There are occasionally some posts on the forum about women's racing, but they are sporadic and spread around too many threads to sustain a conversation. So here's a thread to discuss all aspects of (the road version of) the women's sport.
The women's road racing thread 2015
- Thread starter Zinoviev Letter
- Start date
Lisa Brennauer (Velocio-SRAM) won the Aviva Women's Tour. Hannah Barnes (UHC) won the final stage. Brennauer also won stage four on her way to the GC win. This is an important race on the women's calendar, with a relatively big budget and very big crowds.
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/jun/21/aviva-womens-tour-hannah-barnes-stage-win-lisa-brennauer
For those of you that pay attention to the women's racing scene in the US, who is faster, Barnes or her UHC team mate Coryn Rivera? Rivera is also a really obvious big talent, much like Barnes. In fact, UHC look like they have the two best young sprint prospects around, so it seems odd that both are on the same team. It does make sense that they'd be at a team that primarily races in the US though, even if it's not as high status as the biggest European teams - there's good money in US crits relative to more highly rated European women's races.
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/jun/21/aviva-womens-tour-hannah-barnes-stage-win-lisa-brennauer
For those of you that pay attention to the women's racing scene in the US, who is faster, Barnes or her UHC team mate Coryn Rivera? Rivera is also a really obvious big talent, much like Barnes. In fact, UHC look like they have the two best young sprint prospects around, so it seems odd that both are on the same team. It does make sense that they'd be at a team that primarily races in the US though, even if it's not as high status as the biggest European teams - there's good money in US crits relative to more highly rated European women's races.
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Re:
I’d say Barnes and Rivera are similar, but they’re both young and developing and there seems to be room for both at UHC. HB has got a lot better/more rounded with UHC and will be back in Europe one day for sure, CR is much more likely to stay and base things around the US crit circuit, which is bread and butter for UHC as you say. HB has raced e.g. Tour de San Luis for the last two years, don’t think CR has done much stage racing.
Rivera may have a slightly better kick at the end of a crit, but not sure she’d have beaten Jolien D’Hoore after 100k of hills yesterday (although both could change in time). She broke her arm in the Armitstead celebration crash aftermath so that was that really.
5h on GC and a stage is pretty good for a 22 year old who was riding UK crits two years ago. Bit of a breakthrough for Barnes. Not sure if she's signed with UHC for 2016.
Zinoviev Letter said:
I’d say Barnes and Rivera are similar, but they’re both young and developing and there seems to be room for both at UHC. HB has got a lot better/more rounded with UHC and will be back in Europe one day for sure, CR is much more likely to stay and base things around the US crit circuit, which is bread and butter for UHC as you say. HB has raced e.g. Tour de San Luis for the last two years, don’t think CR has done much stage racing.
Rivera may have a slightly better kick at the end of a crit, but not sure she’d have beaten Jolien D’Hoore after 100k of hills yesterday (although both could change in time). She broke her arm in the Armitstead celebration crash aftermath so that was that really.
5h on GC and a stage is pretty good for a 22 year old who was riding UK crits two years ago. Bit of a breakthrough for Barnes. Not sure if she's signed with UHC for 2016.
- Sep 28, 2014
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I think Rivera is the faster one in an all out kick for the line, however Barnes' techical sprinting is better than Rivera as she comes from an MTB background. Plus Hannah won the Matrix Fitness crit series in the UK two years ago where the circuits are certainly more technical than they are in the US. I think you can also put Alexis Ryan inbetween Barnes and Rivera when it comes to a flat out sprint.
How about Carmen mixiin' it up with the guys?! She rode well, and got a great block of training.
http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/06/news/just-one-of-the-boys-carmen-small-to-race-mens-north-star-grand-prix-nrc_373939
http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/06/news/just-one-of-the-boys-carmen-small-to-race-mens-north-star-grand-prix-nrc_373939
Re:
It's an interesting story and she seems to have done well, but the background is that the women's race was cancelled and that's a bigger issue.
jmdirt said:
It's an interesting story and she seems to have done well, but the background is that the women's race was cancelled and that's a bigger issue.
