Freewheeling: Alpe d'Huez finale for the 2024 Tour de France Femmes could be spectacular

A spontaneous applause rippled through the audience at the Palais des Congres, Paris as Marion Rousse revealed Alpe d'Huez as the concluding stage of the 2024 Tour de France Femmes.

The auditorium, packed, with a couple of thousand people - a mixture of professional cycle racers, cycling industry executives, sponsors, sports associations, local government representatives, governing body chiefs, and sports media - had come to watch the grand presentation of the 2024 Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes routes. 

Discovering that Alpe d'Huez would feature proved popular. This iconic climb which has been a crowd puller since it was included in the men's Tour de France in 1952 has now been included in what will be the third edition of the women's Grande Boucle event, sponsored by Zwift and organised by ASO.

An iconic stage was also included in the previous Tour de France Femmes when the 2023 event included a stage through the Pyrenees with a finish on the Tourmalet, and the 2022 inaugural renaissance event concluded in the Vosges atop La Superplanche des Belles Filles. 

Having these iconic mountain stages in the women's races is great for the sport as it is bound to increase audience engagement in terms of television viewing and social media interactions. It is also a great endorsement from the organisers and sponsors that they would include such stages in the women's race. When it comes to the Tour de France, racing up Alpe d'Huez doesn't get better. Given the abundance of strong riders from the Netherlands in the women's peloton, Dutch corner will be a massive party for the women too! 

Other interesting points about the Tour de France Femmes are the Grand Départ taking place in Rotterdam - the first time the race is happening outside of French territory. With the initial stages being in the Netherlands and Belgium, the riders won't reach France until Stage 5. Considering that the race only has eight stages it's not so much a Tour de France but a Tour de BeneFrance!

On a positive note the areas covered the Hexagon will be well known roads to the cycling fan. Stages 2 and 3 are done on the same day, in Rotterdam, with Stage 3 being a 6.3km time trial. This is practically the same route as the prologue of the 2010 Tour de France, though slightly shorter. As in 2010 the riders will have mini climbs to do up Erasmus Bridge and Willems Bridge.

Stage 4, from Valkenberg to Liège will feature parts of the Amstel Gold race (the Cauberg), as well parts of Liège-Bastogne-Liege (La Redoute, Côte des Forges, and others).

The 167km Stage 7, from Champagnole to Le Grand Bornand, the longest stage will be an extended version of La Course by the Le Tour de France 2018 and will pass by Lac d'Annecy,  though with a preamble over climbs through the Jura. This stage will be a tasty appetiser before the grand finale, from Le Grand Bornand to Alpe d'Huez, passing via col de la Tamié, Col de Glandon, Barrage de Grand' Maison and then from Le Bourg d'Oisans up the 21 hairpins to the most famous ski resorts in cycling history. 

So the stage is set for some royal battles. We just need the actors to play their part. Without wanting to put a fine point on it I think that there is an onus on the athletes to give the fans a spectacle. It is these stories of rivalry and show-downs on the streets of the Tour de France (and the Netherlands and Belgium) that garner more public interest and capture the imagination of the fans. 

While it's great to see Annemiek Van Vleuten type athlete showing up and demonstrating pure dominance at a few races, doing it at every race or all the way through a stage race is not necessarily what engages spectators. Having one other rival is better, but still not that interesting if the rest of the field is so far behind. We remember how Van Vleuten audaciously snatched victory from Anna van der Breggen in the final metres of the race. But who remembers what the other riders did? Third placed Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio crossed the finish line well over a minute behind the two Dutch women.

What is needed is more depth. It is great to see races where it's not a given that such and such a rider will win, or that the winner will come from this really dominant team. (I'm looking at SD Worx here!)

Of course you can't reproach a rider or a team for being so much stronger than the others. We just need to see more challengers coming through. We got a flavour of that in 2023 Tour de France Femmes when Kasia Nieuwiadoma of Canyon SRAM went for it on the Tourmalet climb, and subsequently won the Queen of the Mountains jersey. We also saw that when some younger riders like Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Deceuninck) won a stage, and also when a couple of riders (other than Annemiek Van Vleuten) from Team Movistar won stages.

Also, with this year's event starting and passing through countries that harbour an avid cycling fan base there is likely to be greater interest than in previous years especially as there will be many Dutch riders contesting the top spots.

