Women's Cycling Weekly issue 56
A weekly curation of women's cycling news and content straight to your inbox
Hello! Welcome to Women’s Cycling Weekly issue 56 🚴♀️
Remember all those people who got their knickers in a twist over some exposed shoulders in the Roubaix showers? Has anyone checked in on them to make sure they haven’t had a heart attack at the prizes being given out at the Bloeizone Fryslân Tour? (The artist formerly known as The Healthy Ageing Tour.)
Better (and more useful) than your weight in cheese or some kind of stuffed animal, non? But seriously the reaction to this has thrown up some very interesting takes and shone a light on the way people treat women’s sexuality and position it as taboo. Maybe I’ll write more about this later on but for now I’ll let Kristen Faulkner do the talking:
Sex toys aside, the other big news is that the Women’s WorldTour FINALLY kicks off this weekend with Strade Bianche! 🥳 Details on that in the ‘upcoming races’ section.
Enjoy x
p.s stay tuned for an International Women’s Day bonus issue coming next week!
News 📰
The 2022 Women’s WorldTour is finally here! Tomorrow’s Strade Bianche officially opens the WWT season, which will then run until October.
In possibly a first-time occurrence for road racing, the Bloeizone Fryslân Tour (formerly the Healthy Ageing Tour) is now also sponsored by EasyToys, which is a Dutch sex toys company.
It wasn’t all fun at the Fryslan Tour, though, as a number of bikes, vans and cars found there way onto the TT course. The race organisers have since responded.
BikeExchange-Jayco’s Amanda Spratt is making her return to European racing at Strade Bianche, after undergoing iliac artery surgery in October.
Dutch rider Loes Adegeest became the second-ever cycling Esports World Champion last weekend.
Elisa Longo Borghini has extended her contract with Trek-Segafredo until 2024.
Results 🏆
Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
Annemiek van Vleuten (MOV)
Demi Vollering (SDW)
Lorena Wiebes (DSM)
Omloop van het Hageland
Marta Bastianelli (UAD)
Emma Norsgaard (MOV)
Floortje Mackaij (DSM)
Le Samyn
Emma Norsgaard (MOV)
Chiara Consonni (VAL)
Vittoria Guazzini (FDJ)
EasyToys Bloeizone Fryslân Tour
Stage 1 (ITT): Ellen van Dijk (TFS)
Stage 2:
Upcoming Races 📆
5th March: EasyToys Bloeizone Fryslân Tour (2.1) (stage 3)
5th March: Strade Bianche (1.WWT)
9th March: GP Oetingen (1.1)
Read 🗞️
For those who like a bit of tech here’s a guide to the bikes of the Women’s WorldTour.
“Cultivating positivity: Kasia Niewiadoma on switching off and giving it everything on the road”
Track rider Amber Joseph’s first blog for VoxWomen.
We’ve been vocal about this on Freewheeling and now Annemiek van Vleuten has also spoken out about the pitfalls of the WWT growing too quickly.
Marianne Vos still wants to do better.
“Inside Flanders Classics' bold plan for women's equality: ‘Closing the Gap’”
Marjolein van ’t Geloof wants to ‘do a Mat Hayman’ at Paris Roubaix Femmes.
Listen 🎧
On this week’s Freewheeling we discussed the confusing tactics from Opening Weekend and look ahead to Strade Bianche.
That’s all 👋
Thanks for reading Women’s Cycling Weekly!
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Until next time!