Riders, suppliers and business partners were reportedly left out of pocket after the collapse of a British women's team.

According to reports by the BBC, the collapse of Hess Cycling, among other things, left an unpaid debt of £50,000 owed to one team supplier.

Last year, Cycling Weekly reported extensively on the end of Hess Cycling, a British Continental women’s team that folded amid financial pressures and the fallout of a fraud investigation into the owner’s business affairs.

It began, though, with the stated objective of becoming Britain's first Women's WorldTour team and elevating the status of the sport. Initially licensed in Luxembourg, before applying for a British Continental race license, the team was envisioned and launched by the Swiss businessman Rolf Hess, who talked a big game.

Hess’s declared five-year plan was to build a budget of €5million. "Our first-year budget is €750,000, with no sponsor at all," he boasted to the BBC at time. "This is entrepreneurship – we do it ourselves. We didn't buy a team – we are building a team."

Last year, it won the East Cleveland Classic through Alice McWilliam and finished third at the Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix with Grace Lister. It also competed in the 2025 Tour of Britain, but will be missing from this year's tour.

Hess' collapse followed a turbulent year for the team with a fraud investigation into its owner’s business and allegations of missed payments to riders.

"There were reasonable money issues from the start where riders were paid late or wouldn't get reimbursements," one rider told the BBC.

"We were lucky if we even saw half a million [as a team]," the cyclist said. "There was even no money at team camps and other stuff they didn't pay for. There were big bills… I know there were other riders still owed money – a lot of it."

According to the BBC, several suppliers were left with substantial unpaid bills, and soon the walls started closing in.

"Unfortunately, [our] sponsor withdrew from the partnership at the beginning of 2025," Hess said in a statement. "Hess Sports Group continued to fund operations, contributing more than £200,000 over the course of summer 2025, while working to enable the team to compete under a financially sustainable model.

"This shortfall in funding had a material impact on our operations, but allowed our athletes to compete while we worked on securing the team's future. Hess Sports Group remains committed to repaying all its creditors."

The anonymous rider added: "The team had a duty to us as riders and they  failed."

The men's WorldTour calendar got off to a searing start – both literally and figuratively – with the Tour Down Under in Australia last week.

Set over six days, it was a race that brought a lot of headlines; there were fast finishes, a heat-induced stage neutralisation, and even kangaroos tearing through the bunch and tackling riders.

If you missed the action Down Under, here are five things you need to know ahead of the rest of the season.

UAE Team Emirates-XRG are still the team to beat

Not even a kangaroo wiping out their leader could stop UAE Team Emirates-XRG from winning the Tour Down Under.

Jay Vine was among the biggest victims of that marsupial two-footer, and, as powerful as it was, he still went on to win overall by one minute and three seconds – the largest winning margin since 2004.

What’s more, Vine finished the race with only two team-mates, having lost four to crashes throughout the event.

UAE have now won three of the last four editions of the Tour Down Under, and look as formidable as ever with Tadej Pogačar still to start his campaign. The team finished 2025 with a record-breaking 97 wins. Can they manage 100 in 2026?

The Brits are finding early form

They may have been a long way from home, but the Brits looked at ease on the roads of Southern Australia last week, clocking three victories from three different riders.

The first fell to Sam Watson (Ineos Grenadiers), who won the 3.6km time trial prologue by half a second ahead of his compatriot Ethan Vernon (NSN Cycling). Four days later, Vernon had his own hands in the air in Willunga, as the winner of a mass sprint. Visma-Lease a Bike’s Matthew Brennan then rounded out the race with a sprint win on the final day.

The results mean that British men have won 50% of all the men’s WorldTour race days this year. Admittedly, there have only been six days.

Brennan is no one-season wonder

Matthew Brennan’s curtain-closing stage five victory in Stirling lay a positive foundation for another roaring season.

The 20-year-old was the breakout start of 2025, winning 14 times and earning himself the title of Cycling Weekly’s Male Rider of the Year.

Already, thanks his win in Australia, 2026 has started even better for the young Brit; it wasn’t until early March last year that he won his first race, and he had to wait another three weeks after that before he took his first WorldTour scalp.

Could Brennan go on to better his tally of 14 this year?

The climate crisis isn't going away

Ask any casual cycling fan what their favourite part of the Tour Down Under is and they’ll probably tell you Willunga Hill, the route’s most famous climb. This year, however, the ever-present kicker was plucked out at last minute, due to severe heat and ‘extreme’ fire danger warnings.

The change was a reminder that the climate crisis is real, and will keep impacting races.

Temperatures on the race's fourth stage, the one scheduled to finish on Willunga Hill, rose beyond 40°C, which put it in the 'red zone' of the UCI's High Temperature Protocol – an extreme risk bracket that allows organisers to change start and finish times, neutralise events, or cancel them altogether.

The day after the race finished, the nearby city of Adelaide clocked a new Australia Day heat record of 49°C. It begs the question, as my colleague Adam Becket raised last week: how hot is too hot for pro cycling?

The irony should not be lost that the Tour Down Under is sponsored by Australian oil and gas company Santos. Fossil fuels are responsible for more than two thirds of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, according to the UN.

Mystery surrounds Ineos Grenadiers’ white shorts

The biggest sub-plot at the Tour Down Under was the debut of Ineos Grenadiers’ new off-white bib shorts. In fact, they even got their first win, thanks to new signing Sam Welsford on stage three.

There was confusion among fans, though, about what colour shorts they should expect to see the riders wearing. Sam Watson, for example, wore black in the opening prologue, white for his stage winner’s podium presentation, white again in the leader’s jersey on stage one, and then black when he returned to his British national champion’s kit on stage two. Welsford, too, went black for the time trial, and then white for the rest of the race.

It was a saga that could keep fans guessing over the next few months. Although the overwhelming sight was that the white shorts are here to stay.

I was provocative this week when I wrote a piece about WorldTour team funding and equipment. I didn’t anticipate how viscerally some of you would react to the suggestion that “the UCI should ban selling pro bikes to customers” – but perhaps that proves the point that pro cycling and ordinary cycling are still deeply wrapped up in one another.

There was a heady mix of outrage, humour and frustration, and amongst the worst of it – one guy called me a nasty name – there was also some thoughtful reflection.

For others, my words were a clumsy but worthwhile attempt to question whether the way pro cycling is funded – and marketed – is still fit for purpose.

This was never an argument about telling people what they are and aren’t allowed to ride. As one commenter put it bluntly: “Cycling is as expensive as you make it.”

I can’t argue with that, it’s true and always has been. Nobody is forced to buy a £12,000 bike. Shimano 105 and SRAM Rival is, as another reader noted, “a million times better than what we used in the 80’s and in real dollars, cheaper.”

The question I was asking – clumsily for some – was not about consumer freedom, but about whether the current ‘race it on Sunday, sell it on Monday’ model is still a viable one.

Who funds WorldTour cycling?

Some readers pointed out that bike sales don’t fund WorldTour teams, which is true, everything from supermarkets to chemical companies do.

“Your premise is flat out wrong. No pro team is funded primarily by the bike sponsor,” wrote one reader. Another added: “The money comes from insurance companies, supermarket chains, chemical conglomerates, and nation-states trying to convince potential tourists that they won’t be beheaded if they visit on holiday.”

Whilst I won’t comment on the more colourful end of that statement, the comment is absolutely correct in that WorldTour teams are overwhelmingly funded by non-cycling sponsors: Ineos, Lidl, Soudal, Intermarche, etc. Bike manufacturers contribute relatively little to the overall team budgets, especially when compared to rider salaries and staff costs which account for roughly 60% of expenditure.

However, I don’t think that reality undermines my argument; it strengthens it. You can't get blood out of a stone as they say, and you can't make more from sponsorship without offering more, commercially.

Bike brands don’t always fund teams directly, but their entire commercial justification for being there is still rooted in selling the products they bring to the race, through association. Credibility, aspiration, halo effect – call it what you like – but it remains a sales-led model. And that model comes with consequences, like incremental upgrades, accelerating cycles.

“Perhaps the problem is with the margins cycling companies charge on increasingly shorter time frames,” one commenter perceptively wrote. “They seem to charge more for incremental upgrades that are released with greater frequency.”

The system is geared up to make that the norm. The UCI requirement that everything raced must also be sold pushes manufacturers into a relentless cycle of new aero claims, marginal gains, and annual range-refreshes. The tech isn’t the problem. It’s the commercial pressure that comes with it.

As a result, the WorldTour increasingly is a fancy and endless catalogue, rather than a sporting property whose value exists independent of what’s bolted to the bikes. Decouple the product development and product strategy from the racing, and you could free up a ton of resources to help grow the sports appeal, through greater brand value.

People want to buy what they see

“Great way to kill the sport. People want to buy what they see,” one person wrote. “If a person wants to buy Tadej’s bike, why not give him that freedom?”

I love riding pro bikes when I get the chance, and I’d love to own one. But that freedom to go out and buy it has been deliberately cultivated to the exclusion of almost everything else. My argument was not that aspiration is bad. It’s that that aspiration doesn’t have to be purely transactional.

Formula 1 fans didn’t stop loving Ferrari because they couldn't buy Lewis Hamilton’s car. MotoGP hasn’t collapsed because no one can ride an active-aero factory Ducati. Those sports sell access, narrative, prestige and drama – not the cars and bikes.

Peter Coyle, who’s own thoughts inspired my original post, argued in a follow up post that whilst the core of my thinking was on the right track, the solution I’d offered was somewhat detached. He felt the idea of a tech lock just puts struggling bike brands under more pressure, and would kneecap brands that wouldn’t or couldn’t wear a change that seismic.

His alternative, which to me makes far more sense and again, deserves attention, was one of a homologation model, where brands would still be required to prepare their ideas for sale in products, but the resultant bikes would be sold as strictly limited homologation models.

Further, reimagining or restricting the UCI-competition badge for just those bikes, restoring its prestige, and adding value for customers that covet the very highest tech.

In this approach, people with the cash could still have the chance of buying one, or we as fans would have the chance to see one out on the road, but the limited approach would allow for pricing that might meet some of the development costs.

“Turning cycling into F1 won’t help anyone but marketing departments”

Improving things for marketing departments was my point – just not in the way many assumed I meant it.

What if manufacturers were incentivised to invest in WorldTour cycling as brand builders, not catalogue managers? What if their value came from storytelling, innovation, fan engagement and long term association – instead of being forced to focus on shifting units tied to a seasonal cycle?

Decoupling race technology from immediate retail availability (through a change in the rules, or manufacturer consensus) wouldn’t reduce consumer choice, it could free it, allowing consumer bikes to be designed for durability, usability and value (and performance of course), while the very highest specification race bikes could be designed unapologetically for one job only.

While WorldTour budgets continue to inflate, sponsor lifecycles are not predictable and remain fragile. This forces most teams to live year to year, entirely dependent on title backers who owe them nothing. As tech progresses and gets ever hungrier for cash, it all feels unsustainable.

I still think my suggestion of this opportunity to shift the focus could expand the appeal of the sport, deliver real growth, and in turn could unlock commercial opportunities that will sustain and grow the sport.

Whatever the answer, it’s not really ever going to be about ‘banning anyone’s bike’, regardless of how good a headline that might be. Judging by the anger, humour, passion and insight in the comments from our readers – we all care deeply enough about the sport to argue about it.

That at least is something pro cycling can still fully rely on.

The successful 14 Women's WorldTour teams and 18 men's WorldTour teams for 2026 to 2028 have been confirmed by the UCI on Wednesday.

The two men's teams leaving the WorldTour are Arkéa-B&B Hotels and Cofidis, who will be replaced by NSN Cycling and Uno-X Mobility; Lotto, meanwhile, will merge with Intermarché. This has long been expected, but is confirmed with the statement.

Meanwhile, CERATIZIT and Roland have left the Women's WorldTour; they are replaced by just one team, EF Education-Oatly.

Teams were invited to apply for the next WorldTour cycle earlier this year. WorldTour team licences are set for the next three years, with those top-level squads having access to all the biggest races; the applications were assessed on ethical, financial, organisation and administrative criteria, but also sporting. UCI points won in races created a league table, which there was promotion and relegation to and from.

The league tables were based off the last three years for men's teams, and two years for women's teams; those outside of the top 18 and top 14, respectively, faced relegation from the WorldTour. Likewise, ProTeams who were in the top 18 and top 14 squads in the UCI rankings had the potential to be promoted.

Among the details, the names for teams for 2026 have been confirmed, as well as the registration country for each entity too. All have been announced in advance, including Alpecin and Fenix-Deceuninck becoming Alpecin and Fenix-Premier Tech, NSN Cycling, and Decathlon CMA CGM. Lidl-Trek is now registered in Germany, rather than America, after Lidl took over the team.

Both men's and women's Picnic PostNL have been given just a one year WorldTour licence. According to the press release, the UCI has decided "to set conditions related to the financial criterion that must be met in order to permit its extension to the 2027 and 2028 seasons". This is understood to be due to ongoing contract extension discussions with the team's title sponsors.

16 further men's ProTeams, the second division, have been confirmed, along with seven women's ProTeams. These licences only last for 2026.

These include Tom Pidcock's Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling, Julian Alaphilippe's Tudor Pro Cycling, and Alison Jackson's St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93. Pinarello-Q36.5 and men's Cofidis both applied for the WorldTour, but were not successful.

There are two new women's ProTeams: Lotto-Intermarché Ladies and Ma Petite Entreprise, while Mayenne Monbana Mypie is the new name for French squad Winspace Orange Seal.

On the men's side, meanwhile, there are two new teams at ProTeam level: former Italian Continental squad MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort is now a Hungarian outfit, while George Hincapie's Modern Adventure Pro Cycling has had its status confirmed. The Italian team formerly known as Solution Tech-Vini Fantini is now Toscana Nippo Rali.

The press release concludes: "The UCI thanks all the parties involved and wishes the registered teams an excellent 2026 season."

Women's WorldTour 2026-2028

AG Insurance - Soudal
Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto
EF Education–Oatly
FDJ United-SUEZ
Fenix-Premier Tech
Human Powered Health
Lidl–Trek
Liv AlUla Jayco
Movistar
Picnic PostNL
SD Worx–Protime
Visma-Lease A Bike
UAE Team ADQ
Uno-X Mobility

Men's WorldTour 2026-2028

Alpecin-Premier Tech
Bahrain Victorious
Decathlon CMA CGM
EF Education–Easypost
Groupama-FDJ United
Ineos Grenadiers
Jayco AlUla
Lidl-Trek
Lotto-Intermarché
Movistar
NSN Cycling
Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe
Soudal Quick-Step
Picnic PostNL
Visma-Lease A Bike
UAE Team Emirates XRG
Uno-X Mobility
XDS Astana Team

Women's ProTeams 2026

Cofidis
Laboral Kutxa-Fundacion Euskadi
Lotto-Intermarché Ladies
Ma Petite Entreprise
Mayenne Monbana Mypie
St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93
VolkerWessels Cycling

Men's ProTeams 2026

Bardiani CSF
Burgos-Burpellet-BH
Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
Cofidis
Equipo Kern Pharma
Euskaltel-Euskadi
Flanders-Baloise
MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort
Modern Adventure Pro Cycling
Novo Nordisk
Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling
Polti VisitMalta
Toscana Nippo Rali
TotalEnergies
Tudor Pro Cycling
Unibet Rose Rockets

WorldTour rider Hugo Toumire has announced his retirement from professional cycling at the age of 24.

The Frenchman joined Cofidis as a trainee in 2021, and spent four seasons with the squad at cycling’s highest level, racing the Giro d’Italia in 2023.

In recent years, however, he has struggled for form, and this September underwent surgery to treat iliac artery endofibrosis, a condition that restricts blood flow to the legs.

Announcing his retirement on Instagram, Toumire wrote that he didn’t want “to delve into the many reasons that led me to this choice”.

“Rather [I want] to thank those who have been there for me through the good and difficult times,” he wrote.

“Cycling was a very nice adventure for 14 years, roaming the roads. I leave the sport enriched by these experiences, glad to have lived all of them... and today, simply happy to stop.”

He added: “From now on I want to find the joy in sport again, and try out new, slightly crazy challenges.”

The 24-year-old’s next undertaking, he revealed, will be trail running. “Again, thank you for everything and I’ll see you soon for new adventures,” he wrote.

Toumire emerged as a promising rider when, aged only 19, he placed fifth at the 2021 Tour de l’Avenir, competing against riders three years older than him. He joined Cofidis immediately afterwards, and has since raced some of the top WorldTour races, including: the Critérium du Dauphiné, Il Lombardia and the Giro d’Italia, in which he finished 82nd in 2023.

Toumire failed to finish nine of his 27 race days this past season. His last event was the French National Road Championships in June, which he did not complete.

Cofidis are set to be relegated from the WorldTour, subject to confirmation, after failing to gather enough UCI points to finish in the top-19 teams over the last three-year cycle. The team parted ways with its manager, Cédric Vasseur, in September this year, hiring Raphaël Jeune, the former sports marketing manager at bike brand Look, in his place.

Toumire is not the only Cofidis rider to retire this year. In June, 27-year-old Eddy Finé was forced to cut his career short on medical advice, having undergone three surgeries to treat iliac artery endofibrosis.

Thirty-four-year-old Anthony Perez, a six-time Tour de France starter, also announced his retirement after 10 years with the squad.

The teams applying to be part of the WorldTour from 2026 have been revealed by the UCI, including Tom Pidcock's Q36.5 Pro Cycling.

20 men's teams are attempting to join the WorldTour, and 16 women's teams for the Women's WorldTour; there are 18 and 15 slots for each, respectively. The UCI will publish the successful lists on 10 December 2025, with 20 others applying to be men's and women's ProTeams.

WorldTour team licences will be set for the next three years, with those top-level squads having access to all the biggest races; the applications are assessed on ethical, financial, organisation and administrative criteria, but also sporting.

For the men's WorldTour, for instance, the top 18 UCI point-scoring teams from the last three seasons are given priority. The review process for WorldTeams and ProTeams is now ongoing: "The UCI is currently assessing the compliance of these applications with regulatory requirements, in collaboration with the external audit firm PwC."

15 of the current 18 men's WorldTour teams were announced by the UCI as applying for WorldTour status again, with Arkéa-B&B Hotels and Intermarché-Wanty ceasing to exist in their current formats from the end of this year. Throwing their hats in the ring, as it were, are ProTeams Lotto, Uno-X Mobility, Cycling Academy (formerly Israel-Premier Tech) and Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling.

Based on points, Lotto (with their merger with Intermarché pending), Cycling Academy and Uno-X Mobility should be promoted, with Arkéa, Intermarché and Cofidis dropping out. However, notable by their absence in the UCI list are Jayco AlUla, who have signed riders for 2026, and there have not been concerns over their future, so late paperwork is likely.

It is also notable that Q36.5 Pro Cycling are listed as Pinarello-Q36.5, with the team currently using Scott bikes, although Pidcock uses Pinarello for off-road racing.

Meanwhile, 12 of the current 15 Women's WorldTour teams have applied for 2026-2028; CERATIZIT are to cease operations, while Liv Jayco AlUla and Roland-Le Dévoluy are not listed, due to complete paperwork not being submitted.

Based on UCI points, the 15 new WorldTour teams should include ProTeams VolkerWessels and EF Education-Oatly, although VolkerWessels have not applied to be a ProTeam. Roland would be the WorldTour team to miss out, with Cofidis submitting an application to be at the top table.

The UCI missive reads: "Teams that did not submit all the essential documents by the 15 October deadline, are included in the above count but are not included in the list below. However, they still have the possibility to rectify their situation before the end of the registration process, which would enable them to be registered for the 2026 season.

"In accordance with the UCI Regulations and subject to other applicable provisions, riders from these teams may terminate their contracts early, but this right will lapse if their team is subsequently registered."

Women's WorldTour applicants

AG Insurance - Soudal
Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto
Cofidis Women
EF Education–Oatly
FDJ United-SUEZ
Fenix-Deceuninck
Human Powered Health
Lidl–Trek
Movistar
Picnic PostNL
SD Worx–Protime
Visma-Lease A Bike
UAE Team ADQ
Uno-X Mobility

Men's WorldTour applicants

Alpecin-Deceuninck
Bahrain Victorious
Cofidis
Cycling Academy
Decathlon CMA CGM
EF Education–Easypost
Groupama-FDJ United
Ineos Grenadiers
Lidl-Trek
Lotto Cycling
Movistar
Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling
Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe
Soudal Quick-Step
Picnic PostNL
Visma-Lease A Bike
UAE Team Emirates XRG
Uno-X Mobility
XDS Astana Team

Yesterday morning, Geraint Thomas started his final professional race. A huge and highly emotive moment at the end of a momentous career spanning 20 seasons. When he finishes the Tour of Britain Men on Sunday in his home city of Cardiff, there are unlikely to be many dry eyes around the place.

And that, really, is the way it should be. Perhaps more than many careers, being a professional cyclist begins as a dream and becomes an identity, and a way of life. Retirement is, understandably, often a wrench. But not always.

Take Dutch rider Ide Schelling. He announced this week that he would retire and he makes no bones about it: he can't wait.

What's more, at 27, the XDS-Astana rider is retiring in his prime.

Why? Because he has had enough.

"I'm all fine – I'm feeling great," he said on the De Grote Plaat podcast. "I'm here to announce that I'm retiring as a WorldTour rider. And that I'm no longer as in love with the world and life as I once was. For me, this is a very normal and logical decision. But I know that many fans, fellow riders, and cycling followers don't see it that way, so I thought: 'It's a good time, a good decision to talk about this openly and for longer than 15 minutes.'

The biggest problem, says Schelling, is that the level within the peloton has risen so much that he often feels unable to compete any more.

