Get your week started with the latest news in women’s cycling:
The route of The Women’s Tour 2021 will be revealed today on International Women’s Day.
The campaign for the Healthy Ageing Tour has reached around €4,500 of its targeted €9,500. The aim is to collect enough funds to be able to livestream the event, which is scheduled for 10-12 March.
The UCI has asked riders to limit their celebrations after races, which includes refraining from hugging each other or staff members to set a good example to fans and spectators amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
RideLondon is planning to return in the spring of 2022. The women’s Elite Classic race will retain its world-class status and will have TV coverage, but will be run on a closed circuit. The race organisers are currently seeking an agreement with the London Marathon organisers to finalise the plans and the budget. New routes will have to be found, as Surrey County Council withdrew its support last year.
The UCI has published a 2021 Women’s WorldTour Calendar video on YouTube. You can access it here.
Statistics from Dutch TV 1 indicate that the TV audience in the Netherlands for the Omloop Het Niewsblad women’s race was almost double the viewers than that of the men, with 330,000 compared to 170,000.
Flanders Classics CEO Thomas Van Den Spiegel has responded to criticism about the lack of equal prize money at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, which saw Anna van der Breggen earn €930 compared to the men’s winner, who took home €16,000. He noted that the race had invested a substantial amount of money into moving the event up into the 1.Pro category and providing live broadcasting for the first time in the history of the race. He went on to explain the goals of the Flanders Classics’ four-year “Closing the Gap” initiative that aims, among other things, to achieve equal prize money by 2023.
Dutch cycling supporter Cem Tanyeri has set up a crowdfunding campaign on GoFundMe, which has raised more than €21,000, with the proceeds going towards increasing the prize money at Strade Bianche. The Cycling Alliance will assist in dispersing the amount raised to the top five finishers of the Italian race.
Global Relay Bridge The Gap, a Canadian cycling development program for young athletes, are offering webinars and web chats run by top Canadian cyclists answering their questions and providing guidance on reaching the international and professional level of road cycling. Canadian Leah Kirchmann, rider for Team DSM, will host one of the virtual meetings on nutrition and lifestyle in May. More information can be found here.
Results
Le Samyn des Dames was won by Lotte Kopecky (Liv Racing) ahead of Emma Norsgaard Jørgensen (Movistar Team) and Chloe Hosking (Trek-Segafredo)
Carla Oberholzer (South Africa) took out the women’s African Continental ITT championship ahead of Frances Janse Van Rensburg (South Africa) and Vera Looser (Namibia). The mixed relay was won by South Africa and included Frances Janse Van Rensburg, Carla Oberholzer and Haylee Preen. The team won ahead of Rwanda and Ethiopia. Carla Oberholzer took out the road race ahead of compatriot Haylee Preen and Namibian rider Vera Adrian.
At Strade Bianche, Chantal van den Broek-Blaak (Team SD Worx) took out the win, ahead of Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek Segafrado) and Anna van de Breggen (Team SD Worx)
Zwift Blog
In her latest exclusive blog, Megan Jastrab of Team DSM, reflects on how the year got off to a disappointing start due to a COVID diagnosis. Read about her experience here.
Danish rider Amalie Dideriksen shares her experience of joining her new team. After six years with Boels-Dolmans she now rides for Trek-Segafredo and she is very excited about that switch.
Canadian rider Alison Jackson of Liv Racing gives you an update on what she has been up to at home during the pre-season. Watch her entertaining vlog here!
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This week in cycling history…
Elsy Jacobs was born on 4 March 1933. The Luxembourgish road cyclist became the first ever women’s World Road Race Champion, winning the inaugural race on 30 August 1958 in Reims. She finished almost three minutes ahead of her next two competitors. In the same year she broke the women’s hour record in the Vigorelli velodrome in Milan, a record that stood for 14 years. Jacobs also held the national championship title 15 times. After 17 years in the sport, she retired in 1974, after having become one of the most dominant professional cyclists of her era and overcoming significant adversity towards women in sports. In 2008, the Grand Prix Elsy Jacobs (now known as Ceratizit Festival Elsy Jacobs) which leads around her hometown of Garnich was established on the UCI race calendar.
Caroline Alexander celebrated her 53rd birthday on 3 March. The Lancashire-born mountain bike and road cyclist started out as a swimmer but decided to pick up competitive riding at the age of 20. In order to become a professional rider, she gave up her job as a draughtsperson at a shipyard, and in the following years she represented her country at several Olympic and Commonwealth Games. Her achievements include winning the British Mountain Bike Championship six times, the National Cyclocross Championships four times and a gold medal at the European Cross country championships in 1995. After retiring in 2005, and was inducted into the British Cycling Hall of Fame in 2009.
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