- Feb 20, 2010
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We had a real rarity of a situation at the weekend actually, where the Women's Tour, European Games RR, Giro del Trentino and Omloop van der IJsseldelta were all on simultaneously, meaning some stretched pélotons for some of the top teams.
It's nice, we don't get that often.
And the Giro is coming up. Are you all excited? You should be - it could be one of the most unpredictable in a while. With Vos out injured, Rabo-Liv have some thinking to do. The logical leader would obviously be Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, who is the reigning World Champion of course and who finished 2nd last year - she actually won on the road (Vos' victory margin was the result of a number of bonus seconds accrued) and stayed with Marianne on the final climb to Madonna del Ghisallo, riding somewhat within herself (and also a bit dubiously since the Rabo trio had a bit of a rolling roadblock going on as Mara Abbott looked to attack). She's a strong climber and time triallist and can compete in all terrains. But, she's also been hurt, and had to skip the Tour of Britain after failing a late fitness test, so will the team be a bit nervous about going all-in for her if she's short of race days and form is unknown? The team have also had some success in the absence of the two stars, since their loyal helpers have been let off the leash a bit. Anna van der Breggen is strong uphill - she won La Flèche Wallonne and podiumed last year's Giro - and a good time triallist, and would seem the logical fit, but there's also the wildcard of Katie Unknown - she's not so strong against the clock, but she's a brilliant climber (did a big domestique turn on San Domenico last year & was also the last to be dropped by Emma Pooley in the queen stage) who is extremely aggressive when she gets let off the leash, and is coming off her best ever form, winning the Emakumeen Bira (women's País Vasco) and podiuming in Baku. She's a bit of a wildcard if she has the freedom, but coming 11th as a teenage neo-pro doing domestique duty last year points to immense promise. Even just picking the team is a bit of a headache for Rabo.
It shouldn't be a full-on Rabo show like last year though, with Vos out and PFP's form unknown. The main opposition of the last few years has come from two-time Giro winner Mara Abbott. She typically triumphs on the biggest climbs (her Giro wins were based mainly on solo wins atop the Stelvio and Monte Beigua) and now her nemesis Emma Pooley, the eternal QOM and who won all three main mountain stages last year, has retired, it remains to be seen who will be climbing with Mara. However, her form is also a complete unknown, having done very little racing in Europe this season. She won the Tour of the Gila, but the field there wasn't the strongest and it's a race that due to parcours and opposition it'd have been more noteworthy if she didn't win. She will presumably be Wiggle's main GC bet; they have a few options for stages however with some very strong contenders like Giorgia Bronzini in the sprints and ELB in the breaks.
Although this isn't the most mountainous of editions, the Giro does still tend to favour the stronger climbers. Unless somebody can destroy the hilly stages like Vos, it's rare that the winner doesn't come from the elite climbers of the women's péloton. As such, rather than at the top ranked riders in the world such as Johansson and Armitstead, we ought perhaps to be looking more at the likes of Alena Amialiusik, Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio, Megan Guarnier and Evelyn Stevens for where the contenders will come from. There's always a surprise or two - I want to know what happened to Francesca Cauz after her amazing breakout Giro a couple of years ago. And if she rides, we should never count out Claudia Lichtenberg either - she's the only other active Giro winner, having won it back in 2009.
It's nice, we don't get that often.
And the Giro is coming up. Are you all excited? You should be - it could be one of the most unpredictable in a while. With Vos out injured, Rabo-Liv have some thinking to do. The logical leader would obviously be Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, who is the reigning World Champion of course and who finished 2nd last year - she actually won on the road (Vos' victory margin was the result of a number of bonus seconds accrued) and stayed with Marianne on the final climb to Madonna del Ghisallo, riding somewhat within herself (and also a bit dubiously since the Rabo trio had a bit of a rolling roadblock going on as Mara Abbott looked to attack). She's a strong climber and time triallist and can compete in all terrains. But, she's also been hurt, and had to skip the Tour of Britain after failing a late fitness test, so will the team be a bit nervous about going all-in for her if she's short of race days and form is unknown? The team have also had some success in the absence of the two stars, since their loyal helpers have been let off the leash a bit. Anna van der Breggen is strong uphill - she won La Flèche Wallonne and podiumed last year's Giro - and a good time triallist, and would seem the logical fit, but there's also the wildcard of Katie Unknown - she's not so strong against the clock, but she's a brilliant climber (did a big domestique turn on San Domenico last year & was also the last to be dropped by Emma Pooley in the queen stage) who is extremely aggressive when she gets let off the leash, and is coming off her best ever form, winning the Emakumeen Bira (women's País Vasco) and podiuming in Baku. She's a bit of a wildcard if she has the freedom, but coming 11th as a teenage neo-pro doing domestique duty last year points to immense promise. Even just picking the team is a bit of a headache for Rabo.
