Women’s Cycling Weekly, Issue 17

Hello! Welcome to Women’s Cycling Weekly issue 17 🚴‍♀️

It really feels like the season is starting to taking shape now and the races are coming thick and fast. Everyone’s banging on about some 300km men’s race that’s on but we know it’s all about the two WWT races coming up in the next seven days, Trofeo Alfredo Binda on Sunday and Brugge-De Panne on Thursday. Elsewhere, theres been a re-jig of the calendar with some races being given new slots and, soz to end on a bum note here, but Paris Roubaix looks to be in jeopardy again 💔. 

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News 📰

• The UCI released an updated calendar with new dates for: Setmana Ciclista Valenciana (6-9th May), Emakumeen Nafarroako(13th May), Navarra Women’s Classic (14th May), The Women’s Tour (4th-9th October), Tour of Chongming Island (14th-16th October), Tour of Guangxi (19th October) and the WWT calendar will finish with Ronde van Drenthe on the 23rd October. 
• On the subject of races, The Women’s Tour have been announcing more stages for the 2021 event including, for the first time, a time trial on stage three in Atherstone on Wednesday 6th October, while Walsall will host both the start and finish of stage two on Tuesday 5th October.
• Just as excitement was starting to build for the first women’s edition, Paris Roubaix looks to be in question for the second time in a row, as Northern France enters new lockdown restrictions. 
• The Cyclists’ Alliance union have launched a tax helpdesk for riders in conjunction with law firm Baker McKenzie which will provide “an overview of some key European tax regimes impacting riders.”
• In some very sad and frustrating news, promising young rider Lauren Dolan has been forced to leave the sport after a driver brake checked her while she was out training in 2019. Dolan was left with multiple injuries after the incident which happened just three days after she won a Bronze medal at the World Championships in Yorkshire. Meanwhile, the driver got a mere £1,667 fine and 10 penalty points. 
• Rider agents, Corso Sports Marketing, have begun to represent women riders for the first time. 
• Christine Majerus will be the first female rider to represent the women’s peloton at the UCI’s Safety Commission. 
• Movistar have announced the roster for their new E-team, on the women’s side, the riders are: Steph Clutterbuck, Imogen Cotter, Beth Maciver, and Becky Storrie. 
• L39ION of LA have revealed their new 2021 kit.

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Results 🏆

• At GP Oetingen 1.2 last Sunday Elisa Balsamo (Valcar Travel and Service) took the win with Jolien d’Hoore of SD Worx in second and Marianne Vos of Jumbo Visma in third.
• At Danilith Nokere Koerse 1.Pro on Wednesday it was SD Worx again with Amy Pieters comfortably winning a sprint after a long breakaway with second placed Grace Brown and third placed Lisa Klein.
• The South African National Championships got underway today with the time trial. Candice Lill took the elite title while Caitlin Thompson took the junior title. 

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Upcoming Races 📅

• This Sunday the Women’s World Tour continues with standalone women’s race, Trofeo Alfredo Binda. The race is 141.8km long and will be broadcast from 14:30 CET where it looks like there will be a good 90 minutes of coverage! View startlist here.
• While that’s all going on over in Italy, the rest of the peloton will be in Belgium racing the 1.1 Omloop van de Westhoek. The race is 131.9km long. View startlist here. 
• More WWT action next Thursday with the (mostly) pan-flat Brugge-De Panne. The race is 158.8 km long and it *looks* as if there will be around 2h of live coverage starting from 15:00 CET. View startlist here.
• The South African National Championships continue this weekend with the women’s road races on Sunday. 

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Read 🗞️

• Why the pros love Trofeo Alfredo Binda.
• Ayesha McGowan on joining her Liv Racing teammates on training camp and her new initiative, Thee Abundance Summit. 
• On Movistar’s new star sprinter, Emma Norsgaard. 
• Finding the balance with Sarah Sturm.
• Another great opinion piece on why Patrick van Gansen’s sanction from the UCI for abusing riders wasn’t enough.
• And this related piece. 
• This fantastic initiative and the cool jersey to match. 
• On breaking the rules of cycling kit.
• Laura Kenny has joined the chat.
• My two cents on how the men can keep their clashing calendar.

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Listen 🎧

Will I plug the Freewheeling podcast on this newsletter every week now that it’s weekly and I’m on it? Yeah probs. Listen for a roundup of the past few weeks in women’s cycling, a preview of Binda and more. Plus, an interview with Hannah Ludwig of Canyon//SRAM. 

Elsewhere The Cycling Podcast Feminin has a new episode out, too! They discuss SD Worx and their dominance, have an interview with Emma Norsgaard, and Teniel Campbell. 

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Watch 📺

While the setting might be a bit sterile and businesslike, it’s interesting to see Ceratizit-WNT making videos with their sponsor on why they invest in cycling, and in particular women’s cycling. 

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Names You Should Know 💡

You might not have heard of Kittie Knox, especially outside of the US, but her achievements were extraordinary. 

Knox was the first African American to be accepted into the League of American Wheelmen which was the body in charge of racing at the time. Born on October 7, 1874, in Cambridgeport, Massachusetts to a white mother and an African American father, Knox worked as a seamstress which is how she saved up to buy her first bike. Soon after, she joined Riverside Cycling Club which was the first black cycling group. 

Knox came up against resistance in her cycling endeavours because of her race and had to fight the LAW over her membership after they introduced a ‘whites only’ policy, she was also refused entry to events. Knox racked up results in racing — against both men and women — but she is most known for being instrumental in promoting accessibility in cycling, particularly to those from more economically and racially diverse backgrounds. 

This is just a very short précis of Knox’s achievements and extraordinary life. To find out more about her check out:

• This article
• This one, too 
• This blog
• This short vid.
• This book.

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Feel Good Friday 💕

Courtesy of Valerie Demey:valerie demey @valeriedemeyWho else is excited for the weekend? I Am 🥳 Because that means new racedays coming up 🚴‍♀️🚴‍♀️ @LivRacingWT @LivCyclingWorld #LivCOMMITTED March 19th 202114 Retweets113 Likes

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That’s All 👋

The end. Thanks for reading and for supporting women’s cycling and if you like what you see you can support WCW on Ko-Fi:

Support WCW on Ko-Fi

Have a great weekend!

Until next time,

Amy x