Women's Cycling Weekly issue 60
A weekly curation of women's cycling news and content straight to your inbox
Hello! Welcome to Women’s Cycling Weekly issue 60 🚴♀️
I started writing the intro to this newsletter this morning but then before I knew it I had 700 words which is more of a full-on piece of writing than a newsletter intro so keep an eye out for that…
Anyway, the TL;DR is that when I first got into cycling I found the Classics (brace yourselves) pretty ‘meh’. My intro to the sport was through my dad (aka the world’s most casual cycling fan) who exclusively watches the TDF and maybe one other pro race a year. As such I had no concept of what they represented and no interest in the romanticisation of the grit and grunt that goes into winning one. Add to that the distinct lack of live women’s racing at the time and I wasn’t exactly won over by the Spring races.
That obviously began to change the more I got into and understood the sport (and the more women’s races I was able to watch.) But now, seven years of following cycling and a few trips to Belgium later, I think I finally ‘get’ it. If I had to pick a precise moment that it clicked I would say it was while watching the women race up the Muur van Geraardsbergen in Omloop het Nieuwsblad back in February.
So, with my new-found appreciation for this style of racing I find myself joining in with the pre-Flanders giddiness for the first time, and now that I’m here I am here. Bring on Sunday.
Amy x
News 📰
ASO have confirmed the 24 teams that will participate in this summer’s Tour de France Femmes. The 14 WorldTeams will be joined by the three best-ranked Continental teams, plus seven wildcard teams which include Le Col-Wahoo, AG Insurance-NXTG and four French teams.
The route for the 2022 World Championships road race in Wollongong, Australia has been revealed. Read about it here.
Results 🏆
Road
Gent-Wevelgem
Elisa Balsamo (TFS)
Marianne Vos (TJV)
Maria Confalonieri (WNT)
Dwars door Vlaanderen
Chiara Consonni (VAL)
Julie De Wilde (PLP)
Elise Chabbey (CSR)
MTB
UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Lourdes - DHI #1
Elite: 1. Camille Balanche 🇨🇭 2. Myriam Nicole 🇫🇷 3. Tahnée Seagrave 🇬🇧
Junior: 1. Gracey Hemstreet 🇨🇦 2. Phoebe Gale 🇬🇧 3. Izabela Yankova 🇧🇬
Upcoming Races 📆
3rd April: Tour of Flanders (1.WWT)
Starts 13.25 CET, finishes ~18.15 CET
Watch on Eurosport/GCN from 15.00 CET
Startlist here
Preview here
6th April: Scheldeprijs (1.1)
Starts 11.35 CET, finishes ~15.00 CET
Watch on Eurosport/GCN from 12.00 CET
Startlist here
Read 🗞️
SD Worx plan for Sunday? Drop Balsamo and isolate van Vleuten.
Lotte Kopecky on the pressure of giving Belgian fans a win.
Jolien D’Hoore on her new life as a DS “I don’t miss racing at all”.
Balsamo may have won, but Ellen van Dijk was the real MVP at Gent-Wevelgem.
An interview with Roy Moberg, organiser of the Tour of Scandinavia.
(former Flanders winner) Coryn Labecki on racing with Marianne Vos, her family’s Covid tragedy, and her new outlook on life
“Cassia Boglio’s speedy transformation from triathlete to AG Insurance-NXTG racer”
Listen 🎧
Freewheeling, in which the four of us dissect De Panne and Gent-Wevelgem and look ahead to Flanders.
Watch 📺
Cross country mountain bike world champion Evie Richards recaps her 2021 season.
Le sigh
Friday fun 🤡
Marlen Reusser turning pain into entertainment
Dog content >>>>
Unbridled excitement from Chiara Consonni on her win at Dwars door Vlaanderen
Rest in peace, Richard 🖤
Tilda reflects on Richard Moore, who sadly passed away earlier this week
The cycling world was shocked this week by the sudden loss of our friend and colleague, Richard Moore. Richard was a long-time supporter of women’s cycling, and most of you will know him as one of the voices of The Cycling Podcast Féminin. Along with Orla and Rose, the podcast became a key feature of women’s cycling coverage, much of that thanks to Richard. He will be missed for his excellent work, but also for so much more than that.
Richard felt strongly about helping others into the sometimes difficult world of cycling journalism, and this week countless people have told stories about how his support and kindness has impacted them over the years. For me, I know I might not be here doing this if it wasn’t for Richard: this time last year, he took me onboard to do work experience with the podcast and Rose’s new project, The Bunnyhop. Those two weeks kickstarted many things for me, but most importantly I cherished the time Richard gave me, long conversations on the phone about work and life as a journalist, time he didn’t have to give but always did. I was lucky to know him, and even luckier to have his support.
Richard will be missed by the entire cycling community, but in particular our thoughts are with his friends, family, his wife Virginie, and his son Maxime. Rest in peace, Richard.
---
Tilda
That’s all 👋
Thanks for reading Women’s Cycling Weekly!
If you liked what you read you can buy WCW a ‘coffee’ on Ko-Fi.
Until next time!
I wish someone would do a piece on whether or not illness is ravaging the women's peloton as it is the men's. It seems to me that there's a story either way. Either it IS, but isn't being reported on, and that's one thing. Or it ISN'T, and that would be an even MORE interesting story.