It shouldn't be a full-on Rabo show like last year though, with Vos out and PFP's form unknown. The main opposition of the last few years has come from two-time Giro winner Mara Abbott. She typically triumphs on the biggest climbs (her Giro wins were based mainly on solo wins atop the Stelvio and Monte Beigua) and now her nemesis Emma Pooley, the eternal QOM and who won all three main mountain stages last year, has retired, it remains to be seen who will be climbing with Mara. However, her form is also a complete unknown, having done very little racing in Europe this season. She won the Tour of the Gila, but the field there wasn't the strongest and it's a race that due to parcours and opposition it'd have been more noteworthy if she didn't win. She will presumably be Wiggle's main GC bet; they have a few options for stages however with some very strong contenders like Giorgia Bronzini in the sprints and ELB in the breaks.
Although this isn't the most mountainous of editions, the Giro does still tend to favour the stronger climbers. Unless somebody can destroy the hilly stages like Vos, it's rare that the winner doesn't come from the elite climbers of the women's péloton. As such, rather than at the top ranked riders in the world such as Johansson and Armitstead, we ought perhaps to be looking more at the likes of Alena Amialiusik, Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio, Megan Guarnier and Evelyn Stevens for where the contenders will come from. There's always a surprise or two - I want to know what happened to Francesca Cauz after her amazing breakout Giro a couple of years ago. And if she rides, we should never count out Claudia Lichtenberg either - she's the only other active Giro winner, having won it back in 2009.
- Oct 21, 2012
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Saw the last two stages of the Women's Tour, once I'd realised it was on The TV here in The UK 
Some pretty good racing with breaks being caught late on and big crowds. Only the second year in, but the signs are good that this race has legs.
Jose Been was the co-commentator who I've never heard before. Is she well-known in The Netherlands? Had an excellent English accent and really went for pronouncing the rider's names in their native tongues. Great contrast to the very 'traditional' Hugh Porter. It was a bit of a Dutch corner with Marianne Vos co-presenting
Some pretty good racing with breaks being caught late on and big crowds. Only the second year in, but the signs are good that this race has legs.
Jose Been was the co-commentator who I've never heard before. Is she well-known in The Netherlands? Had an excellent English accent and really went for pronouncing the rider's names in their native tongues. Great contrast to the very 'traditional' Hugh Porter. It was a bit of a Dutch corner with Marianne Vos co-presenting
- Feb 20, 2010
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The crowds are a really good thing on it, it makes the riders enthusiastic to come. There was a lot of excitement after the first edition about how into it the crowds had got, which really helped sell it as a big deal. This year's race had three stages where the breaks were caught inside the final kilometre, so while they balanced the course well in terms of keeping the result uncertain until the close, some riders (most notably Emma Johansson) commented that they had hoped for a more challenging route. Obviously the East of England is not exactly known for its mountains, and hopefully with some more development and with the success they've had with the race they can produce a more selective route going forward to prevent the race being settled on bonus seconds, as in both editions the fastest rider on the road - Rossella Ratto and Christine Majerus respectively - have not won, due to bonus seconds from the sprints deciding the overall; while each stage has balanced carefully between the sprinters and the attackers, the overall race is still tilted a bit too much in favour of the former.postmanhat said:Saw the last two stages of the Women's Tour, once I'd realised it was on The TV here in The UK
Some pretty good racing with breaks being caught late on and big crowds. Only the second year in, but the signs are good that this race has legs.