He told De Grote Plaat: "I'm not so in love with the world anymore. A lot has changed in the peloton since I turned pro in 2020. All those changes have also caused the level to rise so much that I sometimes feel like I can't compete any more."

Schelling, who has won stages in the Tour of Slovenia and Itzulia Basque Country, added: "My engine isn't that big. But you need that big an engine these days to compete in a final. It's fast the whole race, from start to finish.

"I did win that stage in the Tour of the Basque Country [2023] with fresh legs," he said, "but I never finished that race because that last stage was so gruelling."

It's no secret that today's cycling champions are younger than ever. Tadej Pogačar, with his first Tour de France victory aged just 21 is the prime example. But he is not alone. Remco Evenepoel, Tom Pidcock and Isaac del Toro – they have all won major races at the sort of tender years that used to be part of a kind of unwritten pro cycling apprenticeship.

But whereas once riders in their late twenties were bossing the bunch and winning the big events, now they are often just trying to keep up with their younger peers – as Schelling's example shows.

"Racing and being a pro brought me more then I could ever imagine, but times change," wrote Schelling on a social media post announcing his retirement. "I slowly felt more and more disconnected with the life as a pro cyclist and the racing on the highest level. So I've decided to take a step back and explore a new phase in life.

Still to this moment I love riding my bike, training, discovering new places and racing," he added. "I don't know what the future has in place for me yet, but I'm sure I'm ready for a new chapter."

Schelling will officially retire at the end of the season.

Picture the scene. You meet some old family friends, who you tell you're now into cycling. The first thing, only thing, on their mind is: 'have you ever ridden the Tour de France'.

For anyone involved in the cycling world, it’s a common thing to be asked whether you might be making a lycra-clad appearance at the Tour de France, while out for a ride from a man in a van, or by an ignorant relative. It is a question that has played on the mind of many of us Tour newbies –, how do you qualify for the biggest race of the year?

Well, the short answer is - you don’t. Individual riders will be selected by a team. 18 UCI WorldTour teams have automatic entry into the race, as the highest-ranked squads. The other five places are then made up of the two best UCI ProTeams (second-highest pro teams after the WorldTour squads) and three “wildcard” teams selected by the race’s organiser, Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO).

You don’t need to be French to qualify for the Tour de France either, just as you don’t need to be from the UK to win the Tour of Britain. In fact, most teams - despite being attached to specific nations - are made up of riders from different countries. UAE Team Emirates, for example, is made up of eight riders from Slovenia, Portugal, Germany, France, Spain, Belgium, Ecuador and the UK. Not a single rider from the team's home country.

Becoming a selected rider for a Tour team is a tricky business. Of the 1,200 plus professional cyclists, only 184 will get to race this year - with only one given the yellow jersey of the overall champion.

If you’re harbouring dreams of professional racing, you could make it to the Tour de France - but you’ll have to jump through a few hoops.

First, you’ll have to train really hard. The race takes place over 21 stages, varying length and terrain, with some including mountain sections and time trials. With only two rest days of the three week race, your endurance abilities must be high - and your mental strength even higher.

Combine these elements and you might catch the attention of a pro team. This can happen by winning races, moving through your country’s domestic cycling leagues, putting in an appearance at your National Championships, or funding yourself through continental races. Luck must also be on your side. Being born into a country with a strong race development culture like Belgium increases the likelihood of your progression through the leagues, but if you're born into a bigger country without a formal development process, it can be much harder.

Then, once you’ve got yourself in with a pro team, you have to prove yourself amongst your star-studded co-workers - are you a sprinter or a stage hunter, a climber, or a general classification contender? Everything matters as your team selects eight riders to represent them at the tour, out of teams of 30-40.

If you're thinking about this question, and you're not a 12-year-old at the beginning of a development pathway, or an athlete crossing over from another endurance sport, then the dream might be dead already.

I trawled the internet looking for some loophole about Tour de France qualification. The best I could find was a Quora entry suggesting a spectator should slip into the peloton as it zooms past, wearing a home-made number. They reckoned it would be enough to blend in with the group, should they maintain the 40 kilometres per hour average speed carried by the peloton - we're not so sure. Another commenter simply wrote:

“Is this a serious question? How do you join the 11 players in the World Cup final? How do you join the Ashes cricket team? You just don’t.”

But a cyclist can dream, right?

The UCI have recently released a flurry of new rules to be implemented in 2026, including a long-awaited points parity between the men's and women's races.

So, what are UCI points, and why do they matter?

First introduced in 2009, individual riders compete to accumulate points, which are awarded to the top 60 riders in each race. Points collected by a rider contribute not only to the status of the individual, but to the overall standing of the team and nation they represent. The number of points accumulated by each team determines whether they can compete in the UCI WorldTour when licences renew - every three years.

However, not all races are made equal, with varying points awarded depending on the race. The Tour de France, for example, is worth 1300 points overall. By contrast, a Monument like Paris-Roubaix is worth 800.

To date, the points awarded to women have been considerably lower than the men’s. Whilst the best male rider at the Giro d’Italia could score 1,100 points, the fastest woman could only win 400. In the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, 400 was again awarded, in contrast to the 1300 in the men's.

As of 2026, not only will the points on offer be levelled, but female racers will also have three years to accumulate points, rather than their current two.

Additionally, the four women's Monuments - Milan-Sanremo, the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and Liège-Bastogne-Liège - will, for the first time in women's cycling, be worth 800 points each. Points can also be picked up in special categories, like the mountain classification and on individual stage wins.

At the end of three years, the points are counted once again, and the top 18 men's and top 15 women's teams receive UCI WorldTour licences for the next three seasons. WorldTour teams outside the 18 or 15? They’re relegated.

As a passing football-fan, the word “relegation” is shrouded in a Wrexham FC informed disneyfication - will the underdog break through the barriers enforced by the system?! But relegation is a slower process in cycling, with teams competing over the course of three years to accumulate enough points to avoid it, or to accumulate enough points to get to the next level.

The battle to maintain a license for the UCI WorldTour can make for some dramatic racing. As the UCI looks forward to a 2026-2028 racing calendar, teams will be scrambling this summer to pick up the last points of the season. At present, with six months left of 2025, every point counts for the likes of XDS Astana, Cofidis, and Picnic PostNL in the men's side.

But, how much are UCI points really worth?

Whilst there is still room for surprise contenders to fight their way to the top of the points table, at the top of the men's classification sits a clear, current leader: UAE Team Emirates-XRG. With a huge win in the Critérium du Dauphiné, Tadej Pogačar’s recent successes declare that one great rider can separate your team from second place by nearly 5000 points (as of 24 June) - and suggest that, for riders of a certain calibre, racing is about winning, rather than point-gathering.

Yet, with the opportunity to accumulate points across stage wins and podium places, the leader board is far from fixed. For teams vying to maintain their World Tour licence, or those looking to break into it from the ProTour ranks, the points system offers the chance to confirm their spot in the racing calendar for the next three seasons. And new rules for men’s cycling might make the battle for points even more exciting. As of 2026, Grand Tour organisers must invite the top three UCI ProTeams and two “wild card” teams to their races, as well as the existing 18 UCI WorldTeams.

The levelling of women’s and men’s UCI points might seem minor, but it is yet more of a recognition of the popularity and high-calibre of women's cycling. The points do matter.

A handful of WorldTour teams have made enquiries for British rider Josh Charlton, the former world record holder in the individual pursuit has revealed.

The 22-year-old became European champion in the 4,000m event earlier this month, and added a British title to his growing list of achievements on Friday. Despite his track success, he is currently without a road squad, after his previous team, Trinity Racing, folded at the end of 2024.

Speaking to Cycling Weekly, Charlton said that “five or six” WorldTour teams have made contact with his agent, after he broke Filippo Ganna’s world record at the UCI Track World Championships late last year.

“I didn’t realise the potential I had until October,” he said. “I didn’t realise how good I was at it until that day.”

The Brit became only the third rider ever at the time to go below four minutes in the event, when he clocked 3:59.304 in qualifying. His record stood for around six hours, before it was bettered again by Italy’s Jonathan Milan in the final, Charlton settling for a silver medal.

Asked if road teams took notice of his performance, Charlton said: “I had a few nearly opportunities come about after the world record in Copenhagen, but nothing really came of it.

“My agent had five or six different WorldTour teams asking for data, asking for TrainingPeaks, stuff like that. It’s a difficult time to do such a good ride like that in October, when rosters have been decided, budgets have been used up. If I’d done it in September, maybe it would have been a different story.

“It just shows there is potential, there’s definitely interest. I’ve got to keep pushing, keep driving, doing fast times, winning stuff, and eventually they’ll hopefully take notice.”

Last season, Charlton combined his track calendar with road racing as part of Trinity Racing's squad. The team closed at the end of 2024, leaving him without a ride.

“I’m lucky that I’ve got the track, and I’ve got the funding from BC [British Cycling], so I can still keep doing it,” he said. “I know there’s a lot of guys, even guys who I rode with, who had to end their careers because the team folded.”

Although a permanent contract did not materialise for 2025, there’s talk of riding as a guest, or stagiaire, for professional road teams later in the season, he said.

“The guys I’m competing against, guys like Filippo Ganna and Jonathan Milan – Milan has won everything at the UAE Tour this week, and Ganna’s Ganna – if you’re going as fast as those guys, surely you’re going to be of some use to the big teams,” Charlton said.

“It’s not the end of the world that I’m not on a WorldTour team. It just means I’ve got to keep pushing and keep finding opportunities.”

The WorldTour season, hosting the highest level of bike racing in the world, is back underway for 2025.

Each year, 18 teams form the top tier, and compete for the sport's biggest prizes, from Paris-Roubaix to the Tour de France, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad to the Tour of Guangxi.

Below, you'll find everything you need to know about every squad, and the key protagonists set to shape the year ahead.

Alpecin-Deceuninck

2024 WorldTour wins: 15
Team leader: Mathieu van der Poel
Team boss: Christophe Roodhooft
Raison d'être: More than a one-man team these days thanks to Japser Philipsen and Kaden Groves, but still a Mathieu van der Poel vehicle

It is still hard to look past the flying Dutchman himself, Mathieu van der Poel, when it comes to Alpecin-Deceuninck, with the 29-year-old dominating the Classics last year, winning both the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, and appearing to be unbeatable in the spring. When he isn’t winning, Jasper Philipsen and Kaden Groves have proved themselves as some of the top sprinters in the world, with the former in particular unmatched when on form. They do still rely on Van der Poel, who has hinted at his dislike of the Tour de France over the winter; unfortunate, when it’s the biggest race in the sport. The team have brought in four riders from their development team, including U23 CX world champion Tibor Del Grosso.

Bahrain Victorious

2024 WorldTour wins: 3
Team leader: Pello Bilbao
Team boss: Milan Eržen
Raison d'être: A mixed bag of a team, with solid riders for the Classics and stage races, but they might be lacking in star quality

Over half of Bahrain Victorious’s riders are 25 and below, as the team looks to reboot itself after a disappointing 2024. There are some solid operators in the squad, from Pello Bilbao to Matej Mohorič, via Santiago Buitrago and Antonio Tiberi, but there is not the star power of other teams. New signing Lenny Martinez is hopefully one for now as well as one for the future, with the young Frenchman winning six times last year. Bahrain will need some of its older hands to kick into gear as well if they are to impress again. Fred Wright leads a British trio at the team, alongside young riders Oli Stockwell and Finlay Pickering, with Wright in contract year at the squad he turned pro with.

Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale

2024 WorldTour wins: 7
Team leader: Benoît Cosnefroy
Team boss: Dominic Serieys
Raison d'être: Classics with Benoît Cosnefroy and Dorian Godon, sprints with Sam Bennett

The French team had a major rebrand last year, swapping the white and brown of AG2R Citroën for the fresher look of Decathlon. It was a rebirth that coincided with a renaissance for its major GC man Ben O'Connor, who put the team in the spotlight when he led the Vuelta a España. Unfortunately the Aussie has now moved on to Jayco-AlUla, with no obvious replacement having been made. Instead they will look to rely on the puncheur-grade strength of French riders Benoît Cosnefroy and Dorian Godon, who were both successful last season in races including two stages in the Tour de Romandie.

The team also retains Irish sprinter Sam Bennett, who clocked four stages and the overall in last year's Tour de Dunkerque.

Groupama FDJ

2024 WorldTour wins: 3
Team leader: David Gaudu, Stefan Küng
Team boss: Marc Madiot
Raison d'être: Can the team step up from its occasional big race stage win plateau?

The French team enjoyed a moderate level of success in 2024, much of it thanks to young climbing talent Lenny Martinez. The 21-year-old Frenchman – son of former Olympic mountain bike champion Miguel Martinez – took a third of the team's 15 wins in 2024. Unfortunately for Madiot and co, he has now departed for Bahrain Victorious – a significant dent in their firepower.

Also departed is young British talent Sam Watson, who will ride this season for Ineos Grenadiers. Groupama do still have big engine Stefan Küng to call on, as well as David Gaudu. Both riders are in their prime and capable of winning at the highest level, with potential Grand Tour stage wins in the offing.

EF Education-EasyPost

2024 WorldTour wins: 4
Team leader: Richard Carapaz, Kasper Asgreen
Team boss: Jonathan Vaughters
Raison d'être: Grand Tours with Richard Carapaz, Classics with Kasper Asgreen

The American team had plenty to shout about last year on a variety of stages, with Richard Carapaz's stage win and King of the Mountains victory in the Tour de France being a particular high point. This year – dressed in a shade of pink that is at least a dozen degrees hotter than last year's muted hues – they will hope to emulate Carapaz's success in the Classics via new Danish signing Kasper Asgreen, who has moved in from Soudal Quick-Step. The 2021 Tour of Flanders winner will give the team a capacity in the Classics that they did not have last season. Ecuadorian Carapaz also stays on board and will seek to back up his achievements in the three-week races.

Ineos Grenadiers

2024 WorldTour wins: 6
Team boss: John Allert
Team leader: Carlos Rodríguez
Raison d’être: Getting back to consistently winning at the highest level

Ineos Grenadiers endured their worst ever season in 2024 with Tom Pidcock’s victory at the Amstel Gold Race being the main highlight of an otherwise dour campaign. The second half of the year was then tarnished with the seemingly neverending saga surrounding Pidcock’s future at the team as speculation that he was bound for the exit door consistently swirled around the Jim Ratcliffe-backed squad. Pidcock eventually moved on, joining Q36.5 Pro Cycling, a whole level below Ineos, but appeared to depart on a relatively amicable note after a drawn-out divorce.

Team CEO John Allert recently told the press that the team was moving on from Pidcock’s departure, but for weeks it has been difficult to see how Ineos will fare in his absence. Along with Pidcock, the team lost Jhonatan Narváez during the winter as the Ecuadorian opted to move to UAE Team Emirates, while Ethan Hayter moved to Soudal Quick-Step. Several key staff members have also moved on - including Steve Cummings and Dan Bigham - after performance director Scott Drawer carried out a review of the team’s performance structure during the off-season.

After Pidcock’s departure, the team needed to make a statement signing to move the narrative on. All they could manage was the (very) late signing of Australian sprinter Caleb Ewan who could win a few small races for them. Ineos have never been known as a sprinters team, but with Ewan, and the likes of Filippo Ganna and new arrivals Sam Watson and Axel Laurance on board they could change that. Ineos do however know they need to be winning Grand Tours to justify their budget, not scrapping for stage wins. Their recent announcement of looking for a second sponsor suggests Ratcliffe’s attention is focused elsewhere.

Intermarché-Wanty

2024 WorldTour wins: 4
Team leader: Biniam Girmay
Team boss: Jean François Bourlart
Raison d'être: This Walloon team has gone from ProConti to punching above on the WorldTour in a few seasons. If Biniam Girmay fires, the team will be successful

Intermarché-Wanty created history in 2024 through Biniam Girmay, who became the first black African to win a Tour de France stage, and then the green jersey, all in the space of a dream few weeks. It was a bit of a change for a team who - while often punching above their weight - are rarely at the top of the bill. If Girmay can recreate his form from last summer, then the team can have another magical season. Beyond the 24-year-old, however, it’s a bit of a struggle to see where the wins could come from, although Georg Zimmerman and Gerben Thijssen have both shown promise. The return to full health of Taco van der Hoorn should also be welcomed.

Jayco-AlUla

2024 WorldTour wins: 4
Team leader: Ben O'Connor
Team boss: Matt White
Raison d'être: Explore a new lease of life in Grand Tours with Ben O'Connor

The Grand Tours are where the Aussie team earns its crust – in theory. But while it went hopefully to the Giro d'Italia, its once-reliable sprinter Caleb Ewan came away empty handed. This year the team has changed tack, with a rumoured but still not confirmed departure of Ewan and the welcoming on board of GC man Ben O'Connor.

The Aussie has had some promising outings in the three-week races, with last year's Vuelta a España his best yet. He led the Spanish race with Decathlon-AG2R for a total of 13 days, before a stage 20 capitulation to Primož Roglič. This year he will be fronting Jayco's GT push, and they will hope he can emulate his Vuelta performance, or get close.

Lidl-Trek

2024 WorldTour wins: 15
Team leader: Mads Pedersen
Team boss: Luca Guercilena
Raison d'être: Hard to dislike, festooned in their primary colour kits. Beneath the fun, this is a serious squad, capable of challenging with the best

2024 was the first full year of Lidl-Trek’s attempt at catching up with the super-teams, and it was largely a success, with 42 wins. They will hope for more this season however, particularly at the top level, with the aim of doing more than challenging at the Grand Tours and in the Monuments.

Mads Pedersen remains the focal point, with the former world champion a more than capable sprinter-cum-puncheur, who might be able to rival Mathieu van der Poel in the Classics. Elsewhere, Jonathan Milan, Mattias Skjelmose, Toms Skujinš and Thibau Nys will provide results again, as they did last year, while more will be hoped from Tao Geoghegan Hart and Quinn Simmons, among others. Watch out for new signings Albert Withen Philipsen and Lennard Kämna.

Picnic PostNL

2024 WorldTour wins: 3
Team leader: Romain Bardet
Team boss: Iwan Spekenbrink
Raison d'être: Developing younger riders and targeting stage wins in various stage races

Picnic PostNL come into the new season with their roster largely unchanged. There were just three low key additions over the winter - Colombian climber Juan Martinez from Q36.5 being one of them - and one outgoing rider, Latvian Emīls Liepinš who moved to join Tom Pidcock at Q36.5. Much of the year will be centred on Romain Bardet’s farewell to the peloton as he gets set to retire from the road.

Brits Oscar Onley and Max Poole will be hoping to step up to fill the great Frenchman’s shoes in Grand Tours and other week long stage races. Poole flourished at last year’s Vuelta a España and was regularly on the attack and recorded four top three finishes across several mountain stages.

Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe

2024 WorldTour wins: 12
Team boss: Ralph Denk
Team leader: Primož Roglič
Raison d'être: Challenging for overall victory at the Tour de France with Primož Roglič

Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe has gone through significant overhaul from a rider recruitment perspective ahead of the new season getting started. This time last year lead sports director Rolf Aldag spoke of the need for the team to recalibrate its goals after the acquisition of Primož Roglič. That process continued during the off-season with the aim of boosting the team around Roglič ahead of his return to the Tour in July. Nine riders have been brought in with five heading in the other direction, including Lennard Kämna who joined Lidl-Trek.

The most significant arrivals include Kiwi duo Laurence Pithie from Groupama FDJ and Finn Fisher-Black from UAE Team Emirates. Other key signings include Oier Lazkano from Movistar, Gianni Moscon from Soudal Quick-Step and Jan Tratnik from Visma-Lease a Bike. The latter three riders have been brought in with the Grand Tour setup in mind whereas the likes of Pithie add firepower to Red Bull’s Classics arm. The highly sought after Maxim van Gils was also brought in from Lotto Dstny in another clear sign that Red Bull are now one of the biggest players on the men’s WorldTour.

The team’s two biggest goals this season will be both overall victory in the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France as Roglič looks to go for the hallowed Grand Tour double. It was announced at the team’s winter training camp in Mallorca that Dani Martínez will play the role of Roglič’s lieutenant for the team as the Slovenian returns to Italy for the first time since taking overall victory in 2023. In the same press meeting Rolf Aldag confirmed that Roglič would not end the season at the Vuelta as normal, with Jai Hindley and Aleksandr Vlasov leading the team for the final Grand Tour of the year.

Soudal Quick-Step

2024 WorldTour wins: 13
Team leader: Remco Evenepoel
Team boss: Jurgen Foré
Raison d'être: Finish on the podium at the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia through Remco Evenepoel and Mikel Landa

Soudal Quick-Step will look significantly different this year with a new man at the helm of the organisation after team CEO Patrick Lefevere stepped down from his role and was replaced by Jurgen Foré.

The team lost five riders during the winter transfer window with Julian Alaphilippe and former Tour of Flanders winner Kasper Asgreen being the two most significant outgoings. Alaphilippe has made the move to Tudor Pro Cycling and Asgreen joined EF Education-EasyPost. By its own admission the team is aiming to develop its younger riders in 2025, including new signing Ethan Hayter who arrived from Ineos Grenadiers to bolster the team’s Classics firepower.

Quick-Step will focus on the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia general classifications with Mikel Landa leading the team at the latter. Landa recorded a career-best third at the Giro back in 2015 and recently said he will be targeting both a stage win and a strong GC result in May.

“I am very happy that I will race the Giro, which holds a special place in my heart,” he said. “It’s the race that helped me make a name as a rider. Back in 2015 I won two stages there and finished third on the standings, and that stage I won over Mortirolo with the finish in Aprica is to this day one of my best memories.”

