Women's Cycling Weekly Issue 4 🚴♀️
A weekly curation of women's cycling news and content straight to your inbox 📧
Hello, welcome to issue four of Women’s Cycling Weekly!
This week marked the first ever eSports world championships which took place on Zwift on Wednesday. Given that road cycling has only recently (barely) embraced disc brakes I was not surprised to see that there was some resistance, or ambivalence, towards the event. Personally I thought it was pretty cool, especially given that in the women’s race there was equal prize money, tv coverage, and a mere 0.06 seconds between the winner and second place - all in December when there’s usually not much else going on.
News
An in no way exhaustive summary of the latest news and content from the past ~ week~ .
Transfers
I could be wrong - and I frequently am - but, from what I can tell, all is quiet on the transfer front. Zilch, zero, nothing to report. 🤷♀️ Although keep your eye on this:
Elsewhere
The UCI this week announced that from Paris 2024, both the men’s and women’s Olympic cycling fields will be equal in number across all disciplines. The fact that this has been achieved through reducing the number of men rather than increasing female places has raised a few eyebrows, however.
The governing body has been busy this week as they also - at long last - introduced a concussion protocol. It seems that concussion is a hot topic at the moment across many sports where there is a high risk (a group of former Rugby Union internationals announced this week that they are suing the governing body for brain damage they sustained as players and a link between heading the ball in football and dementia has been recently highlighted).
This new UCI protocol is equally, if not more significant for female cyclists as many studies have shown that women are more at risk from concussion than men. The protocol is a step in the right direction although as this CyclingTips article suggests, it presents plenty of logistical issues during a race.
Meanwhile, the cancelled Tour down Under will be replaced by the ‘Santos Festival of Cycling’ which will include events in various disciplines alongside four-day stage races for both the men’s and women’s Australian National Road Series. The races will be held between the 21st and 24th January around Adelaide.
Results
🌈 Ashleigh Moolman Pasio took the first ever virtual rainbow stripes on Wednesday (which was also her birthday), the South African beat the young Australian Sarah Gigante by 0.06 seconds on the final climb to the line. Gigante had won the overall women’s Australian NRS road title just days before.
Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado and Lucinda Brand are now neck and neck in the Telenet Superprestige cyclocross series overall competition after Brand took the win in Boom on Sunday (following a controversial bike change incident) by 10 seconds from Alvarado with Denise Betsema in third.
Upcoming Races
All eyes might be on the return of Mathieu van der Poel to the discipline this weekend but the battle of Brand v Alvarado round three at the Telenet Superprestige Gavere in Belgium on Sunday is guaranteed 🔥.
Stay Another Day
Tenuously continuing the Zwift theme, I want to share this piece not for shameless self-promotion but so that everyone can see a) how brave and, b) how much of a hoot the young Kiwi rider Ella Harris is. Last month we grabbed a coffee from Federal in Girona while it was only possible to get take-away and sat on a cold step nearby chatting until my bum went numb, this is the result. Read it if only to learn why I compare her to Tony Mortimer from East 17.
Listen 🎧
This episode of the Unfinished Business Podcast from the British Library features writer and blogger Jools Walker, cycling sociologist Dr Kat Jungnickel and Olympian Victoria Pendleton, and charts the important, emancipating role the bicycle has played in women’s lives from the late Victorian era to the present day. You can read more about the Unfinished Business exhibition at the British Library here.
Book Club 📚
Through nominative determinism Jenny Tough was destined follow no other path in life than becoming some sort of intrepid adventurer. Tough was the first female finisher of the Atlas Mountain Race this year and does all sorts of hardcore adventuring that makes me tired thinking about it. In this book she collates the stories of women exemplifying ‘toughness’ in its varying forms.
Corrections
Some corrections from last week are needed, (nothing libellous don’t worry):
In my haste to press send and open a bottle of wine last week I forgot to add the news about Sunweb changing title sponsor to chemical company DSM (Dutch State Mines). Cheers 🍷
It has been brought to my attention thanks to this Twitter User that my statement in issue 3 that there had been no other example of a woman directing in the World Tour before first Rachel Heal, and then Cherie Pridham was untrue. It is in fact Robin Morton who holds that claim.
Anyone looking to learn more about Cherie Pridham and her role at ISN might be interested in this interview.
Feeling Charitable?
For anyone who lives in or around London or can get there, you might be interested in this event which I came across on Twitter the other day. Next May, cycle either 50 km or 100 km around London in the dark with over a thousand other women to raise money for Breast Cancer Now, Ovarian Cancer Action, and Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust.
The End
Thanks again for subscribing to and reading WCW. I hope you’re enjoying it so far, as ever, if you are liking it then please share. Let me know if you have any ideas about how to improve, and if you have anything properly bad to say then talk to my agent (spoiler: I don’t have one).
Have a great weekend.
Amy x