Jose Been was the co-commentator who I've never heard before. Is she well-known in The Netherlands? Had an excellent English accent and really went for pronouncing the rider's names in their native tongues. Great contrast to the very 'traditional' Hugh Porter. It was a bit of a Dutch corner with Marianne Vos co-presenting
That said, it's frankly a level of presentation and race promotion that the vast majority of women's races should be aspiring to. Aware that the budget is a big part of that, but a very important aspect of making something into a big thing is that it should feel like it's a big thing. The professional presentation, hour-long highlights packages, helicam footage and screen graphics send the message that this race is every bit as important as the men's races, which rubs off on the audience.
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There's talk (from the organisers) of a harder course next year (for the Aviva WT) and that would be welcome. A hilly day or a TT should help bring other riders into it - although so far, I don't think it's much worse than Qatar or Energiewacht, say, or the tedious Chongming parcours. Certainly as a UK fan, the TV coverage makes a big difference and hopefully demonstrates that there is an audience.
Proper Giro analysis above from Libertine Seguros. Sadly coverage here has been poor in the past, it's not an easy race to follow. Are they going to stream coverage anywhere I wonder?
Hard to call, but Rabo look less far dominant this year, which I guess is down to a stronger peleton, with Wiggle, Bigla and Boels all up a level this year. PFP and v.d. Breggen are top talents, but Rabo lost a lot of experience when Slappendel and van Vleuten went to Bigla. Perhaps they could use that now, given the bad luck with Vos. That said, Niewiadoma could make the step up and they will have a powerful team whether PFP starts or not.
Mara Abbot has to be a pick... Wiggle didn’t just sign her for the yoga lessons surely. Her form is relatively unknown but she’s proven and perhaps doesn’t need to demonstrate racing form? She raced once or twice in Europe so at least she’s met the DS! ELB seems like a GC chance for Wiggle too, she’s got the attributes to contend I’d have thought. I’ll take a punt at Abbot, ELB, Hagiwara (goat section) Bronzini plus D’Hoore/Hosking for sprints and Cordon plus two from King/Sanchis/Fahlin. Haven't seen much of Anna Sanchis this year either.
Moolman had a good Bira and Bigla have some real strength, so she’s my third pick. I don’t know if e.g. Megan Guarnier is enough of a climber for Boels to challenge? They’re a super-strong team but climbing is not their main strength for me.
Outside your tips it might be worth watching Rosella Ratto. She had a great 2014, not so much this year but she's a talented rider and presumably motivated. Don't really know enough about her team, or the smaller UCI teams, to judge what impact they might have.
I think Wiggle, Rabo and Bigla will dominate GC, which is not a terribly bold prediction I know
Proper Giro analysis above from Libertine Seguros. Sadly coverage here has been poor in the past, it's not an easy race to follow. Are they going to stream coverage anywhere I wonder?
Hard to call, but Rabo look less far dominant this year, which I guess is down to a stronger peleton, with Wiggle, Bigla and Boels all up a level this year. PFP and v.d. Breggen are top talents, but Rabo lost a lot of experience when Slappendel and van Vleuten went to Bigla. Perhaps they could use that now, given the bad luck with Vos. That said, Niewiadoma could make the step up and they will have a powerful team whether PFP starts or not.
Mara Abbot has to be a pick... Wiggle didn’t just sign her for the yoga lessons surely. Her form is relatively unknown but she’s proven and perhaps doesn’t need to demonstrate racing form? She raced once or twice in Europe so at least she’s met the DS! ELB seems like a GC chance for Wiggle too, she’s got the attributes to contend I’d have thought. I’ll take a punt at Abbot, ELB, Hagiwara (goat section) Bronzini plus D’Hoore/Hosking for sprints and Cordon plus two from King/Sanchis/Fahlin. Haven't seen much of Anna Sanchis this year either.
Moolman had a good Bira and Bigla have some real strength, so she’s my third pick. I don’t know if e.g. Megan Guarnier is enough of a climber for Boels to challenge? They’re a super-strong team but climbing is not their main strength for me.
Outside your tips it might be worth watching Rosella Ratto. She had a great 2014, not so much this year but she's a talented rider and presumably motivated. Don't really know enough about her team, or the smaller UCI teams, to judge what impact they might have.