Evenepoel will lead their Tour de France team but is likely to make a cautious return to competition after being struck by a vehicle during a training ride in Belgium during the off season. The double Olympic champion required surgery after suffering an array of injuries which included several fractures. He is scheduled to return at Brabantse Pijl in April but recently confirmed that may be delayed to ensure he can recover fully for the Tour after doctors diagnosed him with nerve damage in his right shoulder as an extra problem to contend with.

UAE Team Emirates-XRG

2024 WorldTour wins: 37
Team leader: Tadej Pogačar
Team boss: Mauro Gianetti
Raison d'être: Victory and stage wins in the Grand Tours and the Classics with Tadej Pogačar, Juan Ayuso, Joāo Almeida and Adam Yates

The richest team in the WorldTour peloton, containing one of the most popular and precocious talents of recent generations, enjoyed a predictably superb year in 2024. Tadej Pogačar led the way with GC and stage wins at both the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France, as well as an early-doors victory at Strade Bianche. But one of UAE's strengths is the deep fissure of talent running through it. Adam Yates and Joāo Almeida, for example, were fourth and sixth in the Tour de France, while Juan Ayuso won the Itzulia Basque Country and stages in Tirreno-Adriatico and the Tour of Luxembourg.

Pogačar is set to ride the Tour again this year, and likely the Vuelta a España too. Talented as he is, it's hard to ignore the fact that his biggest Tour rival, Jonas Vingegaard, had a massively compromised build-up to last year's race thanks to a nasty crash at the Itzulia Basque Country. Likewise Pogačar's second-biggest rival, Remco Evenepoel. The latter has also already crooked himself for a little while ahead this season after a training crash, but both Vingegaard and Evenpoel will be ready to rumble at the Tour in July.

As is the trend, what was known last season as simply UAE Team Emirates will now become a little more of a mouthful, thanks to the addition of sponsor XRG, a UAE energy company.

The team will wave goodbye to outgoing riders Marc Hirschi, Diego Ulissi and Finn Fisher-Black, all of whom won races last season. The team have sought to balance the scale, of course, drafting in Jhonatan Narvaez and Florian Vermeersch to fill the space, at least in part. Ecuadorian Narvaez moves in from Ineos Grenadiers where he is well proven as a superb domestique, while young Belgian Vermeersch boasts a second place at Paris-Roubaix from 2021 (and not loads since, though he was second in the Gravel World Championship last year) and already has the Tour of Flanders on his calendar.

The team is almost certain to find things harder this season if those rivals stay on the straight and narrow. But in Pogačar they have a talisman whose worth, at least for the time being, transcends results alone.

Visma-Lease a Bike

2024 WorldTour wins: 16
Team leader: Jonas Vingegaard, Wout van Aert
Team boss: Richard Plugge
Raison d'être: Victory and stage wins in the Grand Tours with Vingegaard and Van Aert, plus Classics for Van Aert, sprint wins with Olav Kooij

Who is the strongest team in the peloton? The answer is not as simple as comparing Visma-Lease a Bike's 16 wins last year to UAE's considerably higher 37. The Dutch team, after all, had to spend much of 2024 licking its wounds with its two best riders out of action. Wout van Aert and Jonas Vingegaard both suffered extensive injuries in separate early-season races, with the result being a pretty much non-existent Classics season and Tour de France build-up respectively.

This year though – the constant danger of crashing notwithstanding – we will hopefully see a far more balanced battle, with Visma setting about recouping some of the hay that UAE and Tadej Pogačar made while the rain fell on their rivals.

The team retains its biggest riders, but says goodbye to a number of others, including last year's Het Nieuwsblad winner Jan Tratnik, who leaves for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe.

This year Visma has gone big on imports from its development squad, with four young riders coming through including 19-year-old Brit Matthew Brennan. A stage winner at last year's U23 Giro d'Italia, he has already shown promise in his first ever WorldTour race – the Santos Tour Down Under in Australia, coming second on the first stage.

Also joining the team is Simon Yates, who has had a couple of quiet seasons at Jayco-AlUla by his standards, and 2024 Tour stage winner Victor Campanaerts – both could prove extremely useful to Vingegaard in the Tour this year.

The season ahead looks a straightforward one for the team, with Vingegaard targeting the Tour above all, but also the Vuelta a España and Paris-Nice in the early-season – a race which he says he's highly motivated to win for the first time.

For Van Aert, he will continue with what has become a long-term project to secure victory in the Tour of Flanders or Paris-Roubaix, or both. Despite establishing himself as a chronic high finisher, he has yet to win either.

XDS Astana, Movistar, Cofidis, Arkéa-B&B Hotels

In the big pond that is the men's WorldTour, these teams are the small fish – at least for the moment, who find themselves up against it. XDS Astana took one WT win last season, but it was a big one – Mark Cavendish's record 35th Tour de France stage. Cavendish is now retired, but the team has bought in a number of capable riders including climber Wout Poels and Sergio Higuita, and former yellow jersey Mike Teunissen.

Movistar were once near the top of the WorldTour tree but their star has waned, with only eight wins last year. One of those was a Giro d'Italia stage though courtesy of young Pelayo Sanchez, who could well do the same again this year.

Last year it was May before Cofidis notched up a win – this year it has already happened, with Bryan Cocquard winning stage four at the WorldTour-ranked Tour Down Under. The shape of things to come, perhaps? For Arkéa-B&B Hotels, with young TdF stage-winning all-rounder Kevin Vauquelin and old but still occasionally gold sprinter Arnaud Démare, a moderately successful year could well be on the horizon.

Wildcard Teams

While the WorldTour teams sit at the top of the tree, there are numerous ProTeams that mix it regularly in the biggest races. Belgian team Lotto has existed in various forms since 1985. It loses Tour stage winner Victor Campanaerts for 2025 but retains young talents Arnaud De Lie and Lennert van Eetvelt. This pair took 12 of the team's 24 wins last season. Q36.5 have enjoyed plenty of column inches lately with the signing of Tom Pidcock. They will look to him to help put them in line for promotion to the WorldTour for next year. Israel-Premier Tech were very successful last year with 29 wins – many of them thanks to British trio Stevie Williams, Ethan Vernon and Joe Blackmore, all of whom are retained for this season. Norwegian team Uno-X Mobility stand out not just for their yellow jerseys but their presence at the sharp end of races too, as well as the blond moustache of Magnus Cort and the powerful sprinting legs of Alexander Kristoff.

The last bastion has finally fallen. In 2025, for the first time, there will be no rim brakes on the WorldTour, across all of the teams' road and time trial bikes.

The news came with the announcement of Bianchi’s new Aquila RC time trial bike. In 2024, bike manufacturers Bianchi and Giant provided the only rim-brake-equipped machines to the WorldTour, the former to Arkéa-B&B Hotels, and the latter to Jayco AlUla.

Giant succumbed to disc brakes with the release of its new Trinity TT bike last month, and Bianchi has now followed suit. Mark the date – 5 February 2025, the final nail in the rim brake coffin.

Bianchi’s new model is the fruit of 20 months’ worth of development, and is “designed to redefine speed,” according to the brand. As well as swapping the brakes, Bianchi has also optimised the handlebar, seatpost and bottom bracket, all in a bid to go faster.

The Aquila RC will be raced by Arkéa-B&B Hotels for the first time this Sunday, during the final day time trial at the Étoile de Bessèges. As a result, the final outing of a WorldTour team on rim brakes was the Chrono des Nations in October last year.

Depending on the wheel and frame set-up, rim brakes are typically lighter than disc brakes, and easier to maintain. They are, however, less reactive than discs, particularly in wet conditions, and can pose a small obstruction to the bike's aerodynamics.

Rim brakes disappeared from WorldTour road bikes in 2022, but have remained on time trial bikes for the last two years.

Both Giant and Bianchi’s offerings previously hid the calliper behind the front fork, helping to smooth the air flow around the frame.

The last WorldTour teams using rim brakes in bunch events were Ineos Grenadiers and UAE Team Emirates, with Tadej Pogačar switching between rims and discs at the Tour de France in 2021.

“For me, it’s all about the weight,” Pogačar said in autumn that year. "I'm happy to use both disc brakes and rim brakes. I opted for rim brakes at Il Lombardia because there were two two steep climbs in the finale, where I was perhaps going to make an attack. I realised that lightweight wheels would be important and they're the lightest with rim brakes.”

The Slovenian made the full transition to disc brakes with the introduction of the Colnago V4Rs in 2022.

Ineos Grenadiers also ditched rim brakes on their Pinarello Dogma F bikes in 2022. At the time, the bike brand’s owner, Fausto Pinarello, said he had been “convinced” about disc brakes ever since he began riding with them himself. “I’m happy the team is going to race on them in this final part of the season,” he said.

Carys Lloyd celebrated her 18th birthday on New Year’s Eve, and the following day, entered adulthood as a fully fledged professional cyclist.

The British teenager is one of four new signings who have joined WorldTour team Movistar for 2025. Her deal, announced last August, will see her stay with the Spanish squad for three years, and makes her the youngest talent at the top level of the sport, across both the men’s and women’s pelotons.

Lloyd is so young, in fact, that she is still completing her final year of A-levels, and will study for exams while competing against the world’s best riders this season.

“It’s a little bit nerve-racking,” the 18-year-old told Cycling Weekly. “I went to an early camp [last year] and all of the people there were going, ‘So you’re a pro next year, but you’re 17?’ It was something they were really trying to get their heads around, and I had to explain my birthday was literally right at the end of the year.

“I don’t think you can get younger than me, maybe by a couple of hours,” she added with a smile.

Lloyd first started racing bikes when she was six, and joined the British Cycling academy programme as an under-16. Last year, in her final season as a junior, she enjoyed impressive results on the road, winning two stages of the Omloop van Borsele and finishing in the top 10 at the Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix.

It was on the track, though, where she really excelled. In July, the then 17-year-old claimed two gold medals at the Junior European Track Championships, winning the Omnium and the Madison with partner Cat Ferguson. She then went on to earn three world titles at the Junior Track World Championships in China, winning gold in the Madison, individual pursuit and team pursuit, the latter in world record time, too.

“The quality of riders we had in our year in Great Britain was really, really strong,” Lloyd said. Her national squad ally Ferguson, the current junior road and time trial world champion, has also graduated out of the junior ranks and into the Movistar team. “I’m really lucky to have one of my closest teammates with me,” Lloyd said, “so we’re both the youngest there, rather than just me.”

By virtue of her late birthday, Lloyd is a school year younger than Ferguson, and still a sixth form pupil in Maidstone. “[Movistar] were really understanding about my schoolwork, because that was one of the things that I was worried about, especially going straight from junior to WorldTour, but also trying to do my A-levels at the same time,” she said. “It’s a bit scary, but they made it really easy for me to explain, and then they understood, and they weren’t bothered by it.”

After an initial batch of racing – her first event is scheduled to be the Challenge Mallorca at the end of the month – Lloyd will take a step back in June to sit her exams in maths, further maths and physics. “The team said, ‘Just get your exams done, and then we can talk about racing’,” she said. “They were just really refreshing.”

Lloyd has also been told that there is no pressure on her to get results in her first year as a pro. Instead, conversations with the team bosses have centred around her progression and ambitions for the future, including the races she’d one day like to ride. “I said Paris-Roubaix,” she smiled. “I’ve always looked at that race and thought I’d love to win it. It literally finishes in a velodrome, and is one of the most chaotic, cool races I’ve seen out there.”

The cobbles, however, are off the menu for the teenager this season. In the meantime, as she prepares for her professional debut, she’s making sure to keep her feet on the ground. “I’ve literally only just turned 18,” she said. “I looked up when Marianne Vos turned pro, and she turned pro when I was born. Technically, if you think about it in months, she’s been a pro longer than I’ve been alive. That’s quite scary, but it’s quite exciting at the same time.”

Melbourne-based MAAP has grown a reputation for its bold designs in the cycling apparel scene, so it’s with characteristic intrepidness that the brand breaks onto the WorldTour, with a pair of grey ‘shadow’ bib shorts.

MAAP has today unveiled its kit to be worn by Jayco AlUla and Liv AlUla Jayco in 2025, the brand’s first top-level partnership, which will see the Australian squads dress in purple and grey.

It’s a colour choice that comes from the MAAP's history, research of peloton aerial shots, and a desire to stand out. It's also one the brand knows will spark debate.

“We just wanted to have something distinctive in the peloton,” said Misha Glisovic, MAAP’s creative director.

The colour of the jersey, Glisovic explained, was inspired by “night desert skies, AlUla sunsets, and the aurora australis”, a light phenomenon seen from the Australian outback. The shorts, in contrast, came as an opportunity to rub against the grain. “We call it shadow,” Glisovic said of the tone. “It’s a colour that we’ve used before within our main line, and it seems to go well with both bright and neutral colours.

“It’s something that feels uniquely MAAP, and it brings that lifestyle fashion influence into the sport, trying to present something different within the peloton.”

In a blur of black and navy shorts, Jayco AlUla’s bottom half will be sure to stand out. The ‘shadow’ colour will attempt to fill a hole left in the bunch by AG2R La Mondiale, who flaunted controversial brown bib shorts for more than a decade, before scrapping them at the start of this year.

“AG2R bibs were iconic, right?” said Oliver Cousins, MAAP co-CEO and co-founder. “We generally were big fans of that, and I personally think it was a shame that they walked away from it.

“I think shadow is not as contentious as the AG2R colour, but it’s definitely something that we wanted to offer, and it was different to what’s out there in terms of navy blues and blacks. I think it will be well received.”

Founded in 2014, MAAP has previously supplied kit to British Continental teams Trinity Racing and Lifeplus-Wahoo. The brand’s entry into the WorldTour, Cousins said, has long been one of its “core goals”, with an Australian team the natural choice.

“This is what we’ve always wanted to do,” the co-founder said. “I don’t think that it will be a big surprise that we’re jumping in [to the WorldTour]. In my eyes, it’s probably almost like, why hasn’t MAAP joined the WorldTour yet? If you are committed to the sport and developing performance-oriented kit, to me, you’ve got to play in that space.”

The jersey colour has been approved by the UCI – despite initial concerns the purple may clash with the women’s WorldTour leader’s jersey – and MAAP is confident that the shadow shorts, one of its best-selling colours, will be a hit with fans.

“We want to sell it as well,” said Jarrad Smith, MAAP's other co-founder and co-CEO, of the new kit. “It's another massive goal for us, or for me personally, to be able to look at people wearing the Jayco kit, because we're so proud of it. I want to wear it, and I'm hoping it resonates with people.”

You can find all the newly updated WorldTour kits for 2025 on the Cycling Weekly website now.

Amateur cyclist Jack Burke has said he believes there is a 30% chance he will ride on the WorldTour next season, after discussions have opened around his recent KOM hunting.

The 29-year-old Canadian has been approached by four WorldTour squads, according to a report in Wielerflits, amid an online swell around his Strava record-breaking, which has seen him beat the best times on the Mortirolo, Stelvio, and Alpe d’Huez.

With each Strava file, Burke made a plea to professional teams to give him a “chance to compete against the best”. That call, it appears, has now been heard.

“It is all quite informal, via social media, but there is definitely interest,” he told Wielerflits. “The problem is that it is so late in the season that it is difficult to get a spot [in a squad]. If I had to estimate now, I think there is a 30% chance that I will ride in the WorldTour next year.”

Burke rode for Continental teams between 2016 and 2022, when he suffered a broken back in a training accident that put his career on hold.

He made headlines last month when he took over a minute off Vincenzo Nibali’s Strava KOM on Italy’s Mortirolo Pass, holding 435 watts for 43 minutes and 45 seconds. “Let’s hope some kind of opportunity comes from this,” he wrote at the time. “Anyone, anywhere, anytime. I’ll do whatever you want. I just want a chance to compete against the best guys.”

Just over a week later, Burke shared that he had also taken the crown on one of cycling’s most iconic mountains, Alpe d’Huez. This time, he bettered Sepp Kuss’s benchmark from 2022 by nine seconds. “I’m still trying to chase my dream,” he wrote in the Strava post.

Now speaking to Wielerflits, Burke explained that he began training properly again in May this year, and was “back in shape” by August. “I started riding and winning amateur competitions,” he said.

“This was a perfect year where I won every race I started and got three big KOMs. If that’s not enough, I don’t know what else I can do next year.”

With four teams now in discussions, the Canadian said his big dream is to become one of the peloton’s best domestiques, “like Sepp Kuss”.

“He is also a friend of mine,” Burke said. “We raced together before. My hope is that if a team goes to a Grand Tour for the classification, they will select me first, regardless of the leader. Because they know that I am the best support, that is my dream. I am better at helping others to a good result than racing for a result myself.”

Burke is the author of a book titled ‘How To Become A Pro Cyclist’, and hosts a podcast under the same name, where he offers training tips to amateurs.

You’ll need more than two hands to count the number of British riders turning pro next season.

On the women’s side, there’s Cat Ferguson and Carys Lloyd, who have both joined Movistar, as well as Imogen Wolff, a new recruit for Visma-Lease a Bike. In the men’s ranks, eight young talents have signed their first pro contracts, six of whom with WorldTour teams.

The latest to be announced is Oli Stockwell, 22, who has signed a two-year deal with Bahrain Victorious from 2025. His path to the top level is a well-trodden one for British riders, having spent the last three years overseas, cutting his teeth with a European team.

“I’ve been living in Udine, which is in the Friuli region [of Italy],” Stockwell told Cycling Weekly. “It’s pretty quiet in the team house, but it’s good for riding, and the weather’s nice, so you can’t complain too much, really.”

You'd be forgiven for not having heard Stockwell's name before. Since the start of 2022, he has been part of Cycling Team Friuli (CTF), Bahrain Victorious's development arm, racing mostly in Italy.

During that time, he has been supported by the Rayner Foundation, a charity that helps fund young British riders racing abroad. He’s now one of four fund recipients joining the men’s WorldTour in 2025, alongside Bob Donaldson (Jayco AlUla), Bjoern Koerdt (dsm-firmenich PostNL) and Matthew Brennan (Visma-Lease a Bike).

“Rayner have been pretty amazing really, I think for all the guys,” Stockwell said. “The advice they give you, you can’t beat it. Also, the cost side, they give a little bit, which for a lot of guys makes the difference. I know for me, when I first got to CTF, that probably made the difference. It meant that I was able to do it.”

Born in Welwyn Garden City, 20 miles north of London, the Brit’s introduction to cycling came when he noticed riders training at the outdoor asphalt velodrome near his home. He began competing himself when he was 10, taking part in local cyclocross events. “It was the first racing that I did,” he said, and ever since, “I’ve always done road and cross”.

Already in his young career, Stockwell has competed in key calendar events, like the World Championships, the Tour de l'Avenir and the Tour of Britain. His pro step-up was originally scheduled for the start of this season, but at the end of 2022, an innocuous leg break during a training camp put a halt to his plans.

“It was a really small crash, just on the flat, really easy riding, and I broke my femur,” he said. The injury left him sidelined for months, and he didn’t return to racing until August 2023.

“[The team] were really good with me, and we kind of decided that it would be better to step back for a minute, to use a bit more time as an under-23 to develop and recover from the injury, and then step up later, which is now,” he said. “I feel like I’ve learned so much in the last three or four years [in the under-23 ranks].”

As he now heads onto the WorldTour, what sort of riding can we expect from Stockwell? “I’d say I’m a climber, but maybe not an out-and-out climber. I feel like the team really want me to be a climber, but I don’t know if I’m fully a climber,” he said. “I feel like I’m still fairly young, so I still need to find out exactly what my strengths are.”

Stockwell’s plan in his first year is to continue developing. “There’s a lot to learn,” he makes clear. It’s the same attitude, no doubt, as the 10 other Brits who are turning pro, some as young as 18, and all looking forward to long careers in cycling.

“I think it will be a big step, but hopefully I’m ready,” Stockwell said. Now, as he prepares for a team camp next month, his last of the season, the overwhelming feeling is excitement. “I’ve used my under-23 years well, I hope,” he said.

“I’ve been waiting a while, so I think I’m ready. I guess I’ll see.”

The Rayner Foundation will be celebrating its riders' successes this season at a charity dinner in Leeds on 23 November. Tickets are on sale until 9pm this Friday, available to buy through the foundation's website.

Nineteen-year-old Josh Tarling ticked off a major career milestone on Thursday when he claimed his first WorldTour victory with a stage win at the Renewi Tour. 

The teenager won the individual time trial on day two of the five-stage Belgian race, beating UAE Team Emirates’ Tim Wellens by 14 seconds. 

As a result of his victory, Tarling now shares the record for the youngest rider ever to win a race on the UCI WorldTour. He equalled the benchmark set by Remco Evenepoel at the 2019 Clásica San Sebastián, where the Belgian won aged just 19 and 190 days. 

“It’s crazy. I’m so happy,” Tarling said afterwards. “I thought I started fast and then I heard the splits and I started panicking. I just tried to get everything out that I could and I think it worked well with the wind and stuff. It ended up working really good.” 

The Welshman averaged in excess of 54km/h over the technical 13.6km course in Sluis, holding off the likes of Yves Lampaert (Soudal Quick-Step), Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates) and the former world champion Tobias Foss (Jumbo-Visma). 

“I don’t know if I was calm,” Tarling smiled. “I think it was panic from about halfway, but it was only a short-ish time trial, so it was just about getting everything out.” 

This year has been a breakthrough one for the teenager. Having won the junior time trial title at the 2022 World Championships in Wollongong, Australia, he went on to become the British national champion in the discipline this June. 

He then scored an impressive bronze medal in the elite time trial event at the World Championships in Glasgow, finishing on the podium behind his Ineos Grenadiers team-mate Filippo Ganna and the winner Evenepoel. 

Speaking after the Worlds, Tarling credited the UK time trial scene for his talent against the clock.

