The Lesser Known Women's Road Racing Thread 2022

[RedheadDane]

Brand and Neff has 30 seconds with 10 Ks to go.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Brand and Neff really killed that descent.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Neff is dropped now, but the gap seems to be coming down.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Baril with another impressive performance. I don't think she'll be riding for Valcar next year.

Rooijakkers and Faulkner are the strongest, but they're not going fast enough.

 

[RedheadDane]

Getting a bit wet.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Faulkner is alone now, but can she catch Brand?

 

[Samu Cuenca]

It's getting close.

 

[wheresmybrakes]

Great Battle! Hope she keeps the yellow after this effort.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Brand is the favourite, if she has something left.

 

[wheresmybrakes]

NOOOOOOOOO

 

[Samu Cuenca]

That was a real shame.

 

[RedheadDane]

Yikes...

Congrats to Brand.

 

[wheresmybrakes]

Bravo Brand

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Just like last year the race wasn't decided until the last finish line.
Good race!

 

[yaco]

Faulkner will regret the result in this race - They let Brand get 50 seconds in a 46km criterium and one minute on the final descent - An opportunity wasted - I'm interested in whether Faulkner goes to the Giro Donne or the TDF Femmes.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Great race from Brand. She is genuinely a really good climber - you don't get to be 4th in the Giro without some capability in the mountains - but because she isn't explosive on the punchy stuff that sometimes gets overlooked. She hasn't had a mountains performance like this for some time as she's focused more on CX too, but clearly that skill never left her.

Strong race from Chapman too, I thought - as, looking at the prediction game, did many others - that Évita Muzic was the obvious leader for FDJ here but she clearly didn't have the form and Chapman was one of a few who really stood out to me on the climb outperforming expectations - I know that Brodie is a good climber but I wouldn't have pegged her to beat Rooijakkers, Magnaldi and Koppenburg here (although once it was a sprint between those it was clear she would be favourite in that). Floortje Mackaij also climbed really well, I thought, I thought this would be a little too far for her as a climb and that those of LBL are around her threshold but clearly she has a bit more versatility for the longer climbs. Great battle with Faulkner fighting back but to be honest, with only 4 seconds between them, as soon as she couldn't drop Brand it was over; you'd back Lucinda in the two-up and although Faulkner is only three years younger than Brand, with her being a late convert to the sport the difference in experience is huge in comparison.

Also a good showing for Hitec from young Ingvild Gåskjenn, she was 11th on Black Mountain in the Women's Tour and now 9th here on a similar length but steeper climb, I'd kind of thought of her as doing best in stages that were hilly enough to drop elite sprinters but she had had precious little opportunity to show this kind of climbing ability before.

 

[RedheadDane]

The amazingly named Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka has won the prologue of the Lotto Belgium Tour.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

The amazingly named Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka has won the prologue of the Lotto Belgium Tour.

Although they call it a prologue (and have done so in previous editions, too) it actually can't be, because according to UCI rules a prologue can't be longer than 4 km in a women's race. I also assume that's also why the first stage of the Giro isn't a prologue.

 

[lemon cheese cake]

Thanks to winning the second sprint of the day, the young riders leader Ally Wollaston moved into second overall 1s behind Skalniak-Sójka.

 

[lemon cheese cake]

Wollaston also just takes the stage and leaders jersey despite Bossuyt moving over on her slightly.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Sometimes Worst is the best!

 

[Samu Cuenca]

ASO have revealed plans to hold a women's Tour de l'Avenir next year. That's a fine step towards getting a working U23 calendar.

 

[yaco]

ASO have revealed plans to hold a women's Tour de l'Avenir next year. That's a fine step towards getting a working U23 calendar.

I've previously posted the National Federations need to be spending more money to get more girls/women into the sport so that the quality of rider matches the quality of the calendar - Also targetting mature women from other sports has been a fertile recruiting ground in the last few years.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Wiebes defending a 20" lead over Ellen van Dijk in a short TT later. Little Miss Contract Law has done a RideLondon against this field in the Baloise Ladies Tour, winning every road stage, one even with a time gap. Your money has to be on Ellen to take the lead, but can she do it by enough to prevent Lorena taking the jersey back with time bonuses in the final stage tomorrow?

 

[Samu Cuenca]

If you want to watch a Polish race, and you want to avoid catching a virus from RhD, the Princess Anna Vasa Tour is live on YouTube. (I think) Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka and Olga Shekel are leading after two hours of the 111 km first stage.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-5PsRk-O-g&ab_channel=STUDIOAKI