I think Wiggle, Rabo and Bigla will dominate GC, which is not a terribly bold prediction I know
- Feb 20, 2010
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There isn't likely to be live coverage, no, but like the Women's Tour highlights will be broadcast. Surely Boels-Dolmans' best GC candidate on paper for the Giro would be Evie Stevie? She was on the podium a couple of years ago and is a more than capable climber. With Rabo less likely to be able to exert the kind of stranglehold on the race they did last year and with the parcours not having a real monolithic MTF stage for Abbott to really put minutes into the field, keeping control could be a very interesting matter.
Ratto will be interesting to watch simply because she's not had that strong a year thus far, but she's a very aggressive racer when she is in form, and on a smaller team to boot. She also has Tetyana Riabchenko as a teammate, who was top 10 in two of the three main mountain stages last year. Some of the smaller teams have the potential to have an impact with a surprise or a young stagehunter - Dalia Muccioli for Alé-Cipollini is a pure climber, for example, who could impact the race if form is correct in the same way as Francesca Cauz did a couple of years ago. Servetto-Footon can contribute Tatiana Antoshina, who although she's had a lean couple of years is still a capable GC rider.
The most alarming thing is that the race's site currently doesn't list Hitec Products having an invitation, when the team they could put out is stronger than a few of the teams that are listed. Kirsten Wild is one of the elite women's sprinters, Lauren Kitchen is having a superb season, and Tatiana Guderzo is an Italian who has podiumed the Giro and is a former world champion and, though she's not as strong as she was a couple of years ago, at 30 she still has plenty in the tank.
Ratto will be interesting to watch simply because she's not had that strong a year thus far, but she's a very aggressive racer when she is in form, and on a smaller team to boot. She also has Tetyana Riabchenko as a teammate, who was top 10 in two of the three main mountain stages last year. Some of the smaller teams have the potential to have an impact with a surprise or a young stagehunter - Dalia Muccioli for Alé-Cipollini is a pure climber, for example, who could impact the race if form is correct in the same way as Francesca Cauz did a couple of years ago. Servetto-Footon can contribute Tatiana Antoshina, who although she's had a lean couple of years is still a capable GC rider.
The most alarming thing is that the race's site currently doesn't list Hitec Products having an invitation, when the team they could put out is stronger than a few of the teams that are listed. Kirsten Wild is one of the elite women's sprinters, Lauren Kitchen is having a superb season, and Tatiana Guderzo is an Italian who has podiumed the Giro and is a former world champion and, though she's not as strong as she was a couple of years ago, at 30 she still has plenty in the tank.
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No Hitec is odd indeed. I saw there was no UHC, no surprise really, but didn't notice that. They're capable of showing well, in stages if not GC, you'd think. You're probably right about Stevens... certainly a strong rider going well this year and I suspect I would be wise to defer to your knowledge of the climbs! I don't really know about the Italian teams, other than they should be up for a display of some sort.
I've not seen any UK tv coverage listed yet but it is a bit early. Not very hopeful, I don't think there was any last year, unless it was on eurosport in August or something.
I've not seen any UK tv coverage listed yet but it is a bit early. Not very hopeful, I don't think there was any last year, unless it was on eurosport in August or something.
Are the teams at all women's races determined entirely by the race organisers?
I've been wondering about this for a while, as while there are obviously big teams and small teams, there isn't a formal UCI division structure. Even still, the strongest riders are much more concentrated in a very small number of teams than is the case with men's cycling.
It does seem strange that Hitec Products aren't invited. Would every big or biggish team apply for the Giro, just as pretty much anyone eligible applies for the Tour in men's cycing even if they haven't got a real chance of an invite? Or is there a possibility that they didn't apply? I'd have thought that UHC would be considerably stronger than some of the invited teams too, particularly as when the invites were decided Armitstead would have been expected to be there as well as the kid sprinters.
(I've been trying to get a better grasp of the women's side of the sport for a while now, but there's very little media coverage and I haven't found a regularly active English language forum).
I've been wondering about this for a while, as while there are obviously big teams and small teams, there isn't a formal UCI division structure. Even still, the strongest riders are much more concentrated in a very small number of teams than is the case with men's cycling.
It does seem strange that Hitec Products aren't invited. Would every big or biggish team apply for the Giro, just as pretty much anyone eligible applies for the Tour in men's cycing even if they haven't got a real chance of an invite? Or is there a possibility that they didn't apply? I'd have thought that UHC would be considerably stronger than some of the invited teams too, particularly as when the invites were decided Armitstead would have been expected to be there as well as the kid sprinters.