Furthermore, the variety in the profile of races means that there is something for everyone - for the Classics rider, the mountain goat, or the sprinter. Considering that this is only a seven-day race, the organisers have cleverly packed in stages that should leave no shortage of drama for we fans over that week in mid-August. I look forward to seeing who will be wearing the yellow jersey at the summit of Alpe d'Huez after seven days and 946km of racing. 

Women's Tour de France delivers drama and new stars

Tour de France Femmes peloton on the stage to Albi (photo: Thomas Maheux)

Following the successful staging of the reborn Tour de France Femmes in 2022, this year's edition of the event, sponsored by Zwift didn't fail to disappoint.

Last year's women's Tour de France Femmes began to the fanfare of the women racing Stage 1 on the Champs Elysees a few hours before the men's concluding stage of their Tour de France. The women then contested their remaining stages of their Tour in the East of France, in the Alsace/Vosges area with an exciting finale on the Superplanche des Belles Filles.

I must admit that when I saw that this year's stage would be starting from Clermont Ferrand, it seemed a slight downer compared with the iconic landmarks of central Paris. Granted, the event was in the shadow of the Puy de Dome, but the famous road up the extinct volcano was not included in the women's race itinerary.

However, the race more than made up for it with the final stages snaking through the Pyrenees, over the col d'Aspin and the col du Tourmalet, culminating in a time trial on undulating roads around Pau. 

Lotte Kopecky (photo: Getty Sport)

What also makes the race are the riders. It was no surprise to see women from the mighty SD Worx team occupying the upper echelons of the General Classification rankings, but it wasn't totally one-way traffic for the Netherlands-registered team flush with National, European and former World Champions. This made the overall racing exciting and introduced an element of suspense - an important ingredient for an engaging sports competition.

Where the men's Tour de France solicited a guessing game about whether Tadej Pogacar or Jonas Vingegaard would come out on top, the women's race led to debates around whether it would be Movistar's Annemiek Van Vleuten who would replicate her triple Grand Tour victories from last year (she had already won the women's Vuelta a Espana, and Giro Donne) or whether Demi Vollering would stop her compatriot in her ascendancy.  

After Vollering drew first blood by thanks to the stage one victory by Belgian National Champion Lotte Kopecky, allowing her SD Worx team to seize the maillot jaune (yellow jersey) and keep it thanks to further stage victories from Lorena Wiebes (stage 3) and Marlen Reusser (stage 8). However the team was punished with setbacks which could have toppled its aspirations. In reality, these problems were self-inflicted and would have been associated more with a small newbie team, than with a dominant World Tour Team led by some of the most experienced riders and sports directors in the women's peloton.

On Stage 4 from Cahors to Rodez, won by a breakaway rider Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Deceuninck), Vollering crossed the finish line in a celebratory mood, in second place after bursting forward from her group. She had not realised there was another rider further up the road who had won the stage - despite her having radio communication with her team mates and sports director, and knowing that there had been a breakaway which had as much as 10 minutes time advantage over the GC chasing group at one point.  

The following day, during Stage 5, SD Worx effected a bike change for Vollering when she got a puncture. Looking at the TV pictures, the bike change must have been the slowest change in the history of bike racing! Unsurprisingly the rider lost a significant amount of time on the peloton including her GC contender rivals, so she slipstreamed off her team car in order to be paced back to the bunch. 

It wasn't plain sailing for SD Worx (photo: Thomas Maheux)

The only problem was her sports director drove down the wrong side of the road, dangerously overtaking, and potentially putting other participants in danger. 

After an initial reprimand from the race commissaire during the race for excessive slipstreaming and dangerous overtaking, sports director Danny Stam received a 200CHF fine and Vollering received a 100CHF fine. Stam was later expelled from the race after dismissing the UCI commissaires' ruling as ridiculous. 

While SD Worx had the means to pay the fine and co-sports director Anna van der Breggen could still manage matters during the race, the real bite came when Vollering received a 20-second time penalty which relegated her from second to seventh place in the GC, and 12 seconds behind Van Vleuten. This was in addition to the double whammy of seeing Movistar's Emma Norsgaard (Jorgensen) sprint to win Stage 6 into Blagnac ahead of yellow jersey wearer, Kopecky on the eve of the decisive weekend for the race.