“I always loved it, and my dad used to do it,” he said. “There aren’t many places where you can pull on a skinsuit on a Wednesday night and just hurt yourself.” 

“I came to the UK a week and a half before the Nationals just to get at least three good 10 [-mile time trials] and a 50, just to get kind of dialled in. There’s some awesome courses out there.” 

A first year pro, Tarling now leads the general classification at the Renewi Tour, formerly known as the BinckBank Tour and the Benelux Tour, with the 14-second advantage he took from the time trial.  

Global investors are in talks with the management of the now defunct British Ribble Weldtite team to build a new squad capable of reaching the WorldTour level within a few years.

The British team’s former management, Tom Timothy and Jack Rees, are in discussions with multiple potential investors in order to help them reach their ambition of becoming the second only UK WorldTour outfit within the next three years alongside the highly successful Ineos Grenadiers squad. 

Speaking exclusively to Cycling Weekly, former Ribble Weldtite general manager Timothy explained that they want 'North East Pro Cycling' to maintain strong British roots with a new team, similar to the identity they built with Ribble Weldtite, but with one eye to a future at the very top level, something that the duo were unable to achieve with their previous project. 

“As a team, even from a decade ago we always tried to build an identity around a place that is really important to us. It’s also something that our sport has lacked a little bit,” Timothy said. “If you look at football for example it’s something that really helps to tie things into an area.

“When we started out as a small regional club, we always used the name ‘North East Pro Cycling’ as our holding name in the background while we negotiated sponsorship and new deals. We’ve now resurrected it,” he added. “It gives us that identity and description from the start, people clearly see that we are a UK-based team and it will instantly help frame all the conversations we’re now having.” 

Expanding on their new plans, Timothy explained that both himself and Rees feel that while there is  a “gulf” between the WorldTour and the Continental level that Ribble Weldtite were operating at, the ProTeam level is unsustainable long term. 

“The level that we were previously operating on was great for British brands, and helping British brands access a British market. Then the top level is of course, great for a global performance level and exposure. Then that bit in the middle is really tricky,” Timothy pointed out. 

“Effectively we saw that middle ground as unsustainable, unless you’re a Belgian or French team that has a calendar that works within that [because a lot of the racing is there].”

Timothy and Rees also previously met with potential sponsors in Amsterdam. 

“We’re now having conversations with a variety of large global partners, and we’re looking at a three-year programme through 2024, ‘25, ‘26 to reach the highest echelons of the WorldTour,” Timothy said. “Now we’ve always been a British team backed by British brands, but as part of our push to reach a global scale, this obviously means that we’ll continue to talk to global partners.

“Nothing is fully confirmed yet but we have several interested partners from various regions around the world.” 

He added: “I think it’s fair to say that we know British sport as a whole is becoming more popular among global investors. However, one of the things that we want to make sure of is that any investment or partners we work with are beneficial to the sport as a whole. We see cycling as a way of giving things back, it’s more than just riding a bike.”

MIDDLE EASTERN INVESTMENT DECLINED

Two-years ago when the pair travelled to Amsterdam to meet with sponsors, the talks did not progress further because, Timothy explained, they didn’t match those values. 

He said: “We decided to decline their offer, even though it would have been a fairly large Middle Eastern investment.

“At the time, it just wasn’t right. That’s why I’m saying that the global partners we’re currently speaking to need to align with us trying to build any sort of sponsorship into wider societal progress,” he added. “For example, wherever the potential partners are, we’d want to work with local cycling clubs and build some community outreach so that we can develop that.”

Timothy was quick to reiterate that even if their grand plan comes off, their new WorldTour team would still look to participate in the British scene. That includes being able to provide young, talented British riders with the opportunity to develop their careers. 

“Myself and Jack are very aware of the demands of the domestic scene. Look at the Lincoln Grand Prix for instance, a fantastic race and extremely difficult to win. Arguably just as difficult as maybe a 1.1 race in Belgium or somewhere,” he said. 

“We have the awareness that actually the British scene has some great riders in it, and people deserve their opportunities. That’s something we’d love to continue, helping British riders get the most out of what they’re capable of.” 

NEW WORLD TOUR SQUAD WOULD CREATE BUZZ AROUND BRITISH RACING

At the end of 2022, British Cycling announced that the national road series was to be cut back to just four major races, therefore shrinking an already small top flight UK domestic scene even further. However, Timothy believes that a new WorldTour team would help create a buzz around British racing once more. 

“That’s certainly what we would be hoping for,” Timothy said. “Certainly similar to the buzz that there was around what was once Team Sky. We’ve seen kids going up to their riders asking for autographs, and then engaging with people. They really worked to bring the community in.” 

“It’s also worth stating that with the British riders that we’d have, and as a British-based team, we’d certainly be trying to get the riders training on British roads as well,” he added. “So we hope that would tie into transport and the societal side of things so that we help people actually feel happy and safe to get out on their bikes.”

Rees and Timothy’s ambition,  however, faces one stumbling block. As things stand, they have no riders under contract or support staff therefore attracting large scale global interest is a gargantuan task. This is something which Rees does not see as a turn off to investors, and he believes that what both him and Timothy are able to achieve comes as “a real surprise” to many. 

“In terms of new investors, we have had good previous interest before,” Rees told CW. “I think we have always been very transparent about what we were operating on and what we are able to achieve, which comes as a real surprise to many!” 

Timothy concluded that he feels he and Rees have a proven track record of forming positive partnerships and helping brands grow. 

“We are really set on forming ethical partnerships, particularly having seen the fallout from things like British Cycling partnering with Shell,” Timothy said. “That’s why we will continue to talk to a range of potential global partners, all with the capability to take us to the WorldTour within the next three years.”

This article appeared in Cycling Weekly magazine on 12 January. Subscribe now and don't miss an issue in 2023

The UCI has announced major changes to its race points system and will give greater weighting to Grand Tours and Monuments from 2023. 

The modifications, which will come into effect on 1 January, come after discussions with various stakeholders involved in professional men’s road racing, who wanted to “attach more value to the most prestigious UCI WorldTour races”. 

As a result, the value of UCI points attributed to the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España will increase next season. This will apply to the classification leaders as well as stage results.

The UCI has also created a “special category” for the five Monuments, with riders gaining more points in those races compared to other one-day WorldTour events.

Previously, winning the Tour of Flanders or Paris-Roubaix would land a rider 500 points, the same amount awarded for a victory at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec or the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal. It is unknown, at this stage, what the new points allocations are. 

Furthermore, there will be an increase in the number of points attributed in WorldTour and ProSeries stage races. “In future, points will be awarded for finishes lower than third place (all the way down to fifth, tenth or 15th, depending on the competition),” the UCI wrote in a statement shared today. 

The final competitions that will see a points increase are the Olympic Games and the Road World Championships, but only the road races and time trials in the elite categories. 

In the same statement, the UCI said: “These changes, which will serve to widen the gap between the points scored in the most prestigious races and those in lower categories, are aimed at encouraging teams to enter their best riders in the most important races and to ensure a better correlation between the points awarded and the sporting achievement involved.”

Until now, the UCI World Ranking for teams has been calculated by combining the points obtained by each team’s 10 highest scoring riders. From 2023, this will stretch down to each team’s top 20. 

Expanding on this decision, the UCI said: “This increase in the number of riders is designed not only to better reflect the competitive strength of the teams, but also to reduce the downside of their best riders being unavailable for any reason.”

The UCI points system was criticised by a number of cycling teams in 2022, with EF Education-EasyPost manager Jonathan Vaughters telling Cycling Weekly it gave way to a “really absurd way of racing”. 

The new changes only apply to men's professional road cycling, which has a three-year cycle. The UCI issued the last of its team licences earlier this month, confirming the relegation of Lotto-Soudal and Israel-Premier Tech from WorldTeam to ProTeam status.  

Both teams, however, will automatically receive invitations to all WorldTour stage and one-day races in 2023, except the Grand Tours, as part of a "transition year". 

The UCI has today issued the last of its WorldTeam and ProTeam licences, with French squad B&B Hôtels-KTM refused registration. 

In total, there will be 15 Women’s WorldTour teams, 18 Men’s WorldTour teams and 18 ProTeams next season. A team listed as ‘Paris Cycling City’, understood to be the new name of Jerôme Pineau’s B&B Hôtels-KTM, has not been granted either a WorldTeam or ProTeam licence. 

A statement from the UCI said: “After hearing the team that had not been able to be registered directly by the UCI, the Licence Commission has decided to refuse the registration of Paris Cycling City (PCC-FRA).” 

Last week, it was reported that the French team had collapsed after a number of sponsorship leads fell through. “We did our best to save our club, but unfortunately we didn’t succeed,” team manager Pineau wrote in a message sent to the team’s WhatsApp group. 

Pineau had previously said that he hoped to add British national champion Mark Cavendish to his roster, but any deal for the Manxman has since been called off. 

Israel-Premier Tech and Lotto Dstny, who failed to collect enough UCI points over the past three years to stay in the WorldTour, have both been issued ProTeam licences for 2023. Norwegian team Uno-X Pro Cycling will also ride on the ProTour, the second division of men's professional cycling. 

Though licences are granted on a three-year cycle, the UCI notes that Team DSM’s WorldTour status is “conditional on the provision, during the season, of additional documents related to the financial criterion”. 

The highest tier of women’s road racing will expand once again next season, having grown from nine to 14 teams in 2021.

Fenix-Deceuninck, formerly known as Plantur-Pura, have been confirmed as the 15th team on the Women’s WorldTour, beating AG Insurance-NXTG and Ceratizit-WNT to the final place. 

In the same statement, the UCI said it was “delighted” by the large number of teams applying to join the Women's WorldTour, which “demonstrates the appeal of women’s cycling”. 

Fenix-Deceuninck’s WorldTour status is guaranteed for one year, until the end of 2023. 

See below for the full list of UCI WorldTeams and ProTeams for 2023. 

UCI Men's WorldTour

AG2R CITROEN TEAM (ACT – FRA)

ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK (ADC – BEL)

ASTANA QAZAQSTAN TEAM (AST – KAZ)

BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS (TBV – BRN)

BORA – HANSGROHE (BOH – GER)

COFIDIS (COF – FRA)

EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST (EFE – USA)

GREENEDGE CYCLING (BEX – AUS)

GROUPAMA – FDJ (GFC – FRA)

INEOS GRENADIERS (IGD – GBR)

INTERMARCHÉ – CIRCUS - WANTY (ICW – BEL)

JUMBO-VISMA (TJV – NED)

MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV – ESP)

SOUDAL QUICK-STEP (SOQ – BEL)

TEAM ARKEA – SAMSIC (ARK – FRA)

TEAM DSM (DSM – NED) 

TREK – SEGAFREDO (TFS – USA)

UAE TEAM EMIRATES (UAD – UAE)

UCI Women's WorldTour

CANYON//SRAM RACING (CSR – GER)

EF EDUCATION - TIBCO - SVB (TIB – USA)

FDJ-SUEZ (FST – FRA)

GREENEDGE CYCLING (BEX – AUS)

HUMAN POWERED HEALTH (HPW – USA)

LIV RACING TEQFIND (LIV – NED)

MOVISTAR TEAM WOMEN (MOV – ESP)

TEAM DSM (DSM – NED)

TEAM JUMBO VISMA (JVW – NED)

TEAM SD WORX (SDW – NED)

TREK – SEGAFREDO (TFS – USA)

UAE TEAM (UAD – UAE)

UNO-X PRO CYCLING TEAM (UXT – NOR)

ISRAEL PREMIER TECH ROLAND (CGS – SUI)

FENIX-DECEUNINCK (FED – BEL)

UCI ProTour

BINGOAL WB (BWB – BEL)

BOLTON EQUITIES BLACK SPOKE (BEB – NZL)

BURGOS-BH (BBH – ESP)

CAJA RURAL-SEGUROSRGA (CJR – ESP)

EOLO-KOMETA CYCLING TEAM (EOK – ITA)

EQUIPO KERN PHARMA (EKP – ESP)

EUSKALTEL – EUSKADI (EUS – ESP)

GREEN PROJECT-BARDIANICSF-FAIZANE’ (GBF – ITA)

HUMAN POWERED HEALTH (HPM – USA)

Q36.5 PRO CYCLING TEAM (Q36 – SUI)

TEAM CORRATEC (COR – ITA)

TEAM FLANDERS – BALOISE (TFB – BEL)

TEAM NOVO NORDISK (TNN – USA)

TOTALENERGIES (TEN – FRA)

TUDOR PRO CYCLING TEAM (TUD – SUI)

Reinardt Janse van Rensburg, who rode for Lotto-Soudal at the Tour de France this year, has said that the current WorldTour system in cycling is endangering many smaller teams' futures. 

The South African professional, who was part of Caleb Ewan’s sprint train last season, believes that the current WorldTour system is “preventing growth” in cycling, leaving some teams “fighting against everything” just to survive. 

Speaking to Cycling Weekly, Janse van Rensburg said that without change cycling will see further teams collapse in the same manner as B & B Hotels-KTM did earlier this week. 

“I think the system at the moment and how it’s set up is killing all the smaller teams, all the Pro Continental teams, they just don’t have a chance to shine,” he said. 

“You’ve got the 18 WorldTour teams, and then the two Pro-Continental teams that are guaranteed invites to all the WorldTour races, so race organisers only have like two invites that they can send out.” 

“So then if you’re a French race organiser you’ve got two French Pro-Conti teams lined up, if you’re Italian, you’ve probably then got one or two Italian teams lined up. So if you’re at Pro-Continental level, you’re kind of fighting against everything just to try and get an invite to WorldTour races, which I don’t think is really fair,” he added. “It’s limiting things for teams, and I think the system is actually preventing growth inside cycling.”

In recent days, the management of Norwegian Proteam Uno-X explained that they were watching the situation of the stricken B & B Hotels-KTM team with a close eye. The demise of the French team now means that Uno-X are arguably in a stronger position to receive an invite to the Tour de France next year. 

Janse van Rensburg responded to a tweet from Cyclingnews which contained comments from Uno-X to express his frustration at the system. Something which he clarified was not a direct dig at the Norwegian team but at the wider system in general. 

“To be clear, my comment was not a dig at Uno-X or their position about this. It’s more about the system in the WorldTour, that’s what my comment was about. It’s not about Uno-X, it’s really understandable their position. It’s the system that’s frustrating me,” he explained. 

POINTS SYSTEM IS 'COMPLETELY BROKEN'

Janse van Rensburg is among those that see problems with state of the WorldTour relegation system and the way in which points are allocated during the season. 

The points given to riders for minor one day races are often offer a better return on investment than wins at bigger stage races like the Tour de France.

In recent weeks prominent figures including Chris Froome have spoken out against the set up, with Froome branding it a “death sentence” for smaller teams. EF Education Easy-Post boss Jonathan Vaughters also slammed the points system saying it led to an “absurd” way of racing. 

Janse van Rensburg explained that the points system in his mind is “completely broken”. 

“It’s a big factor in all of this. I think the points system is completely broken with how it works, it just doesn’t make sense the way in which points are allocated. First that needs to be fixed and then the relegation system has to be looked at too,” he said. 

“I think it would actually make sense to have even fewer WorldTour teams, say only 10. Then you could have 12 wildcards or Pro-Continental or whatever. Then it could be much more competitive and much more supportive and fair with how teams get to the big races,” he added. 

“Otherwise there are very limited opportunities if you’re not one of the top 20 teams in the system.”

When asked if he expected to see further teams fold like B & B Hotels did Janse van Rensburg said: “Oh definitely. With there only being spots on the big races for those 20 teams, the rest is just all fighting. So if you’re not one of those 20 teams then good luck to you. It’s terrible news for B & B. The system is really limiting teams chances and it’s not healthy for the sport.

“I think maybe the Tour de France is becoming too prominent in the calendar. Of course you need that premier event in any sport, but I think cycling is much bigger than that. There’s more events than just the Tour.”

“With that I just think the WorldTour is just killing all the small teams. It’s always the same teams, at all the races. Some teams get all the opportunities and the other ones are just fighting for scraps,” he added.

Janse van Rensburg left Lotto-Soudal at the end of the 2022 season, and explained on social media that he will be stepping back from racing at WorldTour level. Something which he told Cycling Weekly was partly affected by his feelings towards competition at that level and the wider system.

“It definitely played a role in my decision. When you see what I’m involved in next year, I can elaborate more on that.”

Senior management at top team Jumbo-Visma have been seeking advice from their counterparts at Manchester United Football Club, just as the 13-time Premier League  champions are reeling from criticism from superstar player Cristiano Ronaldo.

According to a report on Dutch website Wielerflits, the squad’s chief sports director, Merijn Zeeman recently travelled to Manchester for a meeting with United’s manager Erik ten Hag. The two Dutchmen discussed tactics and competition within the their respective squads.

And it’s not the first time the two men have talked about what they can learn from each other, Zeeman admitting after the Tour de France that he had received help from his compatriot.

“He is someone from a completely different sport, but I wanted to understand from him: how do you come up with tactics? What is the essence of your sport for you? Before you make a game plan, what's behind it? I had the opportunity to talk to him about that a few times,” Zeeman said.

The two teams have had differing fortunes over recent years. The cycling team have gained more success than Manchester United, who have not won the Premier League since legendary manager Alex Ferguson retired back in 2013, since then they have only four trophies to their name. 

By contrast the last four years have been huge for Jumbo-Visma. Along with Jonas Vingegaard’s Tour de France victory earlier this year, the squad have tasted Grand tour success with Primož Roglič winning three consecutive editions of Vuelta España.

But it’s not only Grand Tours, they have one week stage race general classifications, cobbled classics and wins in a huge variety of other events on their collective palmarès. They can win everything from mountain days, sprint stages and even team time trials.

In 2022 alone they bagged 45 wins with 11 of their 30 men getting on the score sheet.

Names like Vingegaard and Roglič would be enough for many teams to manage and support, but they also have the likes of Christophe Laporte, Tiesj Benoot and Olav Kooij on their books. Not to forget Wout van Aert, arguably the sport’s best rider.

Add to them the likes of Paris-Roubaix winner Dylan van Baarle, who joins from INEOS Grenadiers next year and there are plenty of egos and ambitions to manage.

“Because Erik ten Hag also had to deal with that at Ajax and now he also has that at United I talked to him about this,” Zeeman continued. 

“As a coach, how do you deal with players who have won everything and suddenly find themselves on the bench? In the past, athletes had to accept that. At the time, there was less attention for the human approach, I think that is not appropriate in this day and age.”

That is certainly a problem Ten Hag is dealing with at the moment, with United’s Portuguese superstar Ronaldo professing his lack of support for the Dutchman in an interview with Piers Morgan. 

But we all know cycling is a great stress relief, so perhaps that’s why the Dutch manager has been out on his bike around Cheshire. And it's also not the only football and cycling knowledge-share currently taking place - Team Ineos Grenadiers team principal Dave Brailsford is assisting OGC Nice from the comfort of a caravan.

EF Education-Easypost manager Jonathan Vaughters has said he will not miss the “absurd” way his team had to race to survive a WorldTour relegation battle this season. 

In many UCI-sanctioned races, having multiple high-finishing riders gives a higher points haul than winning outright. This proved a lucrative strategy for teams facing relegation in the latter half of this season.

Speaking to Cycling Weekly, Vaughters said: “Next season we can concentrate on racing to race as opposed to ‘well it’d be great if we had three guys in the top 10’. I mean, that’s like the dumbest. I hated racing like that.

“In September, I was like ‘oh my god, we got second, sixth and ninth’,” he added. “You couldn’t totally sacrifice any one person to get the race win, because we needed all three guys to score [UCI points].

He added: “It’s a really absurd way of racing and super annoying for everyone in the organisation to race like that when you’re just trying to sort of stack up a bunch of guys in the top 20."

“It is what it is, but I will look forward to not racing like that."

EF Education-EasyPost's need to get involved in that relegation fight in 2022 stemmed in part from a large number of illness setbacks mid-season. By the middle of March, the team had 19 out of 30 riders either out with Covid-19 or another illness. 

“In March and April, there’s so many one-day races of very high level,” Vaughters said, “and we just zeroed out on all of them. And it was amazing how fast the ass dropped out.”

The team quickly got drawn into a relegation scrap alongside Lotto Soudal and Israel-Premier Tech, both of whom are set to lose their WorldTour licences. In pursuit of UCI points, all threatened teams took on extra race days, with EF Education-EasyPost competing in 74 events in 2022, compared to around 60 pre-pandemic. 

Going into the next three-year relegation cycle, Vaughters plans to keep up the busier program. 

“The idea will be to send riders to some of those races that we normally might not have done, but are suited to us,” he said, “like a Tour of Norway or a Milano-Torino.

“We’re not going to chase around races in Belgium and France that, quite frankly, we just never recruited for.” 

Did the team consider bringing in a sprinter for the flatter one-day races? “No,” Vaughters replied. “We recruited Richard Carapaz.”

“He’s a very versatile rider,” the team manager added. “He can win one-day races, he’s the Olympic champion, he can win stages at Grand Tours. He showed that in the Vuelta in a pretty spectacular form last year [with] three stages. He can win climber’s jerseys, king of the mountain competitions.”

When asked about Carapaz’s GC chances at next year’s Tour de France, Vaughters said: “The route is very suited to his characteristics as a rider. He’s an aggressive rider, an attacking rider. Time trialling is a little bit of his Achilles heel, so it’s a Tour route that’s very suited to him.

“But I’m a long way from pounding my fist on the table and saying ‘we’re going to go out and beat Jumbo Visma and [Jonas] Vingegaard’. There are race favourites that are much further up the list.” 

“That being said, the route’s a nice gift from ASO. So, thank you.”