(I've been trying to get a better grasp of the women's side of the sport for a while now, but there's very little media coverage and I haven't found a regularly active English language forum).
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Re:
I don’t have inside info on this, but the UCI women’s schedule and race invitations were the subject of a brief but interesting interview with Stef Wyman, DS of Matrix Fitness. Matrix became a UCI team this year for the first time.
http://matrixprocycling.cc/2015/05/06/interview-with-stef-wyman-on-uci-races-and-the-womens-road-calendar/
The gist of it is that it’s not systematic and, outside the top 10 teams, is a bit of a shambles. Matrix need UCI points but don’t have the strength to get them from first-rate races really, so they need to know about and get into lower ranked UCI races. The UCI has a working group now looking at calendar reform, women’s WT, minimum wage, all that stuff… that may not sound massively inspiring but there are some sensible people involved like Kirsty Scrymgour (who runs Velocio-SRAM), Rochelle Gilmore (Wiggle Honda owner), Emma Pooley. Some sort of eligibility/invitation system would help, but that’s one of a number of things needed to improve the stability of teams and make them a more marketable proposition.
Budgets come into it too. UHC, for example, nearly stayed away from the UK Women’s Tour last year, because of the costs of flying everyone over from Asheville, NC. And UHC are relatively well funded and positioned – e.g. the men’s team has a bus in Europe which they use sometimes. So the Giro absence could be a matter of cost-benefit for them – long way to go, the sponsor having no presence in Europe, poor-to-zero Giro coverage in US. That doesn’t seem to apply to Hitec – not a massive team but they’re in Europe and it’s not a budget roster. I guess they have reasons for not going, or they are and it’s a communication ***-up.
Zinoviev Letter said:
I don’t have inside info on this, but the UCI women’s schedule and race invitations were the subject of a brief but interesting interview with Stef Wyman, DS of Matrix Fitness. Matrix became a UCI team this year for the first time.
http://matrixprocycling.cc/2015/05/06/interview-with-stef-wyman-on-uci-races-and-the-womens-road-calendar/
The gist of it is that it’s not systematic and, outside the top 10 teams, is a bit of a shambles. Matrix need UCI points but don’t have the strength to get them from first-rate races really, so they need to know about and get into lower ranked UCI races. The UCI has a working group now looking at calendar reform, women’s WT, minimum wage, all that stuff… that may not sound massively inspiring but there are some sensible people involved like Kirsty Scrymgour (who runs Velocio-SRAM), Rochelle Gilmore (Wiggle Honda owner), Emma Pooley. Some sort of eligibility/invitation system would help, but that’s one of a number of things needed to improve the stability of teams and make them a more marketable proposition.
Budgets come into it too. UHC, for example, nearly stayed away from the UK Women’s Tour last year, because of the costs of flying everyone over from Asheville, NC. And UHC are relatively well funded and positioned – e.g. the men’s team has a bus in Europe which they use sometimes. So the Giro absence could be a matter of cost-benefit for them – long way to go, the sponsor having no presence in Europe, poor-to-zero Giro coverage in US. That doesn’t seem to apply to Hitec – not a massive team but they’re in Europe and it’s not a budget roster. I guess they have reasons for not going, or they are and it’s a communication ***-up.
- Feb 20, 2010
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Apparently the points had a lot to do with Astana's signing of Solovey... and also the invite system had a lot to do with Astana's firing of her as well. She was hired for her points despite that she's known for being unreliable and has the stormcloud of her prior suspension over her, and her refusing to do the race calendar they planned for her, and no-showing races (including a couple that meant the team had either not enough riders or not enough points to take the start) really screwed things up for them. Note: there are other things at play here and Astana themselves are far from blameless in the whole situation, but there's a reason she'd never had a UCI team before.
While the budget thing obviously plays into a lot of teams' considerations, the fact that the Giro is the biggest stage race on the calendar does mean that it's a bit of a strange one to be a race they'd stay out of, unless there are some worthwhile US national calendar races in early July that I don't know about (especially with Coryn Rivera, one of their key riders, injured they may perhaps not stretch to full lineups on both sides of the Atlantic) that they will want to show well at.
