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

Thanks for reading what is issue 117 of Your Monday Briefing. A few weeks ago, we celebrated our 6th birthday and we said we had a lot planned for 2021 and beyond. Our first announcement comes today. Welcome to the new look of Voxwomen! We are really proud to unveil this new fresh look and feel which will characterise Voxwomen in the future. A new logo and new colours that are designed to match the colourful and dynamic sport of women’s cycling. We hope you like it! Let us know and share it on social media if you do.

We are also very pleased to have the support of Zwift for this briefing. They are enabling us to do even more to build the profile of this sport and bring you more content. Our sincere thanks to them.

Enjoy this edition of Your Monday Briefing and thank you for all your support.

Continuing to the week’s news:

• Movistar has announced its international squad for the first ever e-sports team set up by a WorldTour team. The eight selected riders from seven countries, including four women, will enter the Zwift Racing League Premier Division, the highest-tier virtual cycling competition. After a month long selection process the riders will now become part of the squad for the entire 2021 season. Two more riders will be selected from the Spanish-speaking community on Zwift, to all become ambassadors of Movistar’s participation in Zwift Racing and other community events.
• The Women’s Tour has announced that its Grand Départ will take place between Bicester and Banbury in Oxfordshire on 4 October. Walsall in the Midlands will host the start and finish of stage 2 on 5 October. This town will become only the third venue in the history of the event to welcome both the start and finish of a Women’s Tour road stage on the same day. The Warwickshire town of Atherton will stage a 16km long time trial on 6 October, the first individual time trial in the history of the Women’s Tour.
• The UCI has announced an update to its race calendar. The Itzulia Basque Country Women’s race will be run on 3 July under its former name, Donostia San Sebastian Klasikoa. The Women’s Tour is now confirmed for 4-9 October, the Tour of Chongming Island is now slated for 14-16 October and the Ronde van Drenthe will be staged on 23 October, as the final WWT event of 2021. The season’s conclusion has been postponed to 31 October, allowing for some extra time in case of other necessary postponements this year.

• The Holland Ladies Tour has found a new sponsor in Simac Techniek. The race will be held from 24 to 28 August under the new name Simac Ladies Tour and will be the only women’s WWT race in the Benelux region.
• Voxwomen blogger Christine Majerus will be part of the UCI Safety Commission, which aims to address riders’ concerns about safety in professional cycling. Any female rider can contact Christine if she would like share any comments or suggestions.
• The Corso Sports agency has embarked on a new project which aims to grow the careers of female athletes on and off the bike, and help support equality in sports. The agency has announced that some of the best women riders in the peloton, including Emma Norsgaard, Coryn Rivera, Hannah and Alice Barnes and Franziska Koch, have signed up as clients.
• With less than 100 days until the Tour de France, a Ceremony of Yellow, the colour of the Tour, has been held in Brest in the Brittany region. This year La Course by Le Tour de France will head to Saint-Brieuc for the start. The riders will take on a course stretching over 120 km, and featuring 5 ascents of the famed Mûr-de-Bretagne.
• L39ION of Los Angeles, a team devoted to promoting diversity in cycling, has introduced a new kit using the colour orange to symbolise the lava from the iconic volcanoes in Zwift’s Watopia world.

Results

Danilith Nokere Koerse: Amy Pieters (Team SD Worx) ahead of Grace Brown (Team BikeExchange) and Lisa Klein (Canyon//SRAM Racing)

Trofeo Alfredo Binda: Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) took the win, with Marianne Vos (Team Jumbo – Visma) in second, and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope) finishing third

Omloop van de Westhoek: Christine Majerus (Team SD Worx) took the victory, with teammate Amy Pieters in second, and Thalita De Jong (Bingoal Casino – Chevalmeire Cycling Team) finishing third

South African Road National Championships: Hayley Preen ahead of Carla Oberholzer Frances Janse van Rensburg

South African ITT Championships: Candice Lill ahead of Carla Oberholzer and Zanri Rossouw

Zwift Blog

Ella Harris

New Zealand rider Ella Harris has penned her first piece for us this year, in which she shares the events surrounding her crash, the excitement of working with a new coach, and how she’s looking forward to getting back to Europe after spending the off-season in New Zealand. 

Megan Jastrab

In her exclusive blog, Megan Jastrab of Team DSM reflects on how the year got off to a disappointing start due to a COVID diagnosis. You can read about her experience here. 

Amalie Dideriksen

Danish rider Amalie Dideriksen shares her experience of joining a new team. After six years with Boels-Dolmans, she made the switch to Trek-Segafredo, and tells you how the change has been so far, here.

This week in cycling history

Alfonsina Strada

Alfonsina Strada was born on 16 March 1891 near Modena in Northern Italy. At an early age she developed a passion for cycling and competing at races. Her nickname among the locals when she rode on the dirt roads surrounding the area was the “Devil in a Dress.” Although her parents did all they could to discourage her from bike racing, she was strong-willed and refused to give up her dream of racing. She entered the Giro under the false first name of Alfonso, letting the organisers believe that she was a male rider. Although the organisers later discovered the truth, they allowed her to continue riding and she completed the Italian Grand Tour in 1924 after riding all 3,610 km. 

Susanne Ljungskog

The Swedish rider celebrated her 45^th birthday on 16 March. She is a multiple-time the national champion, four-time Olympian and won the World Road Championships in 2002 in Belgium and in 2003 in Canada. In addition she was victorious at two World Cups and several stage races. Picking up a bike at the age of 12 and after quickly winning several races, she continued to become one of Sweden’s most successful riders. After having been diagnosed with hemochromatosis, she retired from active competition in 2010 to work as a consultant with Pema, a company that provides staffing solutions. In her free time, Ljungskog now also encourages others to take up riding. Creating a popular cycling network, she coaches groups of girls not only on how to race, but also on how to enjoy exploring their surroundings by bike.

Regina Schleicher

German rider Regina Schleicher turned 46 years old on 21 March. She was National Road Champion, and won the U23 European Championships in 1994, as well as several UCI World Cup races and multiple stage races. After her retirement, she turned to a quieter life and now simply enjoys cycling for its social and health benefits.

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