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Get your week started with the latest news in women’s cycling
British rider Alice Barnes will join Human Powered Health until the end of 2024. The 27 year-old all rounder, currently with Canyon//SRAM Racing, will add strength and depth to the classics squad. The team has also signed powerhouse Polish rider Daria Pikulik for 2023.
British Cycling has announced its team for the World Championships. Anna Henderson, Elizabeth Holden, Elynor Backstedt (U23), Pfeiffer Georgi (U23), Anna Shackley (U23) and Alice Towers (U23) have been selected to represent Great Britain.
Swiss Cycling has announced its squad for the World Championships. The team includes Elise Chabbey, Elena Hartmann, Nicole Koller, Naomi Rüegg and Marlen Reusser.
The Swedish riders at the World Championships will be Hanna Nilsson, Jenny Rissveds, Nathalie Eklund and Julia Borgström.
Cycling New Zealand has cited increased costs and that fact that some riders have to return to Europe after the World Championships and then come back to New Zealand for summer as the reason why the organisation will field only a very small squad. Riders have also been asked to fund their travel component of the trip from Europe to Australia, which some riders were not willing or able to pay. Niamh Fisher-Black will lead New Zealand’s small team in Wollongong.
The UCI has revealed the route for the first UCI Gravel World Championships. The different races will take place in the Veneto region of Italy, the weekend of 8-9 October 2022. Riders can qualify for the UCI Gravel World Championships at Trek UCI Gravel World Series events by finishing in the top 25% of their age category and gender. In addition, National Federations are entitled to send a selection of their best riders.
The UCI has unveiled the full schedule for the 2023 World Road Championships. The 11-day event will take place from 3 to 13 August 2023 in Glasgow and across Scotland.
The organisers of the Maryland Cycling Classic are aiming to create a women’s race alongside the men’s Pro Series next year.
The route of the second edition of Le Tour der France Femmes avec Zwift will be revealed on 27 October.
After a break from racing, seven-time Finnish road champion Lotta Henttala will return to racing with AG Insurance-NXTG, joining the team for 2023. The team hopes to obtain a WorldTour license and sees Henttala as a mentor for the young riders who will join from the team’s own development squad.
Krista Doebel-Hickok suffered a broken collarbone at the CERATIZIT Challenge by la Vuelta, requiring surgery. We wish Krista all the best for a speedy recovery.
German rider Romy Kasper, who has been riding for Jumbo Visma for the past two years, is leaving the Dutch team but has not yet revealed her future plans.
British Cycling has announced that Australian rider Cameron Meyer, who will retire after this season with Team Bike-Exchange-Jayco, will take up the role of Women’s Podium Endurance Coach for the Great Britain Cycling Team. The Australian won nine world titles and three Commonwealth Games gold medals on the track and also had a successful career on the road.
Results
CERATIZIT Challenge by la Vuelta
Stage 1: Trek Segafredo ahead of BikeExchange-Jayco and FDJ-SUEZ-Futuroscope
Stage 2: Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar Team) ahead of Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) and Liane Lippert (Team DSM)
Stage 3: Grace Brown (FDJ-SUEZ-Futuroscope) ahead of Elise Chabbey (Canyon//SRAM Racing) and Elisa Balsamo (Trek-Segafredo)
Stage 4: Silvia Persico (Valcar Travel & Service) ahead of Demi Vollering (Team SD Worx) and Elisa Longo-Borghini (Trek-Segafredo)
Stage 5: Elisa Balsamo ahead of Elisa Longo Borghini and Demi Vollering
General Classification: Annemiek van Vleuten ahead of Elisa Longo Borghini and Demi Vollering
Tour Cycliste Ardèche: Silvia Zardini (Bepink) ahead of Jelena Erić (Movistar Team) and Danique Braam (Bigoal Casino – Chevalmeire – Van Eyck Sport)
Le Choralis Fourmies: Clara Copponi (FDJ-SUEZ-Futuroscope) ahead of Ella Wyllie (Parkhotel Valkenburg) and Lieke Nooijen (Parkhotel Valkenburg)
Zwift Blog
We check in with Megan Jastrab of Team DSM, who started racing at the age of 12, and writes about the progress that has been made in women’s cycling since then. Catch her latest blog here!
This week in cycling history
Faustina Valladolid
Valladolid was a pioneer in Spanish women’s cycling. She found herself in the spotlight after winning the first women’s race organised in Madrid. She earned her living as a polisher in a factory and rode her bike to and from work as well as every Sunday for more than 100 km. She was determined to improve her strength by going to the gym and training hard and eventually became the best female cyclist in the country. However, the Spanish Cycling Federation would put obstacles in her way and prevent her attending races. Eventually she and her family decided to immigrate to Argentina in 1949. After that, she faded from the public eye until her name appeared again in the spotlight after the publication of a book on her life. In recognition of her achievements and her support for women’s cycling, a sports pavilion in Madrid was dedicated to her name. Valladolid passed away in 2005, at the age of 90.
Nora Young
The Canadian rider, who was born on 8 September 1917, was one of her nation’s top cyclists during the 1930s and 1940s. Born in England, her family immigrated to Canada when she was two. She began to play ice hockey at a child, often being the only girl on the ice. A national champion in cycling, javelin, and basketball, cycling was her true passion, usually winning or placing near the top of the weekly women’s races. During her sporting career she was employed in a variety of jobs from domestic servant to lab technician. She served in Europe in WWII in the Canadian army as a jeep driver and canteen operator. In the 1980s she competed internationally in the masters athletic tournaments in cycling and a number of other sports, winning several medals and setting many records. Although suffering from arthritis in her later years, she still kept riding until the age of 92. Young died in 2016, and was truly an astonishing athlete and true pioneer of women’s sport.
Mandy Jones
Jones won the 1982 UCI Road World Championships which took place on 5 September 1982 in Goodwood, Great Britain. Nobody expected the young rider from Great Britain to win but she did so convincingly. However, cycling was not an easy career choice for women at that time and after having achieved this great feat, she retired within a year from the sport.
Zwift Rides of the week
Zwift Academy Road 2022
The Academy program delivers a crash course in getting faster, stronger, and training smarter. Six structured workouts pinpoint specific energy systems and educate you along the way. Baseline and Finish Line rides that bookend your training journey measure your progress. Find out more here!
Rapha Women’s 100 Workout
This workout aims to improve your endurance, to help you prepare for the Rapha Women’s 100km Challenge! Whilst your target event is a long one – your training doesn’t have to be. Get ready for the Rapha Women’s 100 scheduled on September, 18th! More info here.
From our online shop
Voxwomen T-shirt – £20
Get yours this summer! Wear our new t-shirt to show your support for the sport. Everyone will know you’re an avid follower of women’s cycling when you wear this item to support Voxwomen! Get yours here!
