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The Giro d’Italia Women has been officially launched alongside the 2024 men’s Giro d’Italia. However, the course of the women’s race will be revealed at a later stage due to changes to the race route design. The organisers of the men’s edition, RCS, are taking over the race for the first time. The move is expected to see a more professional approach to organising the event, as well as improved visibility. The race will take place from 7 to 14 July.
Italian rider Vittoria Bussi has reclaimed her women’s hour record. She performed this feat on the velodrome in Aguascalientes, Mexico, where she shattered previous benchmarks by covering an astounding 50.267km and also demolished the significant 50 km barrier, outdoing Van Dijk’s prior record by more than a kilometre.
Typhaine Laurence, who has been riding with Lifeplus-Wahoo, has announced her retirement. The 25-year-old French rider previously rode for three years with Arkéa Pro Cycling Tean, but has said that she cannot make a living from cycling and so is looking for a new career.
Kirsten Faulkner will join EF Pro Cycling. Among other achievements, the U.S. rider has won stages at the Tour Féminin de l’Ardèche, the Ladies Tour of Norway, the Tour de Suisse and a pair of stages at the Giro d’Italia Donne. She joins compatriots Veronica Ewers and Alison Jackson at the new EF Education-Cannondale Squad.
Junior World Champion Felicity Wilson-Haffenden has signed a three-year contract with Lidl-Trek. The Australian started the season in the perfect way, taking her national time trial title before yet another success at the Oceania Continental Championships, and finishing the triple crown of time trial titles at the World Championships in Glasgow.
Fleur Moors, the newly crowned European junior road race champion, will join Lidl-Trek on a two-year contract. The young Belgian rider will race both road and cyclocross, representing Baloise Trek Lions in the latter.
Tiril Jorgensen will ride for another two years with Team Coop-Hitec Products.
While most riders of EF-Education-TIBCO-SVB, which will fold at the end of the year, have found new teams, Clara Honsiger is still looking for a road team. The U.S. cyclocross champion has been snapped up by a cyclocross team for the next season, but hasn’t signed a contract with a road team yet. Teammates Krista Doebel-Hickok, who had some good results this year, as well as Lizzy Banks, have also not announced a new team.
UAE Team ADQ has announced the appointment of Cherie Pridham as Head of Sports, effective from the 2024 season. Pridham, a trailblazer in the world of cycling, made history as the first woman to work as a Sports Director in a men’s WorldTour team. In 2021, she further solidified her legacy by becoming the first female Sports Director to clinch a victory in a men’s WorldTour race.
Lieselot Decroix has been appointed Performance Director at FDJ-SUEZ. She is a former pro rider, Olympian and PhD holder, and was a coach at Jumbo-Visma, bringing a wealth of experience to the French team.
Lotte Kopecky has received the Kristallen Fiets award for the best Belgian female rider of the year for the fourth time, while Julie Wilde won the award for the best young female rider.
After only one season with St-Michel-Mavic-Auber 93, Olivia Onesti will be leaving the team. She will be concentrating fully on MTB in 2024.
Junior 17-18, Under-23, and Elite athletes will come together in Charleston, West Virginia to compete for the U.S. national jersey in the Road Race, Time Trial, and Criterium. The city will host the nationals from 2024 to 2028, starting with the first event from 15 to 19 May 2024.
In addition to road, e-racing and gravel, Fenix-Deceuninck will now also compete in cyclocross. Led by Puck Pieterse, the squad started its campaign at the weekend’s UCI Cyclocross World Cup in Waterloo.
The Cyclists’ Alliance have partnered with Strava to create a unique funding opportunity. This grant aims to provide financial support to promising female cyclists who are at the beginning of their cycling careers and prevented from maximising their potential due to financial barriers. Strava is providing $100,000 to fund two annual grant programs, offering up to $50,000 in 2024 and in 2025. More information can be found here.
Zoe Clay from Virginia, USA who was riding in the USCX Series just a week ago, has suffered fatal injuries in a bike accident. Our thoughts are with her family and friends in this difficult time.
The Lotto dstny women’s team has finalised its selection for the 2024 season. The squad will consist of 15 riders, with a strong focus on developing young talents. The squad will also welcome six new signings: Maureen Arens, Dina Boels, Thalita De Jong, Audrey De Keersmaeker, Alberte Greve and Anne Van Wersch.
The UCI and City Mountainbike have announced that the 2023 UCI Mountain Bike Eliminator World Championships, which were due to take place in Palangkaraya, Indonesia on 15 October, have been postponed due to forest fires in the region. A new date will be announced at a later time.
Results
Tour of Chongming Island:
Stage 1: Mylene de Zoete (CERATIZIT-WNT Pro Cycling) ahead of Daria Pulik (Human Powered Health) and Georgia Baker (Team Jayco-AlUla)
Stage 2: Hanna Tserakh (Li Ning Star Ladies) ahead of Martina Fidanza (CERATIZIT-WNT Pro Cycling) and Chiara Consonni (UAE Team ADQ)
Stage 3: Chiara Consonni ahead of Daria Pikulik and Martina Fidanza
GC: Chiara Consonni ahead of Mylene de Zoete and Daria Pikulik
Trek Cup Cyclocross: Shirin van Anrooij ahead of Zoe Bäckstedt and Manon Bakker
Zwift Blog
Amanda Spratt reflects on her 2023 season in her latest exclusive blog for Voxwomen! Read all about it here!
What’s it been like as a pro for Alex Morrice since winning the Zwift Academy? She explains in her latest exclusive blog for Voxwomen! Have a read here.
This week in cycling history
Sheila Grace Young-Ochowicz
Born on 14 October 1950, Young-Ochowicz was a dominant force in both speed skating and cycling in the 1970s and 80s, but she did not receive much recognition in her home country. In 1973, she became the first U.S. rider to win an international cycling event in more than 50 years, when she won the sprint title at the World Championships. She took the victory despite crashing twice and sustaining injuries that should have knocked her out of the event. She retired in 1976, but resumed competing in 1981 to win one more U.S. sprint championship and take the gold in the sprint at the World Championships in 1981. After winning silver at the 1982 World Championships, she then retired for good.
Roberta Bonanomi
The retired Italian rider celebrated her 57th birthday on 15 October. She had a long career, representing her country at five Olympic Games, winning national championship titles, and the 1989 Giro d’Italia Femminile. She also won the World Championships in Belgium in the 50km team time trial, while she took bronze in the same discipline in 1987 in Villach, Austria.
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