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

• The organisers of the Tour de Suisse Women’s edition have indicated that they are planning to extend the event from two to possibly six stages in the near future.
• Molly Cameron has announced the formation of Ride (Riders Inspiring Diversity and Equality), an advocacy group which aims to create a more diverse and inclusive sport and cycling industry.
• Masomah Ali Zada, an Afghan refugee now living in France, has been selected to be one of 29 athletes who will compete in the IOC Refugee Olympic Team in Tokyo. The 24-year-old engineering student, who has been awarded an IOC Refugee Athlete Scholarship, will compete in the individual time trial, to be held on 28 July.
• The Cyclists Alliance has conducted a survey among cyclo-cross riders with the aim of receiving feedback about race length, race format and the 80% rule. The information gathered will be given to the UCI Cycling and Cyclo-cross Commission in order to improve this sport for female riders. The results are available to view here.
• The RideLondon 2022 women’s edition will be a three-day stage race, instead of the previous one-day circuit and will finfish in central London. Details of the route will still have to be worked out and released at a later stage.
• Annemiek van Vleuten has announced that she will skip La Course and The Giro d’Italia Donne to prepare for the Olympics. She is currently getting ready for the Games at a high-altitude camp before the Dutch national championships, where she will compete in both the road and ITT races.
• Olympic athletes and officials will be monitored via a GPS system to ensure that strict COVID rules are not breached. The 11,000 athletes will have to take a daily COVID test and leave the country within 48 hours of finishing their competition.
• Former pro rider Lars Boom will join Team SD Worx as team manager from October onwards, for two years. During the winter, he will coach cyclocross rider Kata Blanka Vas. The Dutch former rider will also work alongside Anna van der Breggen and Chantal Blaak who will be joining the team as technical staff next year.
• USA Cycling has announced their riders for the Olympics: Ruth Winder, Chloe Dygert, Amber Neben, Coryn Rivera and Leah Thomas will represent their country on the road. Jennifer Valente, Chloe Dygert, Emma White, Lily Williams, Megan Jastrab and Maddie Godby will ride the track.
• The Belgian Olympic Cycling Team will consist of Valerie Demey, Lotte Kopecky and Julie Van de Velde.
• The UCI has paved the way for a total of 15 WWT teams for 2022, with an amendment to registration regulations. Interested teams for 2022 may be eligible to register at WWT level without first having to ride one season at the Continental level. The first team to apply under these regulations was Team Uno-X, which hopes to gain a UCI WWT license from 2022.
• British Cycling has announced the first teams to be awarded Elite Development Team status. This scheme will ensure that riders are supported by a team of staff, and will receive a comprehensive race program, as well as coaching and financial support, to help them make the transition to the UCI Continental level in the future.
• Thalita de Jong, the leader of Bingoal-Chevalmeire, had a serious fall in Dwars door de Westbroek. She had just completed a long recovery from previous injuries and this was her first race back. We wish her a speedy recovery.
• Marion Norbert-Riberolle has announced that she has obtained Belgian nationality for both professional and personal reasons. The former Frenchwoman will be riding on 20 June at BK Waregem for her new country.

Results

MTB World Cup in Leogang, Austria:
XCC Short Track: Loana Lecomte (FRA) ahead of Rebecca McConnell (AUS) and Jolanda Neff (SUI)
Downhill: Camille Balanche (SUI), Valentina Höll (AUT), Monika Hrastnik (SLO)
XC Olympic: Mona Mitterwallner (AUT), Kata Blanka Vas (HUN), Caroline Bohé (HUN).

Zwift Blog

Amalie Dideriksen

In her latest blog, the Trek-Segafredo rider writes about the bumpy road to Tokyo and her ever-changing plans and preparations for the Olympics. Have a read here.

Shara Gillow

Team SDWorx Food Coach Shara Gillow shares her recipe for a nourishing vegetable curry with a side of yoghurt naan bread right here.

Lauren Kitchen

“On my terms, when the time is right for me. Just over a week ago it was officially announced that I am retiring from pro cycling. I’m really happy to be retiring with a passion for the sport still with me and a drive and curiosity for the next chapter of my life.” In her latest blog, Lauren Kitchen reflects on her long career in the pro peloton, and tells us what’s next for her. Have a read here.

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This week in cycling history

Erika Salumäe

On 11 June, the Estonian track rider celebrated her 59th birthday. Salumäe won the first Olympic gold medal for her country after the nation gained independence in 1991. She also won a gold medal in track cycling at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Korea, when she was still competing for the USSR. Salumäe holds two world championship gold medals and two silver medals, and has set multiple world records on the track. She came to cycling rather late, having endured difficult family circumstances while growing up as an orphan. When she won the match sprint gold for the Soviet Union in Seoul in 1988, Estonia rewarded her with a house as recognition of her achievement. After having had back surgery, she had to sell her gold medals at an auction in 2013 to raise funds to cover her medical expenses. Even in her retirement from competitive cycling, she still stays involved in the sport, working on projects with the Estonian Youth Work Centre, as well as offering coaching while living in Spain.

Karen Brems

Born on 13 June 1962 in Illinois, USA, the American rider won the inaugural women’s individual time trial at the worlds in Catania, Italy in 1994. Before making her career in cycling, she was a gymnast, yet found cycling to be more suitable to her abilities. She also won several Masters World Championships in cyclocross and worked as a Sports Director with the Webcor Builders women’s cycling team in California.