During the decisive penultimate stage from Lannemezan to Tourmalet, Van Vleuten and Vollering had a face-off on the lower slopes of the giant of the Pyrenees. There was no love lost between these two Dutch girls - even less so since last year's Tour de France Femmes, as well as this year's Vuelta a Espana when Vollering believed Van Vleuten had been unsporting en route to her historic win. [Van Vleuten allegedly attacked while Vollering, who was in the lead, took a loo break.]

Such stand-offs can actually be advantageous to others, as Canyon SRAM's Kasia Niewiadoma found when she launched her own attack off the front, staying away until shortly before the finish line when eventual winner Vollering caught her, though the Pole still stayed ahead of Van Vleuten by more than half-a-minute. Deservedly Niewiadoma was awarded the polka dot jersey for the Queen of the Mountains.

An emotional Demi Vollering on realising she's won the Tour de France Femmes (Thomas Maheux)

What we learned during this Tour de France Femmes was that contrary to fellow competitor Elisa Longo Borghini who once described Van Vleuten as an alien, the all-powerful Movistar rider is human. She began to show signs of weakness and fatigue as the route passed through the mountain villages of St Marie de Campan, and La Mongie, and the World Champion was unable to match Vollering's attack through the mist in the Hautes Pyrenees as she crossed the finish line over two and a half minutes ahead of Van Vleuten as the new wearer of the yellow jersey. 

Similarly, at the closing time trial, where Van Vleuten has traditionally prevailed, she was also caught wanting, when she finished in 14th place, over 1 minute 40 seconds behind Reusser.

So it wasn't to be for Vleuty, who finished in fourth place in the GC almost four minutes behind the victorious Vollering. Meanwhile the SD Worx camp enjoyed huge celebrations following Reusser's victory in the time trial, Lotte Kopecky's green jersey, and Vollering's maiden yellow jersey for her overall win at the Tour de France Femmes.

As well as the battle between these two arch-rivals, this Tour de France Femmes was also spiced up by young guns going for it - new riders, young riders, smaller teams, throwing themselves out there and trying their chances for a stage win.

A crash-filled Stage 2 saw Lianne Lippert take flight with a maiden victory. The young team-mate of Van Vleuten finished ahead of Kopecky who punctured before the finish line after being led out by Vollering. Stage 3 saw the dreams of Julie Van de Velde of the young team Fenix-Deceuninck crushed as she was caught agonisingly close to the finish line after launching a long breakaway. Her cyclocrosser team-mate Kastelijn (who eventually won the overall combativity prize) finished the business by winning Stage 4 into Rodez. 

Ricarda Bauernfeind, new kid on the block (Thomas Maheux)

In spectacular style Ricarda Bauernfeind, a recent arrival at Canyon-SRAM having been in the development structure Canyon-Generation took the biggest win of her short career in stage 5 (from Onet-le-Chateau to Albi) and at age 23 years and three months she became the youngest winner of a TDFF stage.

Additionally, the likes of Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio, racing for the newly formed AG Insurance-Soudal-Quick-Step team, whose sport director is former racer Jolien d'Hoore, also put time into Van Vleuten on the slopes of the Tourmalet. Kopecky who is known as a sprinter and also a handy track cyclist emerged as the Wout Van Aert of women's racing as she also put in a sterling ride in the mountains.

So all in all, the Tour de France Femmes this year turned out to be an engaging race, with interesting stories and talking points, excitement, intrigue, and new stars. 

As much as I like Van Vleuten and it would have been a good note on which the 40-year old could close out career, doing the triple, I must say that I am happy that there were a few twists and turns in the competition. Although SD Worx dominated in the rankings, we certainly saw fearless challenges from riders across the spectrum of age, experience, and team strength.

                              Jersey winners: L-R: Cedrine Kerbaol, Kasia Niewiadoma, Demi Vollering,
Lotte Kopecky (photo: Thomas Maheux) 

Next year's Tour de France Femmes with Zwift will start in the Netherlands, and we will find out the full itinerary in October. I look forward to seeing what 2024 will bring.

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The Tour de France Femmes est arrivee!

The day finally came for the women's Tour de France, known as the Tour de France Femmes with Zwift. 

After years of campaigning Amaury Sports Organisation finally put on a women's stage race around France, that can become the race of reference for pro women. Also, given that it was happening at the time of the men's Tour de France the women's race had a high profile, media coverage, and hopefully a lot of public interest.

I had a media pass to attend stage 1, which started from the Eiffel Tower and consisted of 8 laps around central Paris, going along the same route that the men use during their customary finish in Paris at the end of the Tour de France each year.

