s journey as a trainee with the WorldTour team Liv Racing. Find out how this 34-year old American rider became inspired to race and what she is most passionate about.
Five minutes with…
In our latest Q&A in collaboration with Peloton Magazine, we talked with Olympic track medallist and World, National and Commonwealth track champion Annette Edmondson. Find out how she’ll be preparing for the Olympics, what the most cherished memory of her sporting career is, plus much more, right here.
This week in cycling history
Billy Samuel
Born on 22 May 1934, little known Billy Samuel was an Australian cyclist who became the first woman to ride from Melbourne to Sydney. The 23-year-old waitress had attempted to beat the world record on this route, but was not fast enough. So she decided to bike back from Sydney to Melbourne, and this time she broke the record for the 914km-long distance, taking 3 days, 1 hour and 20 minutes to complete her journey. Her record stood for three years until 1937. She rode on unpaved roads, in the pitch black of night and surrounded by dangerous wildlife, but never gave up and showed incredible commitment to achieving what she set out to do.
Rides of the week
Giant Crit Crushers
Thinking about racing on Zwift? You’re in the right place! The Giant Crit Crushers is ideal for new racers, thanks to its duration: short! It’s great for experienced competitors as well. Each race is between 10 and 15 minutes. More information here
Bring a little brightness to your day with this slogan sweatshirt, inspired by the colours of the Giro Rosa leader’s jersey. It doesn’t matter how flat out is “flat out” to you – that freedom of riding a bike is perfectly encapsulated in this statement. Made with all natural products and available in a range of colours, sales of this product help us raise the profile of women;s cycling, 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!