By the end of this season, Israel-Premier Tech and Lotto Soudal will have competed in over 100 events, 20% more than in a typical season. 

This program-stacking is highly unusual, but in 2022 it's not a total surprise. Both teams currently occupy the WorldTour’s two relegation places, and unless they pick up UCI points, they’ll lose their licences for the next three-year cycle. 

“If we had ridden more races in the last two years, I doubt that we would have been in the same situation,” Lotto Soudal team director Nikolas Maes tells Cycling Weekly. “The program we are doing is stuffed, it’s quite stuffed, and then you have the exceptional races that really take a lot of energy.”

By exceptional races, Maes is referring to the Japan Cup and the Tour de Langkawi, two events that require the team to send riders and resources to Asia to compete. 

For Lotto Soudal, these trips won’t be made in vain. As ProSeries races, each event offers 200 UCI points to the winner, and with the team currently 700 points adrift, any opportunity to add to their tally is to be seized. 

In fact, on 16 October, the team’s final day of the season, Lotto Soudal will field riders at four different races; Chrono des Nations, Veneto Classic and the two Asian ProSeries events.  

“For the riders, it’s like an extra mission,” Maes says. “They like the extra idea that there's not only the victory at stake in the race, but also the extra thing with the point system.”

In the latter half of this season, teams have been accused of sacrificing their chances of victory in favour of placing multiple riders in the top 10 for a more lucrative points haul. Maes believes this is not what the sport is about. 

“The basic idea of racing is to win the race,” the Lotto-Soudal team director says, “and if you’re second, you actually lose the race, in my opinion. So starting to preach to those guys to finish [with] five guys in the top 10, that’s really against the culture of cycling, I think, and I don’t want to speak these things to my riders.” 

Another team facing an uncertain future is Cofidis. The French team currently occupy 18th place in the team rankings, meaning they’d be the final team to secure their WorldTour licence if things stay as they are. Like Lotto Soudal, Cofidis are targeting a series of Belgian, Italian and French one-day races over the next month in a bid to score UCI points. 

“We’re gearing up to do 13 race days from now until Sunday,” Antoine Grenapin, a representative of Cofidis, told Cycling Weekly yesterday morning. “The whole team, staff and riders are fully mobilised to deal with this challenge.”

“We know that to keep our WorldTour status, we’ll need to go looking for big performances, victories, and everyone is aware of that in the team. Since the start of the season, we’ve known that we would have to fight in every race and that’s what everyone’s spirit is like.

“We’re really trying to give everything until the end of the season.”

For Israel-Premier Tech, the outlook is a bit more bleak. The team, managed by millionaire businessman Sylvan Adams, are currently bottom of the table, with only a slim chance of WorldTour survival. 

In a recent interview with Cyclingnews and Velonews, Adams said: “I am still hopeful that we will still end up on the right side of relegation, although it’s looking worse and worse.

The Israel-Premier Tech team manager went on to urge the UCI to cite “force majeure”, suggesting they make an exception due to the global pandemic and expand to 20 WorldTour teams for the next cycle. 

“If I lose, I am going to take them to court,” Adams said. “If I lose my sponsors and it costs me millions, somebody has to make me whole. If I show that they do not apply the rules consistently, I think I have a very good case.” 

The WorldTour relegation takes place in November, with points accumulated up to 18 October taken into account. Despite the impact of Covid-19 on the racing calendar, the UCI have said that no extenuating measures are currently planned. 

Maes says that this is something that his Lotto Soudal team will have to accept. 

“I don't 100% agree with the whole system and the way it's going because I think in the end the UCI should protect its teams,” Maes says. “But okay, at the end of the day, they decide how the system will go down, and we work with it.

“If we are not a WorldTour team [next season], the world doesn't end for us. And that's a whole different approach than saying it's do or die. That would create a lot more stress.”

Trek-Segafredo put down a marker by winning the opening stage team trial at the Ceratizit challenge by La Vuelta on Wednesday.

The US registered team covered the 19.9km race in northern Spain in a time of 23.31, beating their nearest challengers, BikeExchange-Jayco by six seconds. FDJ-SUEZ-Futuroscope finished third, a further five seconds down.

After winning the Vårgårda team time trial just under five weeks ago Trek-Segafredo started the day as the squad to be and so it proved, finishing with only the required four women from their six starters, they covered the final kilometre in less than a minute, setting a time of 23-31.

Elisa Longo Borghini was first across the line and will wear the red leader’s jersey going into the second of the race’s five stages, and as their best climber, has a genuine shot at overall victory.

Defending champion Annemiek van Vleuten got off to a good defence of her title, her Movistar team finishing fifth, only only 25 seconds behind the winners. Two stage wins saw the Dutch rider win last year’s race conclusively, and she will be hoping for a repeat this year.

Victory would be a remarkable achievement, and mean she had won the women’s versions of all three grand tours in one year, all within 10 weeks of each other, and on the first time such a feat was available.

How it happened

For 2022 the Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta has expanded once again. First ran in 2015 the opening three editions were one day races ridden around the men’s Vuelta finish circuit in Madrid. In 2018 organisers added a team time trial in a Madrid suburb, switching that to an individual effort on the same course the following year. 

In 2020 an opening road stage was added before it became a proper gnarly four stage race with a mountain time trial and very tough hilly day around the north-western province of Galicia. 

This year’s five day race is the last to be run alongside the men’s Vuelta, as next season’s race will grow more and move to May as part of a block of Spanish WorldTour stage races next spring.

For 2022 though, the race began with a 19.9km team time trial starting and finishing in Marina de Cudeyo, just a short ride east of Santander on the country's northern coast, the race looping clockwise to the coast and back.

First down the ramp were Rio Meira-Cantabria Deporte. Riding in their home region, they have not raced a UCI event outside Spain this year, and Wednesday was their first WorldTour race for the year. And that showed, their six women eventually finishing last, almost five minutes down.

Another Spanish team, Soltec were third down the ramp, and included Olympic road race champion and time trial specialist Anna Kiesenhofer among their international squad. But even with Kiesenhofer’s talent they managed only 20th place.

Sixth to start, Human Powered Health were the first WorldTour team to start, and briefly took the lead with 25-49, but they were bested first by UNO-X and then by Ceratizit-WNT, whose 24-52 saw them settle into the hot seat. 

But they had little time to get comfortable, as BikeExchange-Jayco smashed their time, clocking 23-37, an average of more than 48kph. They were pushed close by FDJ-SUEZ-Futuroscope, the French team finishing only five seconds down, but the Australian squad’s effort was good enough for the day’s podium, putting Ane Santesteban and Kristen Faulkner in strong positions for the rest of the race.

For its second stage the peloton remains in the northern region of Cantabria, heading a few kilometres east for a winding, circuitous 105.9 stage covering five classified climbs where the GC should begin to take proper shape.

ResultCeratizit Challenge by La Vuelta, stage one: Marina de Cudeyo - Marina de Cudeyo Race (19.9km)

1. Trek-Segafredo (USA) in 23-31
2. BikeExchange-Jayco (Aus) at 06 sec
3. FDJ-SUEZ-Futuroscope (Fra) at 11 sec
4. SDWorx (Ned) at 23 sec
5. Movistar (Esp) at 25 sec
6. DSM (Ned) at 44 sec
7. Canyon-SRAM (Ger) at 59 sec
8. Jumbo-Visma (Ned) at 1-01
9. Ceratizit-WNT (Ger) at 1-21
10. UAE ADQ (UAE) at 1-28

General classification after stage one

1. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Trek-Segafredo in 23-31
2. Elynor Bäckstedt (GBr) Trek-Segafredo
3. Shirin van Anrooij (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
4. Elisa Balsamo (Ita) Trek-Segafredo all at same time 
5. Georgia Williams (NZ) BikeExchange-Jayco at 06 sec
6. Alex Manly (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco
7. Kristen Faulkner (USA) BikeExchange-Jayco
8. Ane Santesteban (Esp) BikeExchange-Jayco
9.  Ruby Roseman-Gannon (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco all at same time 
10. Grace Brown (Aus) FDJ-SUEZ-Futuroscope at 11 sec

Teams have welcomed news organisers of the Tour de France Femmes are considering allowing seven women squads for the 2023 edition. The idea was confirmed to Cycling Weekly by race director Marion Rousse, who said they will be meeting stake holders to discuss the issue and others arising from this year’s race.

“It is true we asked ourselves whether it’s better to have seven instead of six riders, but we don’t know the answer yet,” Rousse told us, adding that meetings will take place in the aftermath of this year’s event.

The move is among a number of changes being considered by organisers, ASO for the race’s second edition next year. 

In an earlier press call held entirely in French, Rousse, a former national road champion, was asked whether there would be extra days in the 2023 race and whether a time trial would be included.

“Maybe, maybe,” she replied when asked about a race against the clock. “This year there was no time trial because we were concerned with the public interest, a time trial attracts less crowd and this year we wanted a course that was attractive to the crowd, but that doesn’t prevent us from doing that in the coming years.”

On increasing the number of stages from eight she said; “You don’t make that decision alone, you should consult with the teams, and at the moment everybody is happy with eight days. Even though women’s cycling is evolving the economic model is still fragile and teams aren’t that big either.”

The 2022 race was won on Sunday by Annemiek van Vleuten leading a six woman Movistar squad. In recent years that number has become the accepted number of riders in women’s teams though UCI Regulations allow organisers to decide, proving they do not exceed minimum or max numbers of between four and seven per squad.

Until the 2017 event the Giro Donne permitted seven rider squads, though that has been reduced to six in subsequent editions.

“Maybe it’s better to have seven riders so teams can control the race better,” Rousse continued. “We will work closely with the teams, we want their opinion. In women’s cycling we have come far, it’s important to take the good decisions at the right moment.”

DSM arrived in France with ambitions for both sprints and the GC, and had to balance both with just four support riders and more riders would help target both classifications.

“I would encourage it,” said team manager Albert Timmer. “For this year’s Tour we have six girls with one GC leader and one leader for the sprints, a lot of the girls are really versatile, they can do a lot of things, but one extra can really make a difference in the way you plan your tactics and in case somebody has to leave the race.”

But with a such a busy Women’s WorldTour calendar already set for 2023, more women in one race puts pressure on squads for other events.

“When I see the WorldTour calendar for next year it’s crazy it keeps on growing and teams are not ready, you can see a lot of races teams are starting with four.”

Surely then the simple answer then is to increase the maximum size of WorldTeams from 16 to 20

“The majority of teams don’t have the budget to fill a roster with 20 riders,” said Ronny Lauke, Canyon-SRAM’s manager. “If you have 20 you have a significantly bigger race programme so you need more staff you have to have bigger infrastructure, I don’t see many teams being able to fulfil these obligations at the moment. We certainly cannot do it.”

There’s another issue. While developments in the women’s sport are beginning to attract more talented riders, there is still insufficient quality ready to compete at the highest level.

“Not yet, but it will come,” said Timmer. 

The Tour is the Tour. And the Tour is huge.

Men's race or women's race those red and white polka-dot Leclerc sponsored tee-shirts are everywhere, every kid wears one like an oversized dress, and the pattern adorns has the heads in the huge crowds.

There are no tricky camera angles duping TV viewers into thinking there are more fans at the TouTour de France Femmes avec Zwift than there really are, they’re everywhere. They wander through the start area, ferociously bang the boards along the finish line and their cheering for every rider and group, however far down they finish is deeply passionate. 

And even in the middle of nowhere they are along the route. Along a long flat straight you’ll see a camper parked on the verge, an old couple, the man wearing a polka-dot hat, sat eating at a table by the road, looking up to wave at any vehicle with race accreditation stickers.

“Les femmes, les femmes!” the fans scream when the riders pass. “We know we’re les femmes, but they chant it a lot, it’s so cool,” says Olivia Baril (Valcar Travel and Service). 

Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM), who finished the race third overall, agrees

“It’s very special because you see people from different ranges of age, young kids and my peers to older people, everyone is interested and it’s very beautiful. Because we don’t race very much in France normally I would never they have a culture for bicycles, I would always think of Holland or Belgium first, so it’s really nice to see that here.”

Fourth overall, DSM’s Juliette Labous was France’s top placed rider on GC and has been surprised by the reception.

“I didn’t expect this much, I knew there would be a lot of people but I didn’t expect as much as this,” she told us. “It’s really amazing and I have the feeling every day there’s more people cheering. I hear a my name a lot so I’m always proud and I feel my legs a bit less when I hear the crowd.”

It’s not just the French who are at the roadside, you hear all sort of languages, with plenty of Dutch being spoken, whether they be from the Netherlands or Flanders. There are families with their children. And a lot of girls, some wearing club jerseys from all over Europe. 

Demi Vollering’s (SD Worx) fiancé and family stayed at Le Markstein in camper vans, and even Kristen Faulkner’s parents were over the from Alaska. At the bus, SDWorx DS, and former world and Olympic champion Anna van der Breggen signs autographs for awestruck fans - male and female.

And it’s not just on the road where the French public have joined the party. The final of Saturday’s seventh stage, where Annemiek van Vleuten rode to a huge, GC winning victory was watched live by 3.7 million people on France TV3 alone, 2.7million watched the entire stage. That’s huge.

But it’s not just the crowds and viewers which mark the Tour out from other races. Other than the 175km fifth day, the balanced parcours, which built to a mountain climax at the weekend, has been praised too.

It’s nice how they laid it out so Marianne [Vos, Jumbo-Visma] can wear the jersey for a few days and it gives a chance to a lot of different riders before the mountain stages,” added Baril.

“We have some sprint stages, we have hilly stages, I liked the gravel and the two last days that’s for the real climbers,”explained Chantal van den Broek-Blaak (SDWorx).

And according to Veronica Ewers (EF Education-Tibco-SVB) the organisation is next level. “The organisation of it all has been quite amazing. Just even just the logistics of the start, and the safety of it all having everything marked and having. Yeah, having people out there to make sure that we're safe as safe as possible."

Now retired after a glittering career and working as DS at SD Worx Anna van der Breggen sees a a shift in the sport. “It’s a big step, it’s really big step. The media attention is something we’ve never seen before. There are still a lot of things we see that are different from men’s cycling, but this is a highlight in the development of women’s cycling.”

And by and large the French fans understand the differences between men’s and women’s pelotons and they like what they see.

“We had never been to a women’s race before but this is the Tour so we came, and now maybe we will go to another women’s race,” said Mathieu Noir from Strasbourg, a cyclist who rode up to Le Markstein with friends to watch stage seven.

“The density of the talent is not as great as with the men, but hopefully this Tour will help change the level, just look at all the young girls here, they can be inspired.”

Merci La France. Vive La Tour de France Femmes.

Saturday’s seventh stage at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift was the first of two tough climbing stages this weekend, which are set to decide the general classification and overall winner of the race.

With that in mind,  Cycling Weekly went to the start in Sélestat to visit some of the bigger teams to see how the mechanics aim help their riders deal with the punishing climbs of the Vosges Mountains.

With so much climbing ahead most teams altered their gearing, with some interesting and varied choices being made.

Movistar

The winning bike on stage seven was Annemiek van Vleuten’s Canyon AeroRoad equipped, like many other bikes among the top women’s teams, with SRAM Red AXS eTap. The Dutch star, who won the day by a huge 3:26 margin, had different gearing to the rest of the Movistar team.

While the whole team were running 52/39 chainrings at the front, most of the Spanish squad were equipped with 10/33 at the back. However, with her extra climbing prowess, and the need to be able to attack hard, Van Vleuten had a 10/30 cassette.

SD WORX

SD Worx took a different approach to most other teams, leaving their bikes as they are for most other races. 

Also riding SRAM Red AXS eTap, the Dutch squad rode 49/35 at the front, with 10/33 cassettes. One thing to note is that their two former world champions, Chantal van den Broek-Blaak (road, 2018) and Lotte Kopecky (Madison,2017 and Points Race, 2021) both have rather blingy gold chains and cassettes.

Jumbo-Visma

Marianne Vos has spent five days riding in the race leader’s maillot jaune and her Jumbo-Visma team had the most changes, with all but one rider — Noemi Rüegg — starting the day on Cervélo’s climbing bike, the R5. The Swiss rider chose to ride her more aero S5, which has been used by the rest of the team for the earlier stages.

The Dutch squad did not change their gearing. The squad uses a Shimano’s Dura-Ace groupset with 53/36 chainrings and 11/32 cassettes at the back.

Trek-Segafredo

Trek-Segafredo allow their riders to choose their own gearing and tyre pressures, and both are a closely guarded secret, suggesting some odd choices or unreleased tech. However, the team would disclose a couple of changes made for the Tour’s final two stages.

Both American Leah Thomas and the home favourite and French national champion Audrey Cordon-Ragot selected a 10/33 cassette at the back of their SRAM Red AXS eTap equipped bikes. However, while Thomas chose 50/37 chainrings, Cordon-Ragot went with 52/39 chainrings.

DSM

The whole DSM squad rode their Shimano Dura-Ace equipped Scott Foils with the standard combination for the penultimate day’s racing. With the C36 wheels, the team ran 52/36 at the front and 11/34 at the back.

One interesting snippet is that, for Wednesday’s gravel stage, the team used their old 11 speed Shimano Dura-Ace C40 wheels which are 12 speed compatible.

BikeExchange-Jayco

The Australian team are another Shimano equipped squad and geared down for the mountains. While they normally run a 53/36 combination, for the weekend they switched to 53/34. This wide ration can cause some issues shifting between big and little rings, so raiders were advised by the mechanics to ease off the power while changing gear. 

Otherwise it was a pretty standard 11/30 that Urška Žigart rode to eighth place, finishing 7:23 down.

FDJ-SUEZ- Futuroscope

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig’s French squad geared down but only slightly on their Shimano equipped Lapierre bikes.

Instead of using 53/36 they dropped one tooth and ran a 52 big ring, using a 11/34 cassette instead of 11/30. 

Shimano neutral service

As expected, the Shimano neutral service bikes were all equipped with the Japanese company’s Dura-Ace wheels and groupsets.

The bikes resemble a repainted Cannondale SuperSix-Evo, all with 52/36 at the front and 11/30 at the back. Unsurprisingly, there was a variety of sizes and pedals on the neutral bikes, with Look, Time, SpeedPlay and, of course Shimano Dura-Ace all present.

Many riders saw the stage to Le Markstein as the event’s Queen stage. Petit Ballon was the opening of three first category climbs, over nine kilometres at 8.1% it was a tough start and followed by Col du Platzerwasel.

That was pretty tough too, 7.1km at an average gradient of 8.3%, but the final ascent of Le Grand Ballon was harder, the 13.5km climb averaging 6.7km, though at least it was fairly constant for the later kilometres.

The final stage up to the Planche Des Belles Filles is no less tough and riders will likely opt for the same setup. 

Annemiek van Vleuten’s race winning move on stage seven on the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift was a defensive tactic accord to the Movistar DS, Jorge Sanz.

The Dutch rider attacked on the ascent of the day’s first classified climb, Petit Ballon, and never looked back, blowing the peloton to pieces. By the finish in Le Markstein she had put 3:26 into her nearest rival, SD Worx’ Demi Vollering, and looks set to win a historic yellow jersey on Sunday.

Van Vleuten launched her attack on the slopes of the day’s first climb, Petit Ballon, and such was her pace only Vollering was able to follow. The two Dutch women stayed together onto the Col de Platzerwasel but when Van Vleuten lit the after-burners, she dropped her Dutch compatriot and never saw her again.

“We wanted to attack on the first climb because we knew the downhill was really dangerous and that some riders wanted to put pressure on Annemiek,” Sanz told Cycling Weekly among the hubbub around the Movistar team bus.

Though she is unmatched going uphill, at the recent Giro Donne, which she won convincingly, Van Vleuten had seemed a little vulnerable on the descents. She crashed on one downhill, though instantly remounted and won the stage, but teams have seen her descending as the only chink in her armour, and an attack would have been obvious.

“We wanted to open a safety gap, but everything exploded and Vollering came with Annemiek so we decided to continue,” Sanz explained. “If the gap was smaller, on the second climb the plan was then just put a pace on and wait for the other riders to come then put the pressure on again. This way we were one step forward. The world is not easy but it was easier than expected.”

Van Vleuten leads Vollering by 3:14, with Sunday’s final and eighth stage suiting her perhaps even more as it features two classified climbs before the final, brutal ascent to Super Planche des Belles Filles. So, attack or defend?

“We will first enjoy the victory of today and then in the meeting we will see. We can play with her, play with some others, but the first goal is to defend the GC,” Sanz concluded rather predictably.

Around 50 metres from Movistar’s bus, SD Worx were not so jubilant, though there were no tears or recriminations. “She was just better,” lead DS Danny Stam said to no one in particular.

Vollering had had just enough energy to acknowledge the huge crowds as she rode the final 200 meters of the stage, but in reality she was a broken woman.

After visiting the podium to receive the polka dot mountains jersey, and completing the inevitable TV interview duties, she rode back to the SD Worx team bus, and after a hug and words of encouragement from Stam, turned to face the waiting press.

“I’m completely empty, I feel my whole body is hurting at this moment. I was fighting with everything that I have, now I’m completely empty,” she said, her voice full of fatigue.

“I hoped that I could hang on a bit longer and that we could stay with the big group a bit longer, and there were only two of us so soon,” she explained. “Then I knew I had to hang on as long as possible and try and focus on my breathing and trying to focus on how good I was feeling.

“Then at one moment she was setting this speed and I needed to stand up and my legs exploded completely and it was a bit too much."

Vollering shared that she had told Van Vleuten that her performance was 'not normal' and Van Vleuten was quick to offer Vollering a few words of comfort in return.  

"She said 'I have so much more training experience and training overall, it will come to you'," Volelring recalled. "So let’s hope.”

Though Vollering appears secure in second place with a 1:19 lead on Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM), Vollering hoped for a good recovery overnight and plans to work hard to maintain her standing in the general classification. 

After being sick early in the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar) has recovered and heads to the decisive mountain stages as favourite for the overall.

The Dutch superstar was suffering with stomach issues for the opening days, lost time on the short, sharp uphill finish of stage two, and was dropped on the tougher climbs through the Champagne vineyards on day three. 

“I was so sick that I was not busy with what other people were thinking, I was just thinking about surviving,” Van Vleuten told Cycling Weekly while warming down on the turbo after Friday’s sixth stage, which was won by Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma).

“I don’t think anyone knew because I played some good poker, I didn’t let anyone know I was sick. Maybe some of the girls saw that my team mates pushed me a lot on the second and third day, but on the second day I was not surprised [she was not attacked] because they did not know.

“I was scared that there would be echelons from the start because that would have been disaster for me, I lost something but not too much. On the third day I paid the price for being sick the two days before.

“Now it’s not in my head, accept the situation and move on and take the best out of it. I am looking forward to tomorrow [Saturday.]

The gravel of the following stages also seemed to present the Movistar rider with problems, but her GC rivals still did not attack and put time into the pre-race favourite, despite the illness by then being public knowledge. 

“It was so hard on the gravel we also had no idea of who punctured and he DS had no overview we had no overview because of the gravel, so it’s not easy to create something,” explained DSM’s GC hopeful Juliette Labous.

While Van Vleuten refused to talk about the climbs on the weekend’s stages, Labous was happy to. The 23-year-old lives near Besançon, only a 50 minutes’ drive from the start of Sunday’s stage to Super Planche des Belles Filles, and knows all the weekend’s climbs well.

So which is the hardest day?

“I would say tomorrow, but Sunday will also be hard because we will have done Saturday’s stage before, but if you look at the profile and you ride them separately it is tomorrow.”

Stage seven takes the peloton 127.1km between Sélestat and Le Markstein, a ski resort just below the 13.5km climb of the famous Grand Ballon.

Before that they have the ascents of Petit Ballon and the Col du Platzerwasel to contend with. Both average over 8% and both are over seven kilometres, and with little flat all day long it could prove decisive.

“I think it can be a small group at the finish because you have a small downhill and then a flat part which can bunch it up a bit, but the peloton will be really split,” asserted Labous.

Other riders Cycling Weekly asked thought Saturday would be the decisive stage, and even that we would know the winner on Saturday.

“I honestly think stage seven is going to be the hardest with all that climbing,” said Veronica Ewers (EF Education-Tibco-SVB). “You have an eight kilometre climb and move immediately into another eight kilometre climb, then the long climb to the Grand Ballon, it’s going to be brutal and that could be the decision maker.”

Sunday is no walk in the park either. A second category climb comes after 52 of the 123.3km, then they ascend the Ballon d’Alsace, but it’s Super Planche des Belles Filles that is the real challenge.

 “There are also some punchy climbs in the middle that I think will split the peloton,” continued Ewers. “I think the GC favourites will be in that first split, and then hopefully, hopefully for spectator's sake, it'll be a pretty awesome race up.”

Labous thinks the GC winner will be decided there. At seven kilometres it averages only 8.7%, but has ramps of over 10% and finishes with 24%. On gravel.

“It’s really a hard one, until the gravel it’s always steep or false flat really, not steady but super hard, and then the gravel is just the finisher and really tough.”

Will Van Vleuten be beaten?

“We will see,” says Labous. “We are used two her being first on GC already from the first half of the stage race, this is new and it all depends on how she’s feeling.”

Through foothills of the Vosges Mountains and rolling vineyards of Alsace, stage six of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift ended in another victory for Marianne Vos.

The lumpy terrain was expected to be the first of three days for the general classification, but the race played out differently, a large breakaway getting up the road, those teams who missed out forced to chase or accept defeat.

Among that front group former British time trial champion Anna Henderson is one of Vos’s team mates, affording Jumbo-Visma the privilege of not chasing. The 23 year-old even put in a few attacks of her own but when they were caught she tried to help in the lead out.

“It was good, I’ve felt pretty bad all week, but I feel like everyone’s come down to my level now,” Henderson joked after exchanging embraces with team mates, including the yellow jersey clad Vos.

“I was dangling off the back of the group and I thought I could come through and maybe take one last pull but Karlijn [Swinkels] and Riejanne [Markus] did such a good job to position her, and once Marianne’s in the zone in the last kilometre you can’t really do much to help, so I bailed out.

“We wanted to keep yellow but we came here to win stages and that’s what she does.” 

A good sprinter after a long day, Henderson might have had an opportunity to sprint for the win herself, but ultimately the benefited when other squads chased the break down.

“It was just to make things hard because we knew that behind Marianne is super strong in the climbs, and if you’re up the road then you can take the stage win, but of course Marianne does Marianne things.”

So what is it like to work for Marianne Vos?

“It’s pretty easy to be honest because she wins.”

Despite being a hilly day the race ended in a bunch sprint, which was not expected in the Jumbo-Visma team.

“We were expecting a breakaway or a sprint form a small group for Marianne,” explained Dutch road champion Riejanne Markus. “But UAE was not in the break and Valcar was not there, and I think they wanted to go for Persico [second on GC] so they chased and it turned into a good situation for us.”

Markus is an accomplished rider in her own right, not only is she national champion but she is a talented time trialist and decent climber. However, despite the race moving into the Vosges Mountains proper for the final two stages, six women teams make it difficult to protect her and go for stages.

“It’s really nice if you have someone like Marianne in the team, you know that every day you can go for the win and that’s a nice motivation. We need to go full gas every day for it but it’s also very nice and very motivating.”

Vos has held both the overall leader’s maillot jaune and the green points jersey since she won her first stage on day two, and some have speculated she can win the race overall. Markus thinks otherwise. 

“No, I think that the upcoming days are too tough for me for Marianne as well. Normally it would be nice [to try in the mountains] but after this hard work for six days it would be quite impossible to expect something for the upcoming days.

"I think the green jersey should be a nice goal for the next days so I think will stay with her."

Sacrifice is easy when you’re winning.

It’s not unusual to see cuts and road rash at the finish of a race, but Chantal van den Broek-Blaak’s right arm was a right mess after stage five of the Tour de France Femmes.

As she emerged from the SD Worx team bus and into the shade of the riverside trees to chat with her team manager, she was sporting a number of open gashes on her right forearm, clearly from contact with a chainring. There were two large swellings above and below.

“I’m fine, I don’t have any pain, but it’s open,” she told Cycling Weekly.

The former world champion was one of many riders taken down in a huge crash with 42 of the 175.6km remaining. On a long, straight and wide road there was no apparent reason for the massive pile-up, which took out upwards of 50 riders and left a huge heap where riders where indistinguishable from their bikes.

Once untangled from the mess, TV coverage showed Van den Broek-Blaak receiving treatment for her wounds, with blood streaming down her right wrist.

“I just rode in over the girls and I think a few girls fell on top of me,” the Dutch rider said. “Demi and Marlen [Vollering and Reusser, SD Worx teammates] were saying it happened next to them and it was a bag of food, so it’s just the concentration. It was a long, straight road and with stages like this when it’s 175km and flat you know you cannot concentrate for four-and-a-half hours, so it can happen.”

Other riders reported the cause was a dropped bidon, and with the bunch so tightly packed any dropped bottles are likely to cause a catastrophic incident.

The only abandon at the time of the incident was Danish Movistar rider Emma Norsgaard. The team reported on Twitter that she suffered injuries to her head, cervical vertebrae and left shoulder. She has been taken to hospital.

In addition, the post-race report from organisers ASO showed 15 other riders suffered injuries amounting to skin abrasions and trauma, so it would be no surprise if others abandon overnight.

“I don’t know what happened,” said Olivia Baril (Valcar Travel and Service), who was one of those who crashed. “I was talking with Silvia [Persico, teammate] and everything was fine, I was taking a gel and then everyone crashed so it was a bit weird.

“I knew that 50 per cent of the bunch was on the ground so on the front they were going to wait, so it wasn’t too hard  to come back but it’s just bothers the mood a little bit because it was unnecessary, in the middle of a big flat road and nothing to fight for.”

The race has suffered an unusually high number of crashes in its opening five days, with many issues being blamed. They range from concentration to a lack of experience among some in the bunch. 

What is sure though is that the men’s race is notorious for its first week crashes, so it is just as likely to be the intensity of racing causing extra risks.

Tour de France Femmes riders have criticised the length of Thursday’s fifth stage of the Tour de France Femmes, saying it makes racing boring. 

At 175.6km the fifth stage of the race was the longest in modern day women’s racing, and certainly the longest race since the Women’s WorldTour was created in 2016. 

Unsurprisingly the race concluded in a bunch sprint, won by Lorena Wiebes (DSM) but the distance made for tedious viewing, as the race transitioned from Bar-le-Duc to St-Dié-des-Vosges, in eastern France.

“Boring,” was Kasia Niewiadoma’s single word answer when asked how the stage went. “Boring, but I’m happy that we all stayed safe on the bike. The final was fun but I wish the stage was shorter and we could do fun things more that just the final.”

That 119 of the 128 finishers crossed the line within 1-36 of the winner is proof women can easily ride the distance, but the women’s sport is known more for its dynamic, aggressive nature and that simply is not possible for four and a half hours.

“To be honest there’s nothing in my eyes good in long stages because they’re not exciting to watch and they are boring for us,” the Canyon-SRAM rider continued. “Also they are dangerous, people lose their concentration because after riding three or four hours very easy it’s hard to get the sharpness in your head so because of that we see quite a lot of unnecessary crashes,” she said referring to the huge pile up which happened with just over 40kms remaining.

“It’s not like we race 80km, we still race 130 for example which is very dynamic exciting and I feel like that’s more than enough.”

Niewiadoma also rebutted the argument longer stages are deliberately placed to increase fatigue head of the race’s key stages.

“But we go slow! The longer the slower, I’ve never done more than 140km of full action, maybe at Strade Bianche, but in a stage race whenever a stage is long everyone takes it as a recovery day.”

Even Strade Bianche is only 136km.

“I’m not so sure,” said former world champion Chantal van den Broek-Blaak (SDWorx) when asked about the accumulation of fatigue. “Today was just a boring race, of course it makes you tired but when you have an aggressive race of three hours then it makes you even more tired.

“It makes no sense to make it longer in my opinion. Yesterday was around 130 and the day before as well, I think that’s the perfect distance to race aggressive. Maybe for the classics it’s fine, but you see today it was a boring race and that happens when you make it longer. It’s the same for the men.”

None of the riders Cycling Week;y spoke with felt the race distance made for exciting racing.

"The crash made it more exciting, that's for sure," said Olivia Baril (Valcar Travel and Service).

Though women’s one day classics regularly exceed 150km, the 160 mark is rarely broken. The 2019 Ronde van Drenthe was 165.7km, while the previous WorldTour stage race record was the 165.1km fourth stage of the 2020 Giro Rosa between Assisi and Tivoli. Won by Lizzy Banks that stage was passive, two women getting up the road and Lizzy Banks (now riding with EF Education Tibco-SVB) taking the win.

While that day in Italy had a 10km neutral roll out it was still short of Thursday’s Tour stage, which totalled 179.6km with four kilometres of neutral.

UCI regulations allow for a maximum race length of 160km for both one day races individual stages, so race organisers, ASO were obliged to apply to the governing body for special dispensation to run such a long day.

Race lengths can often be a by-product of which towns are suitable to host the race, and both Bar-le-Duc and St Dié-les-Vosges are historic towns with a history in the men’s Tour de France and sufficient infrastructure to handle such an event.

Marlen Reuser helped ease the pressure on SD Worx with a solo win at stage four of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift on Wednesday. 

The European time trial champion attacked the peloton with just over 23km remaining just ahead of the final of four gravel sectors, quickly gaining an unassailable lead. she then time trialed her way to victory, winning by 1:24.

The victory is the first in the Tour de France for SD Worx, who have consistently been the world’s best team in recent years. While they are vying to win the overall at Planche des Belles Filles on Sunday, the success will allow them to concentrate on the coming mountain stages.

Up to now the team’s best result had been third places, and while that is no disaster, they lost time on day two, and the Swiss rider’s victory will add winning confidence in the team’s plan.

“It was the plan to really make the race hard,” said Reusser in the post-race press conference, flitting seamlessly between French, German and English. 

“It was very difficult, especially when the race entered the first sector when we were not so well positioned, but then we slowly rode to the front and created the situation we wanted, with our GC riders up there in company with as many as possible."

“We had quite a small group and we were with five riders, so if we don’t try then we never try. I wasn’t the only one to attack, we all attacked multiple times and it was this attack that went clear. But it is also a bit of luck, it is the decision of the remaining bunch if they let you go or not, it’s not only up to you. It’s nice in a stage race that they have this interest in the GC, it’s not like a one-day race.”

A European time trial champion and Olympic and World silver medalist against the clock, Reusser had criticised the Tour de France Femmes route for lacking a time trial, and has not changed her mind, despite Wednesday’s effort.

“You can’t say that it was the same after such a long race, the legs do not feel the same compared to when  you prepare specifically for a time trial, it was another discipline,” she added.

Both Wednesday’s stage and Tuesday’s third day had been specific targets for SD Worx, and the victory in Bar-Sur-Aube came after Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio’s third on stage three, so while things are looking up, Monday’s losses mean they are still behind on GC.

“We made a mistake on Monday and we lost seconds that we didn’t expect, now we have to find a balance of how long we protect our GC rider [each stage ],” said team manger Danny Stam.

"Today we wanted to make the race hard and try to keep the pressure on the rest of the GC riders and I think we succeeded with a stage win. It’s cool.” 

One of the GC riders they will be concerned with in Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar). After the Movistar rider’s dominant win at the Giro Donne she began in Paris as the clear favourite for overall victory, with SD Worx’s Demi Vollering somewhat of an unknown quantity, having chosen training instead of racing to prepare for the Tour.

However, Van Vleuten has been unwell, losing time on Tuesday, and looking vulnerable on the climbs and gravel sectors of stage four. That presented the conundrum of whether to attack the stage or attack the main rival before her health is restored.

“At this moment we are not in the first group, so we first look forward and then look backward. If somebody is begging us they need to pass us, but we need to take time back in the front and I think both are the same importance for us.”

Though Thursday’s fifth stage between Bar-le-Duc and St Dié is the longest in WorldTour history, at 175.6km, it is not likely to affect the GC too much. The main challenges will come at the weekend when the race heads to the Vosges Mountains for two days, finishing at Planche des Belles Filles, and more gravel at the top of the brutal climb. 

There can be few more contrasting emotions than those shown by Cecile Uttrup Ludwig in the last two days.

In Provins after stage two of the Tour de France she shuffled dejectedly, eyes puffy from recent tears into a team car after a disastrous day for her FDJ-SUEZ-Futuroscope team which saw four of them, including the Dane crash.

Twenty-four hours later, after a stunning, intelligent and patient victory in Epernay she stood on the podium sharing her emotions with her watching teammates. After doping control she strode into the press room for her press conference, her Danish champion’s jersey as bright as her eyes, her stage winner’s medal still around her neck.

“I think I’ll sleep with this,” she said clutching the medal before the questions began. 

Tuesday was a day of retribution for both Uttrup Ludwig and her team. After finally bagging a WorldTour win last year 2022 has not been kind, COVID, among other things scuppering any hopes of spring success.

While Cavalli was flying high at the Giro Donne earlier in the month, eventually finishing second, Uttrup Ludwig occasionally cut a forlorn figure, seeming to want more than she was able to give, despite knowing the Tour was her target and chance to shine

But in front of journalists in a gym sculpted in the hillside near the finish line she was back to her exuberant, emotional best.

“I felt like I was in quite a good spot being on Marianne’s wheel like under the flamme rouge. And then I kind of lost the position a bit, and I was like, sh*t, oh, no, no, no! And Kasia [Niewiadoma - Canyon-SRAM] was already attacking in the bottom,” Uttrup Ludwig told her completely engrossed audience. 

“And I just kept on fighting, I can come back, I think I can come back, at least the podium come on, at least the podium! And then it's actually looking pretty good.

“It's pretty amazing because yesterday was so sh*t and you had to keep fighting with the team to have the motivation high. That is something I will remember for the rest of my life, I think.

“I also just said it to myself, ‘I'm a  stage winner in the Tour de France. You know, I think that's something I would like, it would look good on my resumé.”

The victory is without doubt the best of the 26 year-old’s career, and while she is clearly talented, she has occasionally been guilty of impatience, being far too ready to make the first move and subsequently losing out. Tuesday’s performance showed none of that, she waited for her moment then passed both Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) and Niewiadoma in the closing metres.

However, the final was not plain sailing after she was dropped on the final classified climb, the Côte de Mutigny, just over 15km from the line.

“I said ‘let’s take this climb easy ladies’ but they were attacking so I got dropped, but then I was with Marianne [Vos] and we were just truing because we still believed then Vollering came back and we could see the gap coming down.”

With any win there are celebrations, but the nature, circumstances and location of Uttrup Ludwig’s mean Champagne is definitely on the menu for FDJ-SUEZ-Futuroscope, however, there are stiffer challenges to come.

Uttrup Ludwig will begin stage four 10th overall, 1-48 behind leader Vos and will have to switch focus to the longer climbs to come at the weekend.

“I have GC ambitions, so I kind of need to be able to climb a little bit, but I'm still kind of a punchy rider, but I hope that I'm also able to do the long climbs , but I guess we'll have to see if it’s good enough at the weekend.”

After just one day day in the yellow jersey Lorena Wiebes was understandably disappointed to lose the overall lead of the Tour de France Femmes. 

The DSM rider finished fifth on the race’s second stage, some 29 seconds behind the day’s winner, Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) who took the yellow jersey from her. Wiebes and her DSM team were distanced after a late intermediate sprint which came on the finish line, at the top of a short but sharp climb in the town of Provins, east of Paris.

Over the top Trek-Segafredo ripped the race to pieces, forcing a six woman group of the front from which Vos was able to take advantage.

“The day didn’t start very good because I has a small crash in the neutral, and we were all under control until the intermediate sprint,” Wiebes said after warming down on a stunning yellow sparkle Scott bike.

“It was a really smart move from Trek to go directly after the intermediate sprint and I was a bit too tired to react, I needed some recovery. We tried to close it directly afterwards, but they worked really good together on the front.”

The final kilometre was entirely uphill, and while it was not too steep, with a maximum of only 5.5%, it was always going to be a challenge for a sprinter like Wiebes. She though, was confident of being able to win the stage and did win the uphill bunch kick to finish sixth.

The day was a nervous one, marred by crashes which took out a number of riders including one of the pre-race favourites, Marta Cavalli (FDJ-SUEZ-Futuroscope). Other than the loss of the overall lead, DSM came through the day unscathed, chatting together while warming down, but Wiebes blamed the wind.

“Everyone was nervous because of the cross winds and everyone wants to be in position and most of time then crashes happen. Nobody gives each other space of course because everyone who wants to be in the front.”

Tuesday’s third stage is unlikely to see such conditions, and the 133.6km from the centre of Reims through the Champagne vineyards to Epernay is likely to be defined by four classified climbs, three of which come in the second half of the race. 

The finish is the same the one on which Julian Alaphilippe (Quickstep Alpha Vinyl) won, taking yellow in the 2019 men’s Tour de France, and, with Wiebes’s own yellow now gone attention will turn away from her.

“More important is the GC for Juliette [Labous] so if they don’t take too much energy we’ll also go for green, but I think tomorrow will fit Liane [Lippert] really good.”

During Sunday’s opening stage rumours emerged in the Dutch media that Wiebes is set to leave DSM at the end of the season and is set to join SDWorx. While the team would not confirm her destination they admitted she would be leaving, while Wiebes herself regretted the way the news emerged.

“I think the timing was not the best because of course, I wanted to tell i the girls personally, and I had not time during the race,” she said. “That's not the best moment but we are professional riders and we keep on achieving our goals for the rest of the season, and we make it a great season.

“This team really brought me up as a rider and my development went really fast. I'm happy to be in this team and why I said we make it a great year.”

It’s not unheard of for fairly routine sprint days to end with general classification changes, but stage two of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift was unexpectedly chaotic.

SD Worx were one team to try their luck in early crosswinds, but it was not quite in the right direction, but the threat of splits caused nervousness in the bunch. With a large peloton and a wide spectrum of abilities from hardened professionals to some riders who are at best semi professional chaos ensued.

One source who preferred to remain anonymous told Cycling Weekly the level of skill in the bunch was too wide for a race as significant as the Tour de France, pointing out that some riders had never ridden in the WorldTour peloton before.

Twenty-four teams and 144 riders is a larger peloton than in many races, but this year’s Tour of Flanders had the same size peloton.

While Marianne Vos won the stage, the main beneficiary among the GC riders was Elisa Longo Borghini. Her Trek-Segafredo team had anticipated where the wind might do most damage and attacked after the intermediate sprint at the top of the short, steep final climb creating a group of six.

“We thought it was a good place to attack because there were some crosswinds and we wanted to gain time on GC,” explained the Italian who had teammate and world champion Elisa Balsamo with her. They achieved their aim, along with with Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM), Longo Borghini put 29 seconds into SD Worx’s Demi Vollering and a surprise 34 into Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar).

Such an advantage might be small but it gives both of them a buffer with the mountains coming on the final two stages this weekend.

“I can pace myself really strong on the climbs but maybe I cant follow the pure climbers, so maybe I need to gain some time somewhere,” Longo Borghini continued. “It’s like saving a little bit of money so then I have something to spare, but the pure climbers are probably 10 kilos less than me.”

The biggest losers of the day were FDJ-SUEZ-Futuroscope. Marta Cavalli, their Italian climber who finished second to Van Vleuten in the recent Giro Donne crashed and failed to finish, heading to hospital for scans

The team’s leader, Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig lost 1:38 after going down too, and their other climbing threat, former French champion Evita Muzic crashed in the final three kilometres and was eventually credited with finishing 34 seconds down.

“We know the rules before the race, and it’s the first Tour de France but not the last. There are six more stages but now I want to be sure my riders are okay, but I’m sure of one thing, we do not lose the battle,” said team manager Stephen Delcourt with a mixture of defiance and deep disappointment.

Vollering was sanguine about the loss of time. “I think it will not make too much difference,” she told Cycling Weekly. “I mean the last two days are really long climbs so I hope we can do very well there on long climbs, and maybe we can make it right or somewhere else before.

“I expected that it would be hectic today and I saw there was a lot of wind so I thought it would be a hard race but this that happened? No, I didn’t expect that.”

Lorena Wiebes (Team DSM) won the opening stage of the Tour de France Femmes, sprinting her way into the yellow jersey.

With Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) starting her sprint early, Wiebes was forced to counter, eventually coming over the top in the closing metres taking the win a bike length ahead of her Dutch compatriot. Lotte Kopecky (SDWorx) was third.  

It was another patient performance from Team DSM who were nowhere to be seen as the front of the race passed under the one kilometre marker. But as the race rounded the final right hand bend the team positioned their rider perfectly. 

Vos’ Jumbo-Visma team mate, Anna Henderson was her final lead out, while Wiebes waited slightly further back, out of the wind. Then, as Henderson began to wane Wiebes was able to react the moment Vos started her sprint. 

The win came at the end of a chaotic stage 81.7km stage. The opening day of such a hyped and significant race, held in what can only be described as an iconic location, was never likely to be uneventful, and the day was an entertaining one of repeated attacks and small breakaways.

Monday’s second stage between Meaux and Provins is another flat one, and could well be another bunch kick, though a kick up to the line may bring a different outcome to Sunday’s opening day. 

How it happened

After a long wait a Tour de France for women was finally back. While there were earlier attempts at a women’s Tour, organisers of the men’s race ran an event for women between 1984 and ’89. When that disappeared other organisations tried to carry the race on, but it finally ran out of steam in 2009.

In 2014 ASO gave the world some hope with the one day La Course by Le Tour de France, which itself graduated from criterium race around the Paris circuit the men grace on stage 21, to other dates and parts of France.

But now a genuine Tour de France for women is back, though it’s only eight stages and doesn’t tour round France, remaining in the north-east. And we were back in Paris for stage one, a race difficult to differentiate from the first three editions of La Course. 

Though the stage started at the Eiffel Tower, as opposed to Place de la Concorde where La Course used to, the opening leg was neutralised, the race only starting on the finish line on the Champs Elysées and riding 11 laps of the central Paris circuit, making for a total of 81.6km, as opposed to to 89km in 2014.

That did not make the race any less significant though, with any rider or team with a whisper of a chance of that first yellow jersey desperate to win it. And fittingly there were attacks from the gun, EF Education-Tibco-SVB the first to up the pace, though it was Arkea who were the first to get a gap with Amandine Fouquenet, though she was back in the bunch long before the end of the first lap.

On the second circuit Human Powered Health’s Dutch climber Nina Buijsman got away, though she was caught by seven others, making too large a group at the front for such a short race. The peloton, and specifically the DSM team of pre-race favourite Lorena Wiebes were in no mood to allow them any space and they were caught before the end of the lap.

The race was never likely to be a passive one and soon afterwards Ceratizit-WNT’s French rider, Laura Asencio attacked and built a slim margin, but was in turn caught after a couple of kilometres.

And so began a pattern, an individual or small group would get away, build lead of around 30 seconds before being closed down, the lure of intermediate sprints and a two mountains classification points causing teams to shut the gaps.

Vos won the first intermediate and Kopecky the second, with Femke Markus (Parkhotel Valkenburg) surviving from a group of three to triumphantly secure the mountains jersey.

But even with less than 20km to go the race did not settle, Gladys Verhulst (Le Col-Wahoo) attacked over the top of Markus’s success and quickly built a lead of 35 seconds. Behind Movistar were first to steady the ship, other teams coming to help when the French rider’s lead exceeded 40 seconds.

As the final lap began DSM made their presence felt at the front of the peloton, and with other sprinters’ team the gap began to evaporate and Verhulst was caught just under two kilometres from the line. 

Meanwhile, with the leader caught DSM disappeared from the front only returning to take the win.

ResultTour de France Femmes avec Zwift, stage one: Paris Eiffel Tower - Paris Champs Elysées (81.6km)

1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) DSM in 1-54
2. Marianne Vos (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 
3. Lotte Kopecky (Bel) SDWorx
4. Rachele Barbieri (Ita) Liv-XSTRA
5. Emma Bjerg (Den) Movistar
6. Maike van der Duin
7. Elisa Balsamo (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
8. Simone Boilard (Can) Sit Michel-Auber93
9. Tamara Dronova (n/a) Roland-Cogeas-Edelweiss
10. Vittoria Guazzini (Ita) FDJ-SUEZ-Futuroscope all at same time 

General classification after stage one 

1. Lorena Wiebes (Ned) DSM in 1-53-50
2. Marianne Vos (Ned) Jumbo-Visma at 04 sec
3. Lotte Kopecky (Bel) SDWorx at 06 sec
4. Rachele Barbieri (Ita) Liv-XSTRA at 10 sec
5. Emma Bjerg (Den) Movistar
6. Maike van der Duin
7. Elisa Balsamo (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
8. Simone Boilard (Can) Sit Michel-Auber93
9. Tamara Dronova (n/a) Roland-Cogeas-Edelweiss
10. Vittoria Guazzini (Ita) FDJ-SUEZ-Futuroscope all at same time 

Annemiek van Vleuten confirmed her third Giro Donne victory on Sunday, the Movistar rider finishing in the bunch after a sprint finish in Padova. 

Van Vleuten took the overall lead in the heat of last Monday’s fourth stage and never looked like ceding control, extending her lead with a second win on stage eight and only losing time on the penultimate day, though by then she knew victory was assured. 

The woman she lost time to was Marta Cavalli (FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope) rider finishing second overall, almost tow minutes down. Having been in second place since stage four, Mavi García slipped to other place on Saturday, retuning that position in the final general classification.

As predicted the final stage finishes in a bunch, with Valcar Travel and Service rider Chiara Consonni taking the honours after a long range sprint. Her Italian compatriot Rachele Barbieri (Liv-Xstra) took section place while Emma Berg (Movistar) took third, her best result of the race overall.

Fittingly given her status in the sport, Van Vleuten’s win puts her in rarified company, her three wins are only bettered by Fabiana Luperini, who won five editions between 1998 and 2008, and Anna van der Breggen with four. Alongside Van Vleuten are Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma) and Swiss Nicole Brändle.

This year’s Giro was an excellent edition. The GC might have been decided on stage four, but the race provided exciting and dynamic racing throughout.

The race is often lost in the Tour de France hype, though organisers are hoping to change the date for next year’s race to avoid French event, and this gain more publicity.

How it happened

The Giro Donne has headed south again, away from the relative cool of the Alpine foot hills to Padova, at 12 metres above sea level, and into the low 30s heat once more. 

With a population of 211,000 the city, close to Venice, is the biggest the race visited in this event, and the race was set to finish in Prato dell Valle, Italy’s biggest piazza and one of the largest city squares in Europe. A sign of the race’s increased prestige.

It was the shortest road stage of the week, only 90.5km, starting in Abano Terme, a few kilometres south west of the finish city, heading west for the day’s only classified climb, then looping south through Monselice, before heading north for the largely flat run to the finish.

The flag dropped and an attacks came immediately, Eva Maria Gatscher (Mendelspeck) gaining a small advantage, though she was caught ahead of the classified climb 21.7km into the race.

The race emerged from the climb split into two parts but soon regrouped before three more riders headed up the road, they too didn’t last long, and finally two more got away. Krista Doebel-Hickok (EF Education-Tibco-SVB), Alessia Vigilia (Top Girls Fassa-Bortolo) managing to build a lead of 1-30, while DSM and Trek-Segafredo led the peloton

Doebel-Hickok and Vigilia’s lead extended out to nearly two minutes at one point, but the sprinters’ teams were hungry for another, final chance of glory. As the race entered the closing 25km Canyon-SRAM and Movistar headed to the front to help and the gap finally dropped below one minute.

With the Trek-Segafredo team of double stage winner Elisa Balsamo on the front the gap dropped fast and the leader’s advantage was less than 30 seconds as they entered the race’s closing 10km, already navigating the suburbs of Padova.

With the breakaway caught at 4.4km, Balsamo was briefly separated from her leadout, only finding them with one kilometre to go, Lucinda Brand heading to the front. But the world champion remained detached and was unable to position herself correctly.

As Balsamo tried to go through the middle of the bunch, with 200m to go Rachele Barbieri (Liv-Xstra) went hard on the right, but only succeeded in leading out Chira Consonni, who came round her compatriot  to take her team’s first WorldTour win of the season.

ResultGiro Donne, stage 10: Abano Terme - Padova (90.5km)

1. Chiara Consonni (Ita) Valcar Travel and Service in 2-12-4
2. Rachele Barbieri (Ita) Liv-Xstra 
3. Emma Bjerg (Den) Movistar
4. Elisa Balsamo (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 
5. Sofia Bertizzolo (Ita) UAE Team ADQ
6. Karlijn Swinkels (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
7. Clara Copponi (Fra) FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope
8. Lotte Kopecky (Bel) SDWorx
9. Martina Fidanza (Ita) Ceratizit-WNT
10. Teniel Campbell (TTO) BikeExchange-Jayco all at same time 

Final general classification 

1. Annemiek van Veuten (Ned) Movistar in 27-07-26
2. Cavalli (Ita) FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope at 1-52
3. Mavi García (Esp) UAE Team ADQ Marta at 5-56
4. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Trek-Segafredo at 6-45
5. Niamh Fisher-Black (NZ) SDWorx 11-12
6. Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Den) Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope at 12-22
7. Silvia Persico (Ita) Valcar Travel and Service 13-08
8. Erica Magnaldi (Ita) UAE Team ADQ at 15-13
9. Juliette Labous (Fra) DSM at 15-49
10. Neve Bradbury (Aus) Canyon-SRAM at 17-29

Organisers of the Giro Donne have told Cycling Weekly they are beginning negotiations to start the 2023 race in the Rome.

The race has not visited the capital since Marianne Vos won an individual time trial in the city in 2012, and having the Grande Partenza in the Eternal City would be a significant step forward for the race’s prestige.

The move is set to be formally announced at a press conference to close the race in Padova on Sunday afternoon, but the General Director of the race, Roberto Ruini confirmed the move in an interview with Cycling Weekly.

“The aim is to start in 2023 from Rome,” Ruini explained. “We know it is very, vey complicated  and difficult but considering the importance of Rome and the importance of the race it is a very good idea.”

This year is Ruini’s second leading the race since PMG and Starlight Sport took it over from the former director Giuseppe Rivolta after the 2020 event. 

During the final years of Rivolta’s reign leading what remains the longest race on the women’s calendar, the event received increasing criticism from riders and press alike, poor publicity, stage locations and rider conditions all issues. Though he managed to host the event in the 2020 pandemic season, when it was the only WorldTour stage race, the Giro was relegated from the WorldTour, the UCI citing a lack of TV coverage among their reasons. 

Under Ruini’s management the 2021 event was run as part of the second level ProSeries, interestingly with UCI President David Lappartient’s brother, Jérôme, as chief commissaire. It was a qualified success, TV coverage largely met WorldTour criteria and the 2022 event is back in the top series. 

“Back two years ago when this race was at the lowest point of its difficulties PMG decided to take care of it and put all its efforts into it,” explained Ruini. Rivolta remains involved as race sporting  technical director, the man with his head out of the lead car each day. 

Under PMG’s management the race is now far more visible, this year more so than 2021. There is better social media, constant press releases, and a more comprehensive and accurate road book. But the main improvement to visibility is the TV coverage, which is not only longer, but far better produced than 2021.

However, the running concurrently with the Tour de France the Italian race is hidden behind a yellow avalanche of articles and coverage from there. 

“I have a lot of respect for ASO, they are an extraordinarily professional organisation, but this is something that must be solved,” continued Ruini. “So we with the UCI and the Federation are taking care of it for the next years to come. Basically the race will be moved from the Tour de France window.

“We are struggling for 2023, but President Lappartient said in an interview a few days ago that it is something that needs to be solved. We think the calendar that came out is not fixed, it’s not set in stone, and it’s something that we need to sort in the next few weeks.”

Riders agree the race needs to move to increase its visibility. “The race is being a bit overshadowed with the men's Tour de France, so maybe having having a different dates could be an advantage and an offer the race  a bit more exposure,” DSM’s Leah Kirchmann told us. “But it’s a big challenge, the calendar is really full and it’s a challenge to schedule it perfectly.”

While Ruini insists the race will avoid the Tour de France in 2023, finding an alternate date for the Giro Donne will prove problematic as it influences other races whose dates are already set. May is unlikely as it would coincide with the men’s race and there are also three Spanish stage races that month.

The Women’s Tour in the UK is currently set to take place between June 6-10 with the three day Ride London possibly returning to the week before should it guarantee adequate TV coverage.

Put the 10 day Giro after the Women’s Tour and there are six stage races consisting of 34 days on seven consecutive weekends. Teams have neither the infrastructure or riders to take part. And where do national championships go?

"We've had no discussion with them [Giro Donne or the UCI] whatsoever. however, our dates have been confirmed with the UCI," Mick Bennett, race director at the Women's Tour told Cycling Weekly.

“Yes of course we need to confirm this with the other organisers, we know there are other races that would be interfered with and the calendar is super busy, but it’s something we are investigating carefully.”

Under the old management the Giro Rosa, as it was then called, was falling behind, but with PMG and Starlight taking over it has upped its game and profile. No more four woman hotel rooms, no more industrial estate starts and finishes. There’s a mixed zone for journalists to interview riders, something unheard of before 2021.

TV viewing figures will be published in full late on Sunday, but at least two stages have had more than 500,000 live viewers on Italian national TV alone.

Stage eight began in the nationally significant Rovereto Museum of Modern Art, and Sunday’s final day concludes in Prato della Valle, Italy’s largest piazza and one of Europe’s largest squares.

“Our ambition is to get other people to understand how important it is to get the women’s cycling along with the beautiful and astonishing locations together so people see the improvement around this race.”

Minutes after Marta Cavalli crossed the line dejected, finishing second on the Giro Donne’s penultimate stage she was smiling for the press. Though she had not achieved her aim of a stage win, second overall will be confirmed provided she finishes in Padova on Sunday.

For the second day in a row the 24 year-old FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope rider had been able to dictate the race. And while she was unable to put pressure on race leader Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar), she had turned third place with a 41 second deficit into to second place with a buffer of 4-18 over Mavi García (UAE Team ADQ). 

“Yesterday after the stage, I was so happy because finally I did the race I expected,” she explained, shouting against the podium announcer a few metres away. “Last evening I spoke with my coach and he said, ‘you have one day more in the pocket, you can do another day like today.'"

The team tried to control the race but on the first of three ascents Italian climber Gaia (Realini Isolmant-Premac-Vittoria) and eventual stage winner Kristen Faulkner (Bike Exchange-Jayco) got away. Then, on the descent Cavalli’s team mate Brodie Chapman was part of a four woman group who headed up the road, putting in place the team’s stage strategy of having someone ahead to help out if needed.

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig and Evita Muzic helped out on the climbs but on the final, punishing ascent of Passo Daone it was Cavalli’s moment, taking the lead after García attacked but achieved little.

“When we arrived at the last climb I thought only to win the stage because it was so important for me during this Giro. I never I attacked I just kept my pace, and I tried to push harder in the last five kilometres of the climb, it was really hard.”

Van Vleuten stayed with her to the top, and though the Dutch woman was distanced on the descent they joined together with Realini and Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo)

“We tried to really go full gas to close the gap to Faulkner, because it was my dream to win stage in this Giro. I am now sad and disappointed because a lot of people came here to support me and I think they deserved a win."

Two second places, one third and fourth place on the race’s only mountain top finish alone would be enough for most, but second on GC is the realisation of the team’s ambitions for the year, along with Cavalli winning both Amstel Gold and Flèche Wallonne in the spring.

The team have matured hugely in the last four years and, barring disaster will finish in Padova on Sunday as by far and away the race’s best team. They started with three classy climbers in Cavalli, Uttrup Ludwig and Muzic and will take the same core to the Tour de France Femmes, with Cavalli switching roles to support Uttrup Ludwig in the GC battle.

Her performance on home soil over the last 10 days has seen Cavalli develop from a promise into a real GC contender and  she is hopeful for the future.

“I'm confident,” she asserts with total authority. “I already did a big jump with my coach and with my team, we know I have some a gap to close but I can improve. We just have to go step by step, don’t push too much and wait for my body’s answer and we will see where I can go. For the moment I'm really happy about what I did until today.”

Kristen Faulkner took a breakaway win for the ages winning stage nine of the Giro Donne on Saturday.

Having been in the breakaway on Friday’s stage, the American escaped the front of the race about half way up the day’s opening climb, with about 95km to go. Riding with Italian climber Gaia Realini, the BikeExchange-Jayco rider built a lead of about 3-30, dropping the Italian and riding solo for the final 26km to take her second win so far in the 10 days race.

It really was a remarkable ride from the American, who was last to be caught on yesterday’s mountainous stage, and finished fourth. Not only that but behind her her the GC riders were swinging punches.

Elisa Longo Boghini (Trek-Segafredo) riding hard in an effort to move on to the overall podium and Marta Cavalli (FDJ-Nouvele Aquitaine Futuroscope) attacking a small group late on hoping to take the stage. In the end Cavalli finished second on the day, 59 seconds behind Faulkner.

Longo Borghini led home for third place, with overall leader Annemiek van Vleuten taking fourth place, the Movistar rider holding on to her overall lead, only losing 15 seconds to Cavalli.

It was another fantastic day’s racing, with action from the gun through Italy’s mountainous northern vineyards. Though Sunday’s final day might ride through vineyards it will be a stark contrast, riding as it does on the flatlands between Abano Terme and Padova, where a bunch kick is expected.

How it happened 

If stage seven was not the queen stage, then stage nine was. The race might not have finished at the top of a climb as Thursday’s did, but with three demanding climbs on the edge of the Brenta Dolomites to deal with, it was certainly no easier.

Starting in San Michele all’Adige and arriving in San Lorenzo Dorsino 112km and 2758m of climbing later, the ascent to Fei della Paganella was the first obstacle. More than 11km at 6.7% average gradient, it was merely a warm up. Then came Passo Duron, slightly shorter and shallower. 

But the main challenge for the peloton was the Passo Daone. This year’s Cima Coppi - the highest point - it climbed to 1291m above sea level, but it was not the altitude but the 10.2% average gradient for its 6.3km which would be most telling.

The race began in the car park of a college surrounded with Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards, the mountains towering high above the valley of the Adige river, Italy’s second longest. And the moment the flag dropped the attacks began, first a group three escaping, then another break of 13 chancing their arm.

They too were caught, and only as the peloton shrank on the smooth, wide roads of the first climb did two women head up the road, Italian climber, Gaia Realinni (Isolmant-Premac-Vittoria) and Kristin Faulkner (BikeExchange-Jayco) gaining a lead of 40 seconds on a peloton of only around 25 women.

Faulkner had been in the break on stage eight, eventually finishing finishing fourth, and was clearly in the mood for a fight, especially after the team team lost their leader, Amanda Spratt to COVID.

By the time their lead reached one minute, approaching the top of the first climb after 23km, the so-called peloton was a group of only 16 riders. Of the two leaders Faulkner was the highest placed on GC, in 13th overall, but Realiini is the more accomplished climber, though only proven on Italian soil, and while she was no threat to the GC, she was for the stage.

The long descent brought a change in the race dynamic, as the two riders increased their lead on what was by now a nearly full peloton to more than three minutes, four chasers attacked the favourites group in pursuit.

Lucinda Brand (Trek-Segafredo), Anouska Koster (Jumbo-Visma), Brodie Chapman (FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope) and Erica Magnaldi (UAE Team ADQ) headed up the road, sitting about two minutes behind Faulkner and Realini who had a lead of 3-20.

As was expected the peloton split again on the second climb, though it made little difference to the time gaps between the leaders, the chasers and the favourites groups. Chapman and Koster were briefly dropped on the descent but otherwise the race entered a period of calm

On the final climb Mavi García (UAE Team ADQ), who started the day third overall came to the front and upped the pace on the already reduced favourite’s group. Though this made little difference to her rivals, when second placed Marta Cavalli (FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope) upped the pace the group shattered, and with 29.5km to go only the top three on GC remained in the peloton, the Italian joined by Van Vleuten and García. 

As in Friday’s stage García was unable to hold the pace, and slipped backwards as they caught the four woman chasing group, including, in a tactical masterstroke, Cavalli’s team mate Chapman, who briefly worked then passed her bottle before dropping back.

Just over one kilometre from the top of the climb Faulkner attacked, riding away to win both the Cima Coppi prize and the green climbers jersey, reaching the top 25km from the finish, still with a lead of two minutes.

After Van Vleuten’s stage eight crash it was expected that Cavalli would attack the descent, but it was surprising when the Italian opened a gap instantly, though the Dutch rider was fully aware she was unlikely to lose 2-13 lead she started the day with.

After the descent the two came together just as Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) latched on the back, the trio then catching Realini. With 15km remaining Faulkner was still 1-47, but even with Longo Borghini working hard to relegate García from the podium, and all four trying to keep the pace high, they made little impact on the leader, who entered the final 10km with a lead of 1-30.

Seven kilometres later Cavalli launched her last gasp effort to win the stage, leaving Van Vleuten behind, but she was unable and Faulkner took the day.

ResultGiro Donne, stage nine: San Michele all’Adige - San Lorenzo Dorsino Race (112.8km)

1. Kristen Faulkner (USA) BikeExchange-Jayco in 3-36-36
2. Marta Cavalli (Ita) FDj-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope at 59 sec
3. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Trek-Segafredo at 1-14
4. Annemiek van Vleuten (Ned) Movistar at same time
5. Gaia Realini (Ita) Isolmant-Premac-Vittoria
6. Niamh Fisher-Black (NZ) SDWorx at 3-35
7. Silvia Persico (Ita) Valcar Travel and Service (Ita) at same time 
8. Juliette Labous (Fra) DSM at 3-38
9. Mavi García (Esp) UAE Team ADQ at 3-42
10. Erica Magnaldi (Ita) UAE Team ADQ at 4-06

General classification after stage nine

1. Annemiek van Veuten (Ned) Movistar in 24-55-08
2. Cavalli (Ita) FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope at 1-52
3. Mavi García (Esp) UAE Team ADQ Marta at 6-10
4. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Trek-Segafredo at 6-59
5. Niamh Fisher-Black (NZ) SDWorx 11-26
6. Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Den) Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope at 12-28
7. Silvia Persico (Ita) Valcar Travel and Service 13-22
8. Erica Magnaldi (Ita) UAE Team ADQ at 15-27
9. Juliette Labous (Fra) DSM at 15-49
10. Neve Bradbury (Aus) Canyon-SRAM at 17-43

By winning stage eight of the Giro Donne Annemiek van Vleuten made a third title almost inevitable. But despite her amazing and unequalled strength and race craft, she has one weakness.

While she is far from the peloton’s worst descender she is not the best and that showed during Friday’s stage in Trentino.

All that was left for the 39 to do to win the stage was to ride the stage’s remains 4.9km but on a ride hand hairpin bend she went in too hot and went down on her right side. As befits a champion of her standing, she picked herself and the bike up, got bak on and not only won the stage but extended the gap she had when crashed. 

Despite her extended advantage she was not too happy.

“In the final kilometres I made stupid mistake on the descent, so I feel it’s a bit disappointment that I made such a stupid, unnecessary mistake,” she told the post race TV interviewer.

“Sorry mum, sorry mum watching me, but I’m all good so nothing happened I managed to not make it bad but, it was unnecessary so I feel a bit stupid for that.”

Thirty minutes later, as she headed from her warm down to the press tent she could be seen walking gingerly, though not limping, but insisted she felt fine, despite a swelling on her right forearm having emerged.

“I’m feeling fine. I felt that I could not make the corner so I just went straight into the bars to prevent a severe crash. It was bit stupid and unnecessary as I had a good lead, so that was a small not-so-good from today. I was stupid but I’m fine.”

That descent was ridden twice, the first time in the middle of the race after the climb of Passo Bordala, the second time from Lago di Cei coming only 12km from the line. The first time Elisa Longo Borghini and her Trek-Segafredo team mate Lucinda Brand set about putting the pressure on all three overall GC podium positions.

And they succeeded. Mavi García (UAE Team ADQ) was dropped, while Van Veuten found herself forced to chase after being caught win the wrong side of a split. While she clearly got back on, it is a tactic other teams will continue to use.

Otherwise the day went to plan for the Dutchwoman and her Movistar squad.

“Exactly why you saw on television was the team plan, to set it up in the last climb and then I could take time on the GC riders today,” she explained said. “Jelena Erić, my team mate did an awesome job to lead me out for one kilometre, but then you feel the nerves that she has set this up for me so I need to go.”

As you might expect Van Vleuten rarely gives a clue about plans for future stages, but her track record is one of using every day that suits her abilities to grind the opposition into the dust. 

“I’m not going to tell that much, we will have a meeting with the team and we will make a plan and for sure. I’m not so clear on the GC now but I think it will be up to also the girls that want to go on the podium.

“I think that for this year that the ninth stage was the best stage for me to do something because of my recovery and all my endurance that I do, every day I feel recovered so yeah I know it’s in my advantage.”

Annemiek van Vleuten all but cemented her third Giro Donne overall win, taking a second stage victory in Aldeno on Friday.

Despite crashing on the final descent, she was able to finish 29 seconds ahead of Marta Cavalli, whose second place has elevated her to the same position on GC.

Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) had her best day of the race so far, timing her effort to perfection and using her excellent descending skills to their best effect to take third place on the day. 

The stage was active all day, never once settling, making for exciting viewing. 

Van Vleuten was her usual imperious self, the Movistar rider bridging to a lone breakaway rider on the final climb, eventually dropping her and holding off the attentions of Cavalli, the FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine rider establishing herself as a GC winner of the future.

After appearing vulnerable on the earlier descents Van Vleuten’s crash on the descent came when her lead on the Italian was approaching 50 seconds, but despite overcooking a right hander and coming down hard, she was able to extend her lead to 59 seconds in the final five kilometres.

With one more mountain stage to come, before a less challenging final day into Padova on Sunday, she leads overall by 2-13 on Cavalli. 

Saturday though, is no café ride. Starting at San Michele all’Adige and finishing 112km later in San Lorenzo Dorsino, the race takes in three climbs in the Dolomites, including the race’s Cima Coppi (It’s highest point), the Passo Daone, 1291 metres above sea level.

How it happened

For stage eight the Giro Donne has moved further north for a second, possibly decisive mountain stage.

Starting in Rovereto, not far from the northern tip of Lake Garda, and south of Trento, the race head south, returning north up the valley and into the mountains for two significant climbs. 

Passo Bordala came first, 15km at an average gradient of 6.9%, it topped out just over half way. Second was the 10km climb to Lago di Cei, which was 7.3% and sure to see some action. However, the 12km descent to Aldeno was sure provide some opportunities.

Though it might be difficult to upstage the mountains which tower over Rivereto, the town’s Museum of Modern and Contemporary Arts tried its best, riders signing on in its serene feeling courtyard.

Attacks came early with, with a number getting small gaps before being dragged back. On the early slopes of the Bordala climb, Australian Brodie Chapman (FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope) took her turn.

With Chapman not far up the road her compatriot, stage one winner Kristen Faulkner (BikeExchange-Jayco) went after her, only for German Clara Koppenburg (Cofidis), to tag along. Faulkner, whose team mate Amanda Spratt abandoned before the stage suffering with COVID taking room mate Georgia Baker with her, eventually headed on alone, while Koppenburg and Chapman worked together. With Anouska Koster (Jumbo-Visma) in pursuit the peloton slipped to 1-48 behind the leader.

Faulkner topped the climb alone with Koppenburg not to far behind and Chapman in the gap ahead of a peloton now consisting of just a handful of riders, including the favourites and race leader Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar).

The same descent would be ridden twice, off each climb, and Lucinda Brand, in the group with Trek-Segafredo team mate Longo Borghini split the group, distancing Mavi García (UAE Team ADQ) who needed team mate Erica Magnaldi to get her back.

Van Vleuten was also briefly distanced, but Brand, and Cavalli who started the day third overall, worked together further distance the Spaniard, Chapman coming back to help her captain, executing the French team’s strategy 

Brand eventually led a small group off the front, though FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope set about closing the gap, catching them some 24km from the line, Faulkner still 1-35 up the road. 

After being distanced by Cavalli on the descent, Van Vleuten had to attack to defend. Team mate Jelena Erić set a furious pace into the bottom of the climb before the race leader attacked, once again taking Cavalli and García with her. Once again the race’s three strongest women were alone on a climb.

With Faulkner still ahead,  at 18.5km to go, Van Vleuten dropped the other two, catching Faulkner who sat on, while behind García was in trouble, the 39 year-old falling back. Cavalli ground her way doggedly on, hoping to climb to second overall

With Cavalli edging ever closer to the leading duo, Van Vleuten went again, and though she dropped Faulkner the Italian was still closing gradually. But the pressure eventually told for the 24 year-old, and the Dutch woman stretched, bent and finally broke the elastic, cresting the final climb 12km from the line with a lead of 34 seconds on the Italian. 

While behind García had completely capitulated, sliding ever backwards the to leaders were just about equal until Van Vleuten’s crash, which seemed either to spur her on or dent Cavalli’s confidence.

ResultGiro Donne, stage eight: Rovereto - Aldeno (112.8km)

1. Annemiek van Vleuten (Ned) Movistar in 3-03-16
2. Marta Cavalli (Ita) FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope at 59 sec
3. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Trek-Segafredo at 1-38
4. Kristen Faulkner (USA) BikeExchange-Jayco at 1-45
5. Niamh Fisher-Black (NZ) SDWorx at 3-01
6. Mavi García (Esp) UAE Team ADQ
7. Juliette Labous (Fra) DSM 
8.Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Den) FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope all at same time 
9. Neve Bradbury (Aus) Canyon-SRAM at 3-10
10. Silvia Persico (Ita) Valcar Travel and Service at 3-59

General classification after stage eight

1. Annemiek van Veuten (Ned) Movistar in 21-17-18
2. Cavalli (Ita) FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope at 2-13
3. Mavi García (Esp) UAE Team ADQ Marta at 3-42
4. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Trek-Segafredo at 7-03
5. Niamh Fisher-Black (NZ) SDWorx 9-05
6. Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Den) Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope at 9-33
7. Silvia Persico (Ita) Valcar Travel and Service 10-41
8. Erica Magnaldi (Ita) UAE Team ADQ at 12-35
9. Juliette Labous (Fra) DSM at 13-25
10. Elise Chabbey (Sui) Canyon-SRAM at 13-29

While the Giro Donne attracts criticism in some parts the smiles following a good performance show the race still means a lot to the riders competing in Italy.

After stage eight at Passo Maniva Juliette Labous’s smile was perhaps the broadest of the winners’ in the seven stages so far. 

The 23 year-old DSM rider crossed the line beaming and, despite the heavy rain which began five minutes after she raised her arms and sent those gathered along the railing running for cover in the Hotel Locanda Bonardi, her smile endured.

“I feel happy and can be really satisfied,” she stated in a matter of fact way which belied the joy obvious on her face. “It’s a lot of work and there were some hard days in the heat so I’m really happy. Finally I can put my arms in the air.” 

The victory came after she joined an early 14 woman breakaway, holding on as the peloton closed and her fellow escapees fell away. “I have never been in a breakaway that goes to the final like that so it was special, I had to think about how to win.”

While she is only 23, the win has been a long time coming. In May she won the overall at the Vuelta a Burgos Feminas, and while that was special, she did not win a stage. Indeed the last time she crossed the line first was at the Tour Feminin in the Czech Republic five years ago.

It’s not that she lacks class in any way. She has European junior titles to her name, did well at junior worlds, and is a former elite French time trial champion. She is persistently in the top 10 of big race, but a real victory eluded her.

She turned professional with what was then Sunweb aged just 18 in 2017, and the following year rode her first Giro, she and team mate Liane Lippert trading the young rider’s jersey until they were finally toppled late in the race.

This edition is her fifth Giro, remarkable for someone so young.

With Sunweb and now DSM she, and plenty of other young women, have been given the opportunity to develop, and this is now bearing fruit for the team. And while Lippert is obviously a punchy climber, it has become clear this this season that Labous is better on long climbs.

She came to the Giro as the team’s GC rider, but her bid for glory was stymied by Monday’s extreme heat, when she capitulated, losing 11 minutes and any chance of the GC. But perhaps it was a blessing in disguise, without that she would never have been allowed up the road on Thursday.

“It shows that I can come back after disappointment, I'm just trying to find a positive out of it. I knew after that stage that GC was over, but I tried to directly switch my focus.

“We said today that I had to be in the break and [the team] would set me up on the first lap, but actually I went in the breakaway anyway, so the plan was perfect. Normally the breakaway is hard to go to get in and today it was kind of easy, it went directly, and then I had to motivate the other girls to to really keep on going to have a big gap.

While the escapees built a lead well over nine minutes, as the final climb approached cohesion began to wane at the same time the peloton began to put pressure on. When Labous finally made her move two riders were 30 seconds up the road, but the peloton was bearing down, only around 1-40 behind when she hit the front, around eight kilometres from the line.

“I was waiting for that moment and it was a bit tricky because the gap was coming down really fast, from five minutes to two minutes, so I thought I have to go as hard as I can and then I was solo. It was really long but I tried to work to my power because I knew what I can do for around 45 minutes.”

While she has at last broken the hoodoo with victory, she remains 10-14 off Annemiek van Vleuten’s (Movistar) overall lead, though she has moved to 12th place on GC, and promised to try again before the week is out. 

However, if there were any doubt before she has shown she is among the best climbers with the Tour de France Femmes approaching in just over three weeks. 

“Selection is not out yet, but if I’m on the Tour I will for sure be confident because I'm happy about my climbing and I think there is  a lot of nice stages there and especially the last two which is which are in my region so I hope I can do well there.”

Juliette Labous won her first stage of a WorldTour race on Thursday, taking a stunning solo win at Passo Maniva in stage seven of the Giro Donne. 

The Frenchwoman had been part of a 14 woman breakaway group which went up the road early in the day, and was last woman standing to take victory by 1-37.

On what was an exciting and tactically fascinating day, Annemiek van Veluten extended her overall lead to 31 seconds, finishing second after finally attacking Mavi García (UAE Team ADQ) in the closing kilometre. At first the Spanish rider seemed to be able to hold the wheel, but such was the savagery and length of Van Vleuten’s effort, she eventually had to concede, rolling over the line four seconds down.

With Marta Cavalli (FDJ-Nouvele Aquitaine Futuroscope) the three women repeatedly traded blows on the final climb, and the young Italian was unable to hold on, but managed her effort well, finishing fourth, another six seconds back.

Having proved they are the strongest climbers on Monday, he three women dominate the GC, sitting in the same order they finished the day, third placed Cavalli 4-09 ahead of fourth place. And, with race in the foothills of the Alps of the next two days, reaching the Dolomites on Saturday, there may well be more shifts in the GC hierarchy.

Friday’s 104.7 stage between Rovereto and Aldeno sees the peloton tackle two tough, long climbs, and if that’s not enough, the 10km descent to the line invites attacks.

How it happened 

The Queen stage, and the only mountain top finish of the ten, day seven of the Giro Donne was one for fireworks.

The route followed the well-established formula for a Giro Donne mountain stage, starting flat and staying flat until a final climb. Starting near Brescia in the village of Prevalle the peloton first looped south, back through the start for three 14.2km laps, before heading south-west and, finally, north, arriving at Passo Maniva 112.9km later.

Not as difficult as other queen stage climbs in recent Giro Donne history, at more than 12km at an average gradient of 7.8%, the climb topped out 1742m above sea level. The climb may not be famous, but it is a stiff challenge, the ramps becoming ever steeper, though it never settles, allowing respite for some but interrupting the rhythm of others

Its is rarely used, stage five of the 2019 Baby Giro being the most recent to finish there. That was won by Colombian Andrés Camilo Ardila, who now rides with UAE Team Emirates, and who won the overall of that year’s event. The winner of Thursday’s Giro Donne stage might well have also won overall. 

Unless, of course, the day’s winner came from a breakaway.

Sure enough, on the first lap 14 women escaped the clutches of the peloton. Elena Cecchini (SDWorx), Alba Teruel (Bizkaia Durango), Mikayla Harvey (Canyon-SRAM), Jennifer Ducuara (Colombia Tierra des Atletas-GW-Shimano), Magdeleine Vallieres Mill (EF Education-Tibco-SVB), Emilia Fahlin (FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope), Beatrice Rossato (Isolmant-Premac-Vittoria), Katia Ragusa (Liv-Xstra), Paula Patiño (Movistar), Georgia Williams (BikeExchange-Jayco), Cristina Tonetti (Top Girls Fassa Bortolo), Amalie Lutro (UNO-X), Alice Arzuffi (Valcar Travel and Service) and Juliette Labous (DSM) soon had a lead of one minute.

Labous started the race as DSM’s GC hopeful, but lost time in the heat of stage four, starting Thursday 11-55 down, in 22nd place. Of the huge breakaway the Frenchwoman was highest placed on GC, though if they stayed away she may have faced a challenge from other climbers, with Patiño and Harvey a particular threat.

With 50km done the breakaway had a lead in excess of a huge eight minutes, and the chance of the race’s first true breakaway win became a possibility, especially when the gap grew to 9-13, the road beginning to rise to gently.

Such was the lead for the breakaway, and specifically for Labous, that she became a genuine threat to anyone but the top three, but other teams helped the Movistar team of overall leader Annemiek van Vleuten, historically the peloton’s best climber, and peloton’s deficit began to fall. 

With 40km to go the lead was down to 8-20 and the breakaway suddenly seemed less secure, and fifteen kilometres later another minute had being lopped off.

Soon afterwards Lutro made a move off the front of the group, though she gained little traction, especially as the race was about to explode. 

Behind, Movistar came to the front of the group and began to work hard cutting more time of the leaders’ advantage. However, as they did so the FDJ-Nouvellle Aquitaine Futuroscope team of third placed Marta Cavalli also moved up, sharing the work and making a statement to the rival squad. 

As the climb proper started Tonetti was caught first by Tonetti, then by by Labous and Williams, the latter quickly despatching the other pair, the French woman soon on her own with seven kilometres to go with a leading of two minutes. But the action was behind. 

Cavalli (FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope) was the first to attack, thinning it and setting in place the team’s two woman strategy. And when she was caught Danish team mate Cecilie Uttrrup Ludwig took to the front, keeping the pace high.

With Labous’s lead for a while at 1-40, but back out to 2-12, Erica Magnaldi came to the front of the the 15 woman bunch to work for her UAE Team ADQ leader, second paced Mavi García, and  fascinating battle of wills developing on the mountainside.

Either Van Vleuten, García or Cavalli would attack, the trio would get a gap, but then be brought back, most often by Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo), only in the final kilometre did one of those ones stick, Van Vleuten heading into second place on the day. 

ResultGiro Donne, stage seven, Prevalli - Passo Maniva Race (112.9km)

1. Juliette Labous (Fra) DSM in 3-22-36
2. Annemiek van Veluten (Ned) Movistar at 1-37
3. Mavi García (Esp) UAE Team ADQ at 1-41
4. Marta Cavalli (Ita) FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope at 1-47
5. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Trek-Segafredo at 1-50
6. Niamh Fisher-Black (NZ) SDWorx 1-57
7. Gaia Realini (Ita) Isolmant-Premac-Vittoria at 2-13
8. Amanda Spratt (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco at 2-29
9. Clara Koppenburg (Ger) Cofidis at 2-37
10. Silvia Persico (Valcar Travle and Service at 2-39

General classification after stage seven

1. Annemiek van Veuten (Ned) Movistar in 18-14-12
2. Mavi García (Esp) UAE Team ADQ Marta at 31 sec
3. Cavalli (Ita) FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope at 1-10
4. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Trek-Segafredo at 5-19
5. Niamh Fisher-Black (NZ) SDWorx 5-54
6. Amanda Spratt (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco at 6-12
7. Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Den) Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope at 6-22
8. Silvia Persico (Ita) Valcar Travel and Service 6-33
9. Erica Magnaldi (Ita) UAE Team ADQ at 8-25
10. Elise Chabbey (Sui) Canyon-SRAM at 8-30

There’s no bus for Team Mendelspeck. While the WorldTeams shelter from the sun in air conditioned comfort, the six riders of the amateur team get ready for stage six of the Giro Donne under a gazebo, team mechanics woking close by.

Mendelspeck is an Italian cured meats company and their branding is on the outside of the shelter, but the riders get changed almost in the public glare. Team manager, Renato Pirrone gives his pre-race briefing on a camping table using the road book, there are no slide down TV screens in this car park.

Among the six riders who set off from the pretty lake-side town of Sarnico are four students studying subjects like law, art and economics, and two full time workers. They do some UCI races, but most weekends you’ll find them racing on the Italian national circuit and all fit in training for the longest race on the women’s calendar around their real life occupations.

“It should be doing my final exams, but instead I’m riding the Giro!” MIlan University law student Alessia Missiaggia told CW as she prepared herself for the stage. 

Since starting the race her professor emailed about the latest chapter of her thesis, “I replied and said thank you, but I’m at the Giro so won’t be looking at it until July 10th.” Her thesis is on the relationship between Austria and Islam, and a new anti-terrorism law introduced in the country. She hopes to graduate in September.

“I work from 7.30 to one o’clock, and then I go and train,” says dental assistant Eva Maria Gatscher. “Before the Giro I was doing maybe three and four hours, but otherwise between two and a half and four hours.

“It’s lucky because my boss is like a friend, he’s not a sportsman but he really looks at the quality of life for his workers. This is my holiday.”

Pirrone formed the team as a junior squad, initially to help his daughter, Elena. He did a good job, she won both Junior road and time trial world championships in 2017. However, with his daughter moving on, she’s now racing with Valcar Travel and Service, the team has developed, becoming a UCI Continental team last season.

For him and his staff it is a labour of love, he is also using holiday from his job as an officer in the Carabinieri to lead the team. “We want to give the opportunity to young girls to experience professional cycling,” he explains as his wife helps riders with final preparations. But like so many teams in Italy money is a problem.

“The biggest challenge for the team is to find the funds to keep going. We would like to grow a little bit, but the opportunity is limited by financial resources.”

The Dream

Like so many of us, riding with professionals the likes of Annemiek van Veluten (Movistar) is