The last time the women's pro peloton raced around the streets of Paris was during the first edition of La Course, 10 years ago. This race was the predecessor event to what ASO are now organising for the women's pro peloton. At the time the event took place first thing on the Sunday morning, with not much of an audience. Granted, the event was televised but then at that time of the morning there would have been a limited audience to see Marianne Vos cross the finish line and do her victory salute.

However, this event was a very different matter. This was the culmination of a lot of campaigning, negotiations and behind the scenes preparation. There had been a lot of publicity in the months running up to the event, and it had been the talk of the town among all cycling fans.

So the day had finally come, and this would be the first day of  a week-long Tour de France Femmes. Although described as a tour of France, the stages were going to be largely in the Alsace and Vosges, just in Eastern France.

On this hot sunny day in July I got on my bicycle and made my way from my lodgings in Vincennes to the press centre, just behind the Champs Elysees. It was my first time going to the press centre for the final day of the Tour de France (and the first day of the Tour de France Femmes) and the thing that struck me most was the number of road closures, even for bicycles.

It is understandable to have heavy security at such a grand scale event in central Paris, but recent unfortunate events such as terrorist attacks and the "gilets jaunes" rioters meant that police presence was omnipresent, complete with machine guns and even CRS (like the UK equivalent of the SAS). All this made it difficult, once I arrived at Concorde to get to the area just across the road from me. My trip involved a real tour of Paris. Then as if that wasn't enough there was a lot of haggling with the ASO staff to get through to the Media Centre. A few other journalists with me also encountered the same difficulties - an officious guy refusing pass down the small avenue to reach the media centre and folks angrily remonstrating. All that added about an hour to my journey and by the time I reached the media centre I was ready for a rest. There was no way I was going to venture across to the start line of the women's race at the Eiffel Tower, and preferred to stay where I was and watch them on the Champs Elysees, as well as on the TV in the media centre.

This was definitely a historic moment, with plenty of spectators watching the first stage in the afternoon sunshine in central Paris. There had been so much build-up to this day - with the various column inches having been written about the history of women's Tour de France races in the past, analysis of the route, pundits views on how will win, and that's before counting all the various initiatives by Zwift, Santini and other sponsors.

In the end, for me, when the big day came, the significance of this moment was forgotten - perhaps because of all the logistical hassle, perhaps not - and it was all about reporting on a women's cycle race and then dashing off to the media centre for the post-race press conference.

I know there were probably people who really were smitten by the occasion, and were quite emotional about it. I can't say why I didn't feel that way. I think that for me, the big moment came when there was the announcement of the race last year and the grand reveal of the route in Autumn in Paris. Thereafter, I wanted to just focus on the job in hand and the racing itself. There's a limit to how much you can say about a historical moment, and when it comes to sport, the engagement comes through exciting racing.

It was a fast-paced race with a couple of crashes during the 82km circuit race around the Champs Elysees, Concorde and Rivoli. Different women went off the front for a spot of limelight under the lenses of the world's media, but the main bunch with the protagonists largely stayed together. In the end the result was decided by a showdown between the most experienced racer, Marianne Vos, and her young compatriot Lorena Wiebes. The youthful pre-race favourite, Wiebes crossed the finish line on the most iconic of avenues and ended up on the podium in the yellow jersey. It would have been good to see Marianne Vos up there, but Wiebes was a very worthy winner. Marianne Vos (possibly the greatest racer of all time) did get to wear the Green Jersey at the end of the 8-stage race. Sadly, Lorena Wiebes, who went on to win a second stage, withdrew from the race on Stage 7 as a result of a crash the previous day. 

The other overall winner, Annemiek Van Vleuten did it in combattive style after having had setbacks during the early stages, including racing with an upset stomach and having stop on the roadside for a poo during the hilly stage to Epernay. On the final stage, with a commanding lead over her second-placed rival, Demi Vollering, Van Vleuten encountered mechanical problems and had to change bike twice. Yet she still found it in her to stay head of everyone on the legendary climb up the Superplanche des Belles Filles.

For me, that is sort of thing that excited me about the Tour de France Femmes. Women now have a stage race of reference. Rather than repeating the "wow women have a Tour de France", I want to move things on and say "Wow, wasn't that an exciting race." And I am glad to have been able to say that about this inaugural Tour de France Femmes.

