Women's Cycling Weekly Issue 6
A weekly curation of women's cycling news and content straight to your inbox
Welcome to Women’s Cycling Weekly issue six - and a happy new year!
Although the troubles of 2020 are definitely not behind us yet, 2021 does bring with it some cautious optimism. Of course, this applies to sport and to cycling, everyone is hoping for a calendar that resembles what we are used to but there are already question marks over some early-season races at least.
As a result it seems disingenuous to write about looking forward to a full season and all that it might entail given the nagging trepidation over how expectations may eventually compare with reality. As annoying as it is, everything must be preceded by caveats such as ‘if x race goes ahead’ and ‘if we have a full season’. However, if we do get the opportunity to see a full women’s cycling season play out in 2021 it looks set to be one of the best yet - instead of listing all of the reasons for that here I’ll simply link to them in this article.
I hope you enjoy the first Women’s Cycling Weekly of 2021.
News 📰
In the two weeks since the last issue of WCW there has been plenty going on. As I usually point out this is not an exhaustive roundup of news but a highlight reel, so here are some items that stood out.
Of course, the new year means adjusting to new kit, (and if you’re anything like me spending the first few races struggling to pick out who is who) I’m definitely not about to publish or review every single one but I will add that if you thought it was easy to spot Alé BTC Ljubljana in the peloton last season, you definitely won’t miss them year.
Transfers ↔️
Canyon//SRAM announced the remainder of their roster in December with Alena Amialiusik, Hannah Barnes, Omer Shapira, and Hannah Ludwig staying with the team until 2021 while Kiwi Ella Harris has signed a two-year extension to her contract taking her up to 2022. The team also welcomed the latest winner of the Zwift Academy, 18 year-old Australian Neve Bradbury.
Team DSM added 23-year-old Esmée Peperkamp to their 2021 roster. Peperkamp impressed the team having achieved some notable results despite only starting her racing career a few years ago.
Elsewhere 🌍
The SD Worx team has been granted a UCI Women’s World Tour license from 2021-2023. There are now nine women’s UCI Women’s ‘WorldTeams’ as all of the 2020 WorldTeams teams retain their licenses.
The Lotto Thuringen stage race has been confirmed for 25-30 May with some 20 teams apparently having already applied.
It may not be possible for riders to take part in both the Giro Rosa and Olympic Games if current Japanese quarantine rules remain in place in July. The Games themselves are also facing existential threat in the form of the new Coronavirus variant and mounting financial strain (the cost of running Tokyo 2021 had risen by $2.8bn last month) as well as becoming increasingly unpopular with the Japanese public. High-profile contenders such as Anna van Der Breggen will surely prioritise the Olympics meaning a further blow for the Giro Rosa as it’s ‘grand tour’ status is in jeopardy following relegation from WWT.
UK-based team AWOL have registered a UCI Continental team for 2021, the team will be known as AWOL O’Shea and will have a female DS in the shape of former rider Megan Chard.
A number of cyclocross national championships that were due to take place next weekend have been cancelled due to Covid including the Dutch, British and German events.
Results 🏆
The battle of the Dutchwomen continued in the cyclocross with Lucinda Brand, Ceylin Del Carmen Alvarado, and Denise Betsema making up the podium in the UCI World Cup in Hulst. Betsema took the win today coming in close to one minute ahead of Brand who with 150 points sealed the series win with one round to go, Alvarado came third. Betsema and Alvarado must now battle for second with 102 and 108 points respectively.
Marianne Vos kicked off her new chapter with the Jumbo-Visma women’s team in Hulst, taking 19th place.
Upcoming Races 📅
Next Sunday - 10th January - the remaining cyclocross national championships that have escaped cancellation will take place. They include the Swiss, Spanish, Italian, Hungarian, French, Danish, Belgian and Austrian events.
Recommendations
Read 🗞️
Coryn Rivera has been so much of a fixture on podiums and in top-10s for so many years that it’s difficult to believe that she is only 28 years-old. As she revealed in this interview, however, 2020 was far from the kind of season she had been used to with just 16 days of racing and no wins under her belt. Naturally, she’s hoping for a lot more this year but is also pragmatic about goal setting in such uncertain times.
As we eagerly await the start of the new season this round-up of the top 10 performances in the 2020 women’s road season is sure to get you excited and might jog your memory if last spring feels like 10 years ago.
If you’re into tech then this is a good overview of what the women’s teams will all be using in 2021.
Watch 📺
This British Pathé video from 1926 entitled "French women's cycling championship. First and second sprint home after gruelling race around Paris." For the impressively large peloton, dicey sprint for the line, and ensuing argument at the end but also to note wearily that this isn’t a far cry from the amount of coverage we get at some races nowadays.
Listen 🎧
This episode of the BBC 5Live sport BeSpoke show looking back on the 2020 season and featuring Lizzie Deignan.
That’s All
As ever, thanks for reading WCW! We’ll be back to regular (weekly) programming from next week.
Amy x