Your news
Get your week started with the latest news in women’s cycling
Rotterdam will host Le Grand Départ of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift in 2024. The third edition of the Tour de France for women will start with a time trial in Rotterdam. The start will take place on Monday, August 12, the day after the Olympic Games in Paris have ended.
Following almost two decades as a pro rider, Marta Bastianelli will retire after competing in her home race at the Giro Donne. The former Road World Champion had a very successful career, winning among other races, the Ronde van Vlaanderen, Ronde van Drenthe, Vårgårda, and Vuelta CV Feminas.
Kristen Faulkner has sustained an injury while training in California. A car hit the Jayco Alula rider and she suffered a small fracture to her knee. We wish her a speedy recovery.
Sofia Bertizzolo, CPA Women Athletes Board member, represented the riders at a UCI Q&A meeting, which addressed the issue of transgender athletes’ participation in cycling races.
After winning more than 200 races during their time with Segafredo as a sponsor, the team has changed its name and jersey. Now called Lidl-Trek, the squad revealed their new kit for this season last week which was featured for the first time at the Giro Donne.
The UCI has published the Women’s WorldTour calendar featuring 28 events in 11 countries and on 3 continents. The action will begin in Australia from 12 to 14 January with the Santos Tour Down Under and run until 20 October with the Tour of Gunagxi.
Nine women are currently riding the ninth edition of Des Elles au Velo. The team aims to conquer the full route of the men’s Tour de France, Bilbao to Paris, one day ahead of the race, showing that female riders can thrive with the same distance and stage difficulties as the men’s peloton.
The UCI, the Association Internationale des Organisateurs de Courses Cyclistes (AIOCC), the Association Internationale des Groupes Cyclistes Professionnels (AIGCP), UNIO – the association of women’s cycling teams -, the Cyclistes Professionnels Associés (CPA) and the Women’s CPA came together in Bilbao (Spain) last week, to launch SafeR. The aim of the group is to analyse the risks relating to the routes of UCI WorldTour, UCI Women’s World and UCI ProSeries races, provide safety advice to stakeholders in professional road cycling, and carry out safety audits.
The European Cycling Union UEC and City Mountainbike are joining forces to strengthen the development of the mountain bike eliminator discipline in Europe. As from 2024, the cooperation between City Mountainbike and UEC will comprise the organisation of the UEC Mountain Bike Eliminator European Championships, and the further development of a solid European Series which will comprise up to fifteen races all over Europe in the future.
Results
Giro Donne
Stage 1: cancelled due to heavy rain
Stage 2: Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar Team) ahead of Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ-SUEZ) and Juliette Labous (Team DSM)
Stage 3: Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Worx) ahead of Marianne Vos (Team Jumbo Visma Women) amd Chloe Dygert (Canyon//SRAM)
MTB world Cup Val di Sole
Elite Cross-country short track: Laura Stigger (AUT) ahead of Puck Pieterse (NDL) and Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (FRA)
Elite Downhill: Valentina Höll (AUT) ahead of Camille Balanche (SUI) and Jess Blewitt (NZL)
New Podcast: “Just 3 Questions”
Want to submit your own question to be answered by our experts? Send a voice note to us at info@voxwomen.com!
In our second episode, three questions asked by you are answered by experts David from Supersapiens & Chris from Precision Fuel & Hydration. Topics include:
– Fuelling strategies for early morning training
– How to fuel for training vs. racing
– If there’s an upper limit for fuelling during exercise?
Listen on Spotify here!
Listen on Apple Podcasts here!
Listen on Amazon here!
Zwift Blog
Alex Morrice writes about what it’s been like to be a pro rider for Canyon//SRAM since winning the Zwift Academy. Read her blog here.
This week in cycling history
Geneviève Gamillon
A former French pro rider, born in the Normandy, Gamillon celebrated her 70th birthday on 30 June. She got into cycling when one day, riding to her boarding school in Granville, she met the Durel brothers (Philippe Durel would later ride the Tour de France) and was complimented on her strong pedal stroke. This encounter motivated her to continue improving her riding skills, making her eventually the most successful French rider of the 1970s, winning the Road World Championships in 1972 and again in 1974 as well as taking 22 national titles on the road and track. She retired from competition in 1978 and, trained as a nurse, she took up a nursing position in a hospital near her hometown. Gambillon has unfortunately since been somewhat forgotten in the history books, but in order to pay tribute to her and her achievements, a multi-sport hall in her hometown of Hudimesnil was named after her.
Giro d’Italia Femminile
The first edition of the Giro d’Italia Femminile was held this week in 1988. The event was rebranded from 2013 to 2020 as the Giro Rosa, having been branded the Giro Donne until 2012 and again from 2021 onwards. During its history, the event was shortened to 8 days before returning to its original 10-day length again. Italian rider Maria Canins was the inaugural overall winner of the race with Anna van der Breggen being the rider with most GC wins and Marianne Vos having taken most stage wins with 31 victories. Due to a lack of the live TV coverage, which is required for all WorldTour races, the UCI downgraded the race to the 2.Pro Series. But the event’s organisers have rectified this and following the 2022 edition, the race has been classified as a WT event again.
Performance Corner
Understand your sweat to nail your hydration
We all sweat differently, both in terms of the volume of fluid we lose and the saltiness of our sweat. Knowing your own sweat rate and sweat sodium concentration is crucial if you want to personalise your hydration strategy and perform at your best.
Two resources to help with that: A guide on measuring your sweat rate and how to estimate how much sodium you lose in your sweat.
Questions? Email hello@pfandh.com. Click here to get 15% off fuel and electrolytes – proud partners of Lotto Dstny and Team DSM.
Zwift Rides of the week
Voxwomen Zwift Rides
Join, ride, share, and be inspired! Join others and celebrate women’s cycling through a women’s cycling fan club on Zwift. Be part of the journey and complete rides that cater to our busy lives, and find motivation and enjoyment through riding!
The rides are open to everyone and there are two rides every other Thursday. The next one is on 29 June. The times of the ride are 7am and 7pm GMT (8am and 8pm CET) and are 40min in duration with special guests leading the rides! The pace will be set to open, but “rubberbanding” will be turned on which keeps everyone together regardless of how hard they are pedaling – so it is a no-drop ride as long as you keep pedaling. On the ride days, one ride will be a standard group ride, while the second ride will be Zwift’s Aerobic Conditioning Workout. Find inspiration from each other and have fun challenging yourself! We hope you join us in the virtual world of cycling!
Take advantage of the club chat and be a part of the women’s cycling community also – there will be some giveaways from time to time, so be on the lookout!
From our Online Store
Women’s hoodie
This organic hoodie features the Voxwomen Club logo with the words “Join, ride, share and be inspired.” Show your support for women’s cycling and support Voxwomen, with this stylish cotton hoodie. Buy yours here!
Men’s hoodie
This certified organic cotton pullover hoodie features the Voxwomen Club logo! Show your support for women’s cycling and support Voxwomen at the same time, with this stylish hoodie. Get yours here!