Photo of the day - 28: More Italian cycling success, even ahead of the mighty Dutch

 

Getty Images

Continuing the theme of Italians winning things this summer, this was once again repeated at the Women's World Road Racing Championships. The noteworthy thing was that it was Elisa Balsamo who managed to outsprint Marianne Vos, the greatest female bike racer of all time. Those who have followed the season will not be surprised that Elisa was in the mix at the end, given that with her sponsored team Valcar Travel & Service she has tended to contest sprints and be in the minor placings.

But to get ahead of the great Marianne Vos was an achievement at another level. I think the difference between Marianne and Elisa was that Vos probably launched her sprint a little late, and furthermore Balsamo had a very strong cohesive lead-out team in the shape of Elisa Longo Borghini, Marta Bastianelli, Marta Cavalli and Maria-Giulia Conflonieri. Interestingly, the Dutch team was also very strong on paper. People have been talking about them for the last couple of years being a formidable team, and the team to beat.

Given that a number of these riders have been Olympic Champion or World Champion, it isn't without reason that the world is talking about the team from the Netherlands. The question isn't will they win? It's more - which one out of  Marianne Vos, Annemiek Van Vleuten, Anna van der Breggen, Demi Vollering, Amy Pieters and Ellen Van Dijk will win? 

Unfortunately, the team has lost out in recent major competitions. At the Olympics, they totally failed to spot that a relatively unknown rider from Austria (Anna Kiesenhofer) had done a breakaway off the front to win. In fact, when Annemiek Van Vleuten crossed the line in second place she did a victory salute, thinking she had won! Apparently, some members of the Dutch team new that there was already a woman ahead on the road, but this doesn't seem to have been communicated between them. (Radios weren't allowed during the race.)

Then at the World Championships communication was better, but they still didn't manage to get organised to launch Marianne into the best position at the right time for the sprint for the line. So their most decorated rider failed to catch the young speedy Italian in the home straight. 

Marianne looked extremely disappointed - more so than I have ever seen her after a race - and she was in tears on the finish line. I must say, I felt bad for her and would have like to see her win.

But I think here, it is a case of the strongest team isn't always the team that wins. What counts more is using your resources wisely and working better as a team. And I think that's where the Italians were able to make the difference. So the buzz word is "team work". And that's something that the Italians seem to excel at where the Dutch need to do better.

Women to watch at the Road Cycling World Championships

As the UCI World Road Cycling Championships take place in Yorkshire the fight for a gold medal and the right to wear the rainbow jersey will be hotly contested.

Gone are the days when there was a clear favourite you could single out. With outstanding performances in the UCI Women's WorldTour by various women in the professional peloton it is hard to say who will win the contest in the 150km race between Bradford and Harrogate.

People describe this course as being like a Classics course such as the Liege-Bastogne-Liege race in Belgium. That means very long, with constant short, sharp hills, often in rainy weather. However, some think victory could still go to a sprinter who can handle the Classics if they have good support, since the hills are tough but may not necessarily completely separate the regular WorldTour riders. The weather will play a part in the race though, as this can be changeable, and if it's not raining it will be quite windy on the top of the Dales.

Anna van der Breggen - defending Champion

Dutch Girls (8 riders)
Everyone has been talking about the Dutch team, and it is true that with the likes of Marianne Vos, Anna van der Breggen, Annemiek Van Vleuten, Chantal Blaak - all former or current wearers of a rainbow jersey, it is reasonable to say one can't see past a rider from that team taking the top step of the podium.

Their helper riders such as Amy Pieters and Lucinda Brand also have very strong racing CVs.

However, sometimes having so many brilliant riders in one team can ironically be a problem as it then becomes difficult to devise a clear tactic, and there may even be discord among riders if one feels that she should be the lead rider for the win.

Having spoken to Marianne Vos earlier this year she said that there is no jealousy and among their team they are always glad to see a compatriot doing well, and to will always be ready to help them get the win for the Netherlands. If the Dutch do fumble their tactics on the road to Harrogate there will be a few other teams ready to capitalise on that.


The Italian Job (7 riders)

Marta Bastianelli after winning the Tour of Flanders this year

They also have a good core of riders which includes two former world champions - Tatiana Guderzo and Marta Bastianelli, who will be the lead rider.