While the budget thing obviously plays into a lot of teams' considerations, the fact that the Giro is the biggest stage race on the calendar does mean that it's a bit of a strange one to be a race they'd stay out of, unless there are some worthwhile US national calendar races in early July that I don't know about (especially with Coryn Rivera, one of their key riders, injured they may perhaps not stretch to full lineups on both sides of the Atlantic) that they will want to show well at.
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Interesting about Solovey. Clearly talented but always an air of something not quite right, and the nationality business is odd. And it's a shame about Rivera - can't help feeling that crash was Armitstead's fault but she got all the sympathy and the other girls just a footnote.
I came in to note Anna van der Breggen has just won the Dutch TT... 30 seconds qucker than Ellen van Dijk. Wauw!
I came in to note Anna van der Breggen has just won the Dutch TT... 30 seconds qucker than Ellen van Dijk. Wauw!
- Feb 20, 2010
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Yes, that Dutch TT result is quite something! In the Kerkrade course I may not have been so surprised but this was pan-flat. Very impressive. Anna vdB is really taking advantage of the increased freedom she's getting this year, but this is a real statement of intent for the coming years.
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Rabo Liv giro team announced - http://www.raboliv.com/news/rabo-liv-team-met-vertrouwen-naar-giro-rosa-6847 (dutch)
PFP starts but will see how it goes. Anna VDB leads.
Massive surprise in the TT nats today. Less surprising good show from Molly Weaver after her switch to Liv Plantur... she's going to the Giro I believe.
PFP starts but will see how it goes. Anna VDB leads.
Massive surprise in the TT nats today. Less surprising good show from Molly Weaver after her switch to Liv Plantur... she's going to the Giro I believe.
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Nice to see Helen Storey continuing her good form in 3rd. I'll probably be rooting for her in the road race.
Was interested in your comments about the Tour course possibly being more difficult next year? Listening to the Telegraph podcast, they were saying that the organisers have been a bit stymied in terms of what towns have wanted to host stages, combined with the need to keep the race geographically compact.
Would be surprising if no-one outside of East Anglia wanted to hold the race
Was interested in your comments about the Tour course possibly being more difficult next year? Listening to the Telegraph podcast, they were saying that the organisers have been a bit stymied in terms of what towns have wanted to host stages, combined with the need to keep the race geographically compact.
Would be surprising if no-one outside of East Anglia wanted to hold the race
Does anyone else notice that every time the GB riders are interviewed they are always smiling, they have a sort of weird smugness about them. They look like stepford wives...a bit weird IMO.
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I've heard from sources connected to the race that actually they did have some other places willing to host, but they kept it this way for two reasons - firstly that they were happy to keep it as a slightly rolling race at this point - keep the time gaps small and mean that each stage meant something, so each finishing town would get some part of the race GC playing out for them. After all, in 3 of the 5 stages the catch was made inside the final kilometre, and at least the ELB break was NOT planned out that way, they caught her 150m from the line - so it offered excitement for the live fans. The second was that the race director said this year they aimed to use a lot of the towns that supported them in getting the race off the ground and that it's important to understand that unlike the men's race this isn't broadcasting itself as the Tour OF Britain, but as a women's Tour IN Britain; much like the Tour de l'Aude used to be based mainly out of Limoux and the Emakumeen Euskal Bira is based mainly out of Iurreta and Durango, they were thinking for logistical purposes and making it easier for the teams to budget in the more cash-strapped world of women's cycling, to keep it a Tour spending its 5 days in an area, and then move that area from year to year rather than try to cover all of Britain with 5 days, which would be impossible especially on the shorter distances seen in women's cycling.
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Re:
Strong team but not the seemingly unbeatable monster squad they had last year. We will see how PFP goes health-wise as she may be into form by the time the decisive climbs at the end of the race hit, but it's good that they go in with Anna VDB as leader as I think she merits it at present, and is clearly on form after beating Ellen van Dijk in the national TT - she's also a good climber, so we'll see how it goes. She has more than capable mountain backup with Gillow and Niewiadoma, last year's revelation in the mountains and also in some amazing form.Jonhard said:
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