Post-Tour feels

FOUR SECONDS

Hello lovely subscribers and welcome to Women’s Cycling Weekly! 🚴‍♀️

Since getting home from the Tour de France Femmes my main priority has been regaining some semblance of a normal sleep pattern and adjusting to not driving Percy the Peugeot for several hours every day. Alongside my attempt to become fully human again by actually eating something other than bread and cheese, processing 1,600km on the road and making up for late nights editing podcasts, the scale of the race started to sink in.

After all of that drama, all of those different stages and the way in which they were won, multiple countries and varying types of terrain, the GC came down to the last metres of the final climb on the last day — and four seconds was the margin. My partner in Tour de France Femmes crime (honestly, we probably actually did commit a few), Rachel, wrote wonderfully about the atmosphere at the top of Alpe d’Huez on Sunday, and it was, as she says, the best race ever.

Alpe d’Huez delivered, or rather the riders did. Amidst the push to foreground the fact that this is a women’s race with so many women working at, around it, and for it the true equality lay in the simple fact that this was a bloody good race, regardless of the gender of those racing it — that people saw it as such is, to me, is the highlight.

Enjoy the newsletter and see you next week!

Amy x

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News 📰

• Downhill World Cup team Dorval AM Commencal are being forced to close at the end of the season after being unable to secure new sponsorship.

• Olympic TT silver medalist Anna Henderson will move to Lidl-Trek for 2025.

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Read 🗞️

• Femmes and femininity at the Tour de France - Escape Collective

• Reality check: Cyclists’ Alliance survey reveals that over half of riders outside Women’s WorldTour earn under €10,000 per year - Rouleur

• Tour Finisher Kuskova Can Go WorldTour Says Tashkent DS - Velo

• Vollering: 'There are so many ifs, but you can't buy anything from ifs' - Escape Collective

• 'I quit at just the right time' - Annemiek van Vleuten on being on the sidelines at Tour de France Femmes - Cycling Weekly     

• From stage winners to GC players: How Fenix Deceuninck have become one of the most successful teams in the Tour de France Femmes - Rouleur

• Ruth Edwards Interview: 'I Hope They Make Gravel Racing Safer' - Velo

• Gallery: An incredible finale to the closest Tour de France ever - Escape Collective

• Stubbornness, soul and spirit: Kasia Niewiadoma has earned the Tour de France spotlight - Rouleur 

• Puck Pieterse really can do it all - Escape Collective 

• 'I wasn’t supposed to race here' - Called up as a reserve, Ghekiere's 'dream' Tour de France Femmes day almost didn't happen - Cyclingnews

• The best race ever: Inside the Tour de France Femmes from the top of Alpe d'Huez - Rouleur

• Pauliena Rooijakkers finishing on the Tour de France podium should surprise no one - Escape Collective

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Watch 📺

Puck with the stage win vlog!

 And we’ve got videos from FDJ-SUEZ

 And EF-Oatly-Cannondale

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Listen 🎧

Catch up on everyone’s Tour de France Femmes daily episodes!

The WCW pod of course 

 The Wheel Talk Podcast

 The Cycling Podcast Féminin

 The Press Room Podcast have interviews with Sarah Gigante

 And Kasia Niewiadoma 

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Results 🏆

Road

Tour de France Femmes (2.WWT)

Stage 7: Justine Ghekiere (AGS)

Stage 8: Demi Vollering (SDW)

Points 🟢:

1. Marianne Vos (TVL)

2. Lorena Wiebes (SDW)

3. Kasia Niewiadoma (CSR)

QOM 🔴:

1. Justine Ghekiere (AGS)

2. Demi Vollering (SDW)

3. Puck Pieterse (FED)

Youth ⚪:

1. Puck Pieterse (FED)

2. Shirin van Anrooij (LTK)

3. Marion Bunel (AUB)

GC 🟡:

1. Kasia Niewiadoma (CSR)

2. Demi Vollering (SDW)

3. Pauliena Rooijakkers (FED)

Konvert Koerse (1.1)

1. Sofie van Rooijen (VWT)

2. Chiara Consonni (UAD)

3. Daria Pikulik (HPH)

Tour de l'Avenir Femmes (2.2U)

Prologue: Lore De Schepper 🇧🇪

Stage 1: Marion Bunel 🇫🇷

Stage 2: Eglantine Rayer 🇫🇷

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Upcoming races 📆  

Road

21st - 24th August: Tour de l'Avenir Femmes (2.2U)

How to watch:

• Live on Discovery+ from 12:15 CEST on Saturday.

• Startlist here.

Saturday 24th August: Classic Lorient Agglomération (1.WWT)

How to watch:

• Live on Discovery+ from 14:10 CEST.

• Startlist here.

MTB

🌈 UCI MTB World Championships: Pal Arinsal, Andorra 🇦🇩

Wednesday 28th: E-MTB and Team Relay

Thursday 29th: DH Junior

Friday 30th: XCO Junior, XCC U23 and XCC Elite

How to watch:

XCC Elite: Live on Discovery+ from 17:30 CEST.

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Friday fun 🕺

Puck doing Puck things

Kasia celebrating right 🍾

That feeling when you win the Tour de France

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That’s all 👋

Thanks for reading Women’s Cycling Weekly! 💘

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Amy x