They also have a strong climber like Soraya Paladin, who was one of only two women who managed to stay with Marianne Vos during her ride to victory at the very hilly second stage of this year's Tour de Yorkshire. And don't discount Elisa Longo Borghini, who is a phenomenally strong all-rounder.

Their joker card will likely be Letizia Paternoster if the race does come down to a sprint. The Italians have a history of being the nearly team as they haven't won the title since 2011, but they generally manage to get someone into the top 5, if not on the podium. They also have a very good team spirit among themselves.


The Young Americans (7 riders)
The Americans cannot be underestimated, and have been having a very good World Championships thanks to Chloe Dygert-Owen winning the time trial and Megan Jastrab winning the World Junior Championship. Chloe Dygert-Owen was clearly strong in the time trial, but she has also had a great season, notably when she dominated the Colorado Classic in the summer. Coryn Rivera's season has not been as glittering as in previous years mainly because she didn't feature so much in the top places during the early season races. However, she has been steadily gaining ground and so she shouldn't be ruled out of the mix, particularly because she will have support from strong riders like Katie Hall, Ruth Winder, Tayler Wiles, and Leah Thomas.


Brits at home (6 riders)

Alice (left) and Hannah Barnes - key riders in supporting Lizzie Deignan 

With a World Championships in Yorkshire passing the childhood places of Lizzie Deignan, this is going to be a massive motivation for the Team GB.

Deignan, who has shown some impressive results this year since returning from maternity leave will know these roads like the back of her hand, and will have a solid team behind her, though not necessarily with quite the might of some of the other nations.

Alice and Hannah Barnes will be key in the team, as well as Lizzy Banks, a new rider who has shown brilliant form on hilly courses - notably at the Tour de Yorkshire this year. Nikki Juniper, who does most of her racing in the UK, has extensive experience of riding hilly courses in the North of England as well as doing some classics courses in Belgium, though the question remains as to whether she will have a response to the attacks from the Dutch.

Pole Dancers (7 riders)

Katarzyna (Kasia) Niewiadoma - a punchy rider in the Classics

People don't talk so much about the Polish but this year may be the time to do so. I would say they are the dark horse in this.

Kasia Niewiadoma is a punchy rider with a very daring way of racing and can spring surprises where people may not expect it.

She has ridden well in the hilly Spring Classics races in bad weather, such as what you get in Yorkshire. The Poles may have another card to play in the shape of Malgorzata Jasinksa who is a good climber. Their lead rider will be reliant also on the likes of Anna Plichta and Marta Lach.


Ozzie Ozzie Ozzie (6 riders)
The Australians, like the Italians generally manage to get someone into the decisive final part of the race, but unlike the Azzurri, the Ozzies have never had anyone win the World Championships. Last year Amanda Spratt finished in second place on the mountainous course at Innsbruck. Maybe she could do one better on the lumpy course through the Yorkshire Dales.

The only thing is that team Australia have been slightly weakened by the loss of some good helper riders like Sarah Roy and Grace Brown. They do have Brodie Chapman, who placed second in the Colorado Classic and Chloe Hosking who won the sprint at the Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta recently. Mind you, the Australians are putting all their eggs into the Tokyo 2020 Olympics basket, so for this World Championships I wonder how hungry they will be for a win.

Dynamic Dane
Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig

Great Danes (5 riders)
A very young Amalie Didericksen won in 2016 on a flat course, and she is there again this time around, though the lead rider is likely to be Cecile Uttrup Ludwig who has been a strong force over the last couple of years, but has really set the Women's WorldTour alight this year. She is as dynamic in her racing as she is in her post-race interviews!

Other people to watch
Germany's Lisa Brennauer can hold her own as a good all-round rider. We haven't seen her full potential during this year, and she has played a helper role to Kirsten Wild her Dutch team-mate in the WNT trade team. But that's not to say she doesn't have what it takes. She recently shone in the Boels Ladies Tour when she got a top 10 place. She is also the German National Road Race Champion.

South Africa's Ashleigh Moolman Pasio is a great climber and is a talented racer who has an ability to get into the mix even in situations where she has no team-mates to help her. It's a good job really, since she will only have three team-mates for today's relentlessly hilly race and it may be a big ask for them to be able to animate things at the front for her.

Cuba's Arlenis Sierra doesn't race much on this side of the Atlantic, but has shown herself to be a solid rider as part of the Astana Women's Team. She is the Pan American Games Champion and placed within the top 20 at the Tour of California.


My pick of contenders

Anna van der Breggen: defending champion and 2019 Silver Time Trial medallist  - notable wins this year: Winner, Fleche-Wallonne; Winner, Tour of California.

Marianne Vos: 2006, 2012 and 2013 Champion - notable wins this year: Winner, Trofeo Alfredo Binda; Winner, Tour de Yorkshire; La Course by the Tour de France; Ladies Tour of Norway.

AnnemiekVan Vleuten: 2019 Bronze Time Trial medallist - notable wins this year: Winner, Strade Bianche; Liege-Bastogne-Liege; Women's Tour of Italy.

Chantal Blaak: 2017 Champion - notable wins this year:Winner, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.

Marta Bastianelli: 2007 Champion - notable wins this year: Winner, Women's Tour of Flanders; Winner, Ronde Van Drenthe.

Letizia Paternoster: notable wins this year: European U23 Road Race Champion.

Chloe Dygert-Owen: 2019 World Time Trial Champion - notable wins this year: Winner, Colorado Classic; Winner, Joe Martin Stage race.

Coryn Rivera: notable wins this year: Silver, USA National Championships; 2nd, Ladies Tour of Norway.

Lizzie Deignan: 2015 Champion - notable wins this year: Winner, Women's Tour.

Malgorzata Jasinksa: notable wins this year: 5th, Polish National Championships; 9th, Women's Tour.

Katarzyna Niewiadoma: notable wins this year: Winner, Amstel Gold, 2nd Women's Tour.

Amanda Spratt: notable wins this year: Winner, Tour Down Under; 2nd Trofeo Alfredo Binda; 3rd, Women's Tour of Italy.

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig: notable wins this year: Winner, Grand Prix de Plumelec-Morbihan; 3rd, Tour of Flanders; 3rd, La Course by Le Tour de France.





 

Daily photo - 25: No hat-trick for Van Vleuten at Time Trial championships

This is a big week for cycling in the UK as the World Road Cycling Championships take place in Yorkshire.

I haven't been able to get up to Harrogate for the celebration of cycling, so I have been following it on TV.

Of interest to me were the women's races. Earlier this year I interviewed defending champion Annemiek Van Vleuten when I saw her at the Tour of Flanders. She was riding well and was keen to defend her time trial title, and hopefully becoming the first woman to win the time trial championships for the third time in a row.

Despite all her efforts, she was not able to record the fastest time over the 32 kilometres from Ripon to Harrogate. Annemiek subsequently finished third behind the winner, USA's Chloé Dygart-Owen and compatriot Anna van der Breggen.

Annemiek was gracious in defeat, and ever the consummate professional, managed to keep a smile during the podium ceremony and the post-race interviews despite her disappointment. I must say I have a lot of respect for her composed reaction in these circumstances.


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The World Road Cycling Championships are currently taking place in Bergen, Norway. It's almost a week of competitions ranging from team time trials - done in riders' trade teams, through time trial races, junior, under-23 and senior men's and women's championship races in time trials and in road races.

The women's time trial was won by none other than Annemiek van Vleuten, and I was so pleased for her. Van Vleuten is the woman who had that nasty crash in the women's road race at the Rio Olympics last year. She was in the lead at the time of the crash and looked like she was on the way to winning the race. The crash looked horrific, but Annemiek escaped with concussion and a few cracked vertebrae. I say "escaped" because her injuries could have ended up a lot worse. For the Dutch racer the hardest part was dealing with the fact that she could have won this race, but instead, lost out completely.

I spoke to Annemiek a couple of months agao when I was writing a fitness article for Cycling Weekly magazine. What I noted about her was how determined and resolute she was about getting back into racing and pursuing her racing objectives. When I spoke to Annemiek in July she had already been out to Bergen and done a reconnnaisance of the course. She was extremely focused on going for the win.

I asked her how she was able to get over the trauma of what had happened to her in Rio and she said that her aim had always been to focus on the objective. She also said that she had had to deal with very difficult times in her life in the past like when her father died after a long illness some years ago. Having to cope with that, and seeing her mum have to cope with the loss of her husband had taught her to be resilient.

It is this resilience and determination that played a part in Annemiek having the amazing year that she has had, including victories in classics races, the women's Giro d'Italia, La Course by the Tour de France, and now the World Championships.

Seeing Annemiek van Vleuten get back on the horse after the massive setback she had in Rio, and tthen ride to victory is so inspirational.