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.





 

Cycling words from 2015

A few memorable quotes I picked up during interviews I did with cycling folks in 2015:


"Just completing the event teaches you a huge amount about yourself. The process of getting to the start line is the most valuable thing I think any cyclist can do. If you’re a number crunching training animal then it’s right up your street. We’ve taken marginal gains to the nth degree, and we can apply them to what I’m going to be doing between now and the games in Rio."
Sarah Storey speaking following her hour record attempt at Lee Valley velodrome


"We do thrash ourselves a fair bit over our careers and you only really realise it when you stop. The amount of damage we do to our bodys, I am quite shocked to know I do this to myself."
David Millar speaking following his retirement from professional cycle racing 


"It’s really fantastic. It’s really cool to see all those schoolkids around and coming out of their schools, supporting, cheering for the riders and cheering for the tour. You really feel that cycling is really popular in Britain." 
Marianne Vos speaking at the Women's Tour



"We are changing focus for 2016 and trying to make sure we can step up. Elinor [Barker] is an unsung hero, and it is really difficult to transition from the track to the road. It was nice that she took the pressure off Laura [Trott] and we had her in some good positions coming into finishes."
Stefan Wyman (Matrix Fitness) speaking at the Women's Tour





"The roads are wider over there. So in terms of positioning you kind of get a little bit lazy because you know that in two seconds you can be at the front, whereas here it can take you an hour to get to the front, and less than a minute to slip to the back!"
Hannah Barnes comparing road racing in the US with road racing in the UK at the Women's Tour



"Last year I did this and when coming up to the finish I crashed on the corner, so it was nice to stay upright this time! Changing the course to anticlockwise this year was great for me. I’m a track rider so I love going left!"
Katie Archibald speaking following her victory at the London Nocturne




"I love it because it’s different, it’s quirky, and the crowds are absolutely mental. It’s almost like the atmosphere in the Olympics. There’s a great party atmosphere. It helps that everyone is a bit half cut! In this race everyone was going for it and was gung ho, going bang bang bang. It just feels good to finally crack it and get the win."
Ed Clancy speaking following his victory at the London Nocturne




"When you are in a race you have to put out of your mind who they are and what they have done. You just see it as just another bike race and they are just another bike rider. No one is unbeatable. It’s just a question of getting on and doing it."
Nicola Juniper after gaining the title at the National Criterium Championships




"I think the whole vibe with Foxhunt is that it’s a race but it’s pretty relaxed and it’s not your average race. I think the mass start – everyone starting together, I think that helps the nerves and the confidence of girls who aren’t so sure about racing – having people around them, and it’s female only. It’s been an awesome weekend and everyone’s had a good time."
Rachel Atherton speaking following the Red Bull Foxhunt

 

"There's a lack of girls in downhill mountain biking, so I am keen to help get other women into cycling. I hope to organise a couple of women's events. I have already taken my mum out on a few trails!"
Manon Carpenter speaking at the launch of the Strongher women's cycling group



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10 soundbites from.....the Aviva Women's Tour

So the Women's Tour has been and gone. I wasn't able to follow the first edition of the race last year, but I managed to follow the different stages this year. Trying to second guess how the race would unfold each day, and who would be the overall winner was pretty exciting, and there was some exciting racing throughout the week. This has become a great event on the women's pro cycling calendar. I caught up with some of the riders and they were very positive about how their week had been.


Stefan Wyman (Director Sportive, Matrix Pro Cycling): "We had a few goals in the race and to be in the feature break was one of them, and to be on the podium either with a stage or a jersey was the key goal for us, so we did it. Elinor [Barker] is an unsung hero, and it is really difficult to transition from the track to the road so it was nice that she had the best British rider jersey for a time. It wasn’t all Laura [Trott] and it took the pressure off Laura. I think they did really well as a team so they should be really happy."



Dame Sarah Storey: "The first four stages were very samey, but the last stage was a lot more interesting. We need to get to a point where we don’t have five bunch sprints. It’s quite exciting potentially for watching, but as riders it’s nice to have another opportunity to put other types of riders up to win a stage. I would have liked to have seen long hilly climbs. They are the races I tend to target. The support we got from the side of the road was absolutely phenomenal, so to the people who supported us, I can’t thank them enough."


Lisa Brennauer (Yellow Jersey): "This is the biggest victory of my career so far. I have really enjoyed the racing here in the UK and it was great to see so many crowds when we were racing."


Melissa Hoskins (Queen of the Mountains): "I came into the QOM competition for a bit of fun and something for the team to do, but then I decided to do everything I could to defend it. It was something unexpected, even for myself. It’s been brilliant racing in England. The crowds have been fantastic.  I was overwhelmed with how many people were so interested in what we are doing. We don’t get that anywhere else in Europe. It’s a nice change to feel important for what you are doing, and inspiring young kids to do cycling."


Helen Wyman: "I have found the week fun, with really safe riding. There’s not been very many crashes. This is fantastic training for the 'cross season. You need to be as fit as you can be to train hard for 'cross. These are just really great base miles."   


Hannah Barnes (Best British Rider/Stage 5 winner): "In America we are one of the biggest teams, but here we are one of the small teams so we wanted to get stuck in and not be afraid to show our face. I’ve been focussing on my climbing this winter and my coach Jenny Gretton has helped me improve a lot this year. I always made sure I was in a good position when going into the bottom of the climb and I was on the right side of the split. In the last stage I just stayed near the front and hoped for it to come down to a sprint. I love following Alexis’s [Ryan] wheel during the race. She’s really nice to follow. I call her the Alexis bubble! The roads are wider in the States. So in terms of positioning you get a bit lazy because you know that in two seconds you can be at the front, whereas here it can take you an hour to get to the front, and less than a minute to drop to the back!"



Rachel Heal (Director Sportive, UnitedHealthcare Procycling): "With Hannah being at home and with the race being local to her she has had a lot of other pressures to deal with so the last couple of days we tried to kind of relax Hannah so she could be able to just focus on bike racing. Hannah has been sprinting really well all week and she had got top 5 a few times so we knew that she was fast enough
to get a win. To put it all together, and to be in the right place and to sprint at the right time, is just fantastic, especially on the last day." 



Sue Barnes (Hannah Barnes's mum): "It was so close, and I didn’t realise Hannah had won until they said so on the tannoy, and I was just jumping up and down. I am very proud of her right now. I work in a stationery shop – Colemans in Arundel. I did a Hannah window in the shop. It’s gone a bit viral on Twitter and the takings have gone up massively this week! I am keeping it there until the end of the National Championships where my other daughter, Alice will be racing too. We all do a bit of cycling but the girls' granddad was a very good time triallist in his day so they must get that from him as well. I have been to all the stages, and Hannah's gran, who is 87,
has been to three of the stages with me. We were at the start, the finish and lots of different parts of he course. It has meant a lot to Hannah to have her family there."


Will Mangar (Race doctor): "I have felt the racing has been faster this year and more flowing and more seamless. There's been a palpable shift in quality and skill level with the ladies' riding this year. It was difficult last year, with the rain. We had so many girls spinning off and there was lots and lots of road rash, This year everyone's been good. What I've noticed is there's less injuries but to be honest, these girls are tough. They are really made of strong stuff and it takes a lot for them to not want to get back on the bike."





Marianne Vos: "The crowd support has been fantastic! It's really cool to see all the schoolkids around and coming out of their schools, supporting, cheering for the riders and cheering for the Tour. You really feel that cycling is really popular in Britain."




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