Aaaand, the Ardennes
+ the pod is back!
Hello lovely subscribers and welcome to Women’s Cycling Weekly! 🚴♀️
Well, that’s that, the cobbled Classics are over for another year. No more Roubaix until next April 😢. How good has the racing been though? So good that Tilda, Rachel and I simply had to get the band back together for a pod about the last few weeks. Find out why Rachel and I are camp Roubaix 4 eva and Tilda reckon’s Flanders is the one plus some semi-controversial race calendar thoughts 😬.
With all that said and done it’s time to move focus to the Ardennes. I’ve already said on the pod and in this week’s paid newsletter that I’ve historically not been the biggest Ardennes advocate. This year, though, after the amazing spring we’ve had so far plus the amuse bouche of Brabantse Pijl a few days ago it looks like we’re in for a proper treat. The big question: Can Demi pull it off again?
I think the rest of the peloton are too strong for her to have the same opportunities again — which is what makes these races such an exciting prospect!
By the time next Friday rolls around I guess we’ll find out!
Elsewhere, it’s time for MTB World Series racing to kick off again 😍 (for the XC riders, anyway). There’s not one, but TWO rounds in a row in Brazil 🇧🇷 to look forward to between this week and next with the first short track racing tomorrow followed by the XCO on Sunday (more details below).
Meanwhile, enjoy this week’s newsletter!
Amy x
News 📰
SD Worx Protime have confirmed that Lotte Kopecky will be riding the Giro d’Italia Women in her build up to the Olympics.
After being ordered to by the UCI Ethics Commission, Soudal - QuickStep boss Patrick Lefevere has apologised for derogatory comments he has made about women in the past including this corker from a 2023 TV interview (on International Women’s Day no less): “Women used to not drink, now they drink as much as we do. Not everyone can handle it well. So sometimes they are on thin ice. The next day they find out that, yes...'.” In a statement Lefevere said “I acknowledge that the sentences referred to can be perceived in a doubtful way. It was never my intention to harm anyone, and therefore I apologise.”" Hmm.
Read 🗞️
'Lotte Kopecky is not a princess' - The human side to the Paris-Roubaix champion - Rouleur
Lidl-Trek Amongst Strongest in Roubaix but Can't Match Kopecky - Velo
Embracing the history of Paris-Roubaix: Alison Jackson claims a space for women - GCN
'This shows the fire inside her' - Pfeiffer Georgi has just got started at Paris-Roubaix - Rouleur
The first Chinese rider to finish Paris-Roubaix - Escape Collective
An Ardennes horizon and the easing Olympic obsession – Amanda Spratt - Cyclingnews
Longo Borghini on fire: Why Demi Vollering will struggle to repeat her Ardennes hattrick - Rouleur
Watch 📺
Relive the 2023 MTB season with Red Bull’s Race Tapes.
Listen 🎧
The OG WCW trio got together to chat all things cobbled Classics including Rachel and Tilda’s experiences from on the ground. Expect the usual chaos.
Check out Fever Talk’s new series on sustainability in cycling.
Jess Blewitt is on Making up the Numbers ahead of the Downhill World Cup season.
From Wheel Talk you can get live reactions from the Roubaix velodrome.
And they’ve done a post-race deep dive with the whole team.
Results 🏆
Road
Paris-Roubaix Femmes (1.WWT)
Lotte Kopecky (SDW)
Elisa Balsamo (LTK)
Pfeiffer Georgi (DFP)
De Brabantse Pijl - La Flèche Brabançonne (1.Pro)
Elisa Longo Borghini (LTK)
Demi Vollering (SDW)
Alex Manly (LAJ)
Upcoming races 📆
Road
Sunday 14th April: Amstel Gold Race (1.WWT)
How to watch:
Sunday 14th April: GP Féminin de Chambéry (1.1)
Wednesday 17th April: La Flèche Wallonne (1.WWT)
How to watch:
Live on Eurosport/Discovery+ from 16:55 CEST.
Startlist here.
MTB
🇧🇷 UCI MTB World Cup: Mairiporã, Brazil XCC+XCO #1
Saturday 13th April: XCC Elite
How to watch:
Live on Eurosport/Discovery+ (Or Staylive for viewers in Aus/NZ/SA etc.) from 16:30 CEST.
Sunday 14th April: XCO U23 and Elite
How to watch:
U23 race: Live on Eurosport/Discovery+ (Or Staylive for viewers in Aus/NZ/SA etc.) from 14:55 CEST.
Elite race: Live on Eurosport/Discovery+ from 16:45 CEST.
Friday fun 🕺
That’s all 👋
Thanks for reading Women’s Cycling Weekly! 💘
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Amy x
Yaaaayyyyyyy Tilda is back!!!!! Plus someone else.