Your news

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

The course for the 20th edition of the Tour de l’Ardeche, one of the premier French stage races, has been announced with at least one summit finish on Mont Lozère. There will be 7 stages that will take place between 6 to 12 September 2022. So far, there has been no mention of live coverage.

Water and waste management company Suez will become the new co-sponsor of FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futurscope. The French squad will be re-named FDJ Suez Futuroscope from 15 July onwards.

Amy Pieters, who suffered a brain injury at training in December last year, is making slow progress but signs are encouraging. She now spends weekends at home and her family is hoping she will be able to go to a rehabilitation centre, where she is able to receive intense treatment. A crowd funding has been set up to help support Amy in getting the best treatment. Teammate Christine Majerus has created artwork for a ‘champion of our hearts’ t-shirt, which Team SD Worx is giving away. Read more here how you can help by giving to the crowdfunding effort.

The UCI has announced that the Tour of Chongming Island (China) which was due to take place from 13 to 15 October 2022, has had to be cancelled due to Covid-19 pandemic measures.

The UCI has updated the regulations regarding time trial position, among other changes, creating three height brackets. In addition, the junior gear restrictions have been removed. More details can be found here.The CERATIZIT Challenge by La Vuelta 2022 has revealed the teams that will take part form 7 to 11 September. 14 WorldTour teams will be joined by 8 wild card entries.

Taylor Wiles (Trek-Segafredo) will end her season early as she recovers from iliac artery endofibrosis surgery. She underwent the procedure in early June in the Netherlands and is hoping to be back racing stronger.

Lisa Brennauer won the German ITT championships for the fifth time last week but this time in an unusual fashion. She had to run with her bike towards and over the finish line due to a crash in the final corner.

The UCI has issued a statement regarding the use of pinless number fixation system/pockets at Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. In order to ensure better visibility of rider numbers, all riders are requested to have rider numbers fixed on the outer layer of the jersey and not placed in pinless fixation systems.

Cypriot champion Antri Christoforou, who won La Classique Morbihan in May, has signed with Human Powered Health. The climbing specialist will be joining the team mid season.

The Japanese women’s road championships have been cancelled with late notice due to a dispute about the use of team cars in the race.

A.S.O. has announced that Qhubeka will become an official charity of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift this year. Through this partnership, there will be a specific distribution of Qhubeka bicycles to schoolgirls in Africa.

Results

Stage 3: Elisa Balsamo (Trek-Segafredo) ahead of Evita Muzic (FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope) and Liane Lippert (Team DSM)

Stage 4: Lucinda Brand (Trek-Segafredo) ahead of Kristen Falkner (BikeExchange-Jayco) and Brodie Chapman (FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope)

GC: Lucinda Brand ahead of Kristen Falkner and Pauliena Rooijakkers (Canyon//SRAM Racing)

National road championships (complete list of results here)

Great Britain: Joscelin Lowden (ITT), Alice Towers (road)Denmark: Emma Norsgaard (ITT), Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (road)

France: Audrey Cordon-Ragot (both ITT and road)

USA: Leah Thomas (ITT), Emma Langley (road)

Hungary: Blanka Vas (ITT and road)

Italy: Elisa Longo Borghini (ITT), Elisa Balsamo (road)

The Netherlands: Ellen van Dijk (ITT) and Riejanne Markus (road)

Belgium: Lotte Kopecky (ITT), Kim de Baat (road)

Spain: Mavi Garcia (both ITT and road)

Germany: Lisa Brennauer (ITT), Liane Lippert (road)

Big Day Out

Find out all you need to know here, and get your tickets for road and for gravel!

Vox Performance Project Applications

We are now ready to offer this experience to 10 more women. Would you like to take part? Find out more about it here. But hurry the deadline to apply is 1 July.

Vox Performance Project Blog

Zwift Blog

Here comes the Future Podcast p/b Liv

This week in cycling history

Eliane Robin

Last week, many countries held their national championships and this is a reminder of the history of women’s road championships. French rider Eliane Robin was a pioneer of women’s cycling, who did not receive recognition for winning the national championships. The French Women’s Cycling Federation, established in 1926, was not officially recognised by the French Cycling Federation, so Robin and other women riders and their achievements were not acknowledged. At the first French women’s road championships in 1926, Robin showed her competitiveness and fighting spirit, taking out the championship title in a tight sprint against Jeanne Armouet, another formidable rider. During her career, Robin developed into a multi-champion on the road, track and also cyclo-cross. Robin and other successful riders, who largely remain anonymous to this day, serve as a reminder of the competitiveness and athleticism of these women riders in the face of the adversity that women’s cycling had and in some instances still has to face.

Marianne Berglund

The former skier and professional road cyclist celebrated her birthday on 23 June. The now 59 year old won the UCI World Road Champion in Switzerland at the age of 20 years, was a 10-time Swedish champion and a two-time Olympian. After retiring from her cycling career, she became a management consultant in the U.S. and obtained her PhD in Organisational Leadership. In addition to coaching and sharing her experience in nutrition and training with young athletes, she now mainly consults businesses on improving their performance.

Maria Ward’s “Bicycling for Women”

This week in 1896, Maria Ward’s book “Bicycling for Women” was published. This was not the usual book about women riding bikes, but Ward, an avid rider herself, instructed women not only on the benefits of riding but also explained in detail the functions of bicycle parts and the laws of mechanics and physiology. The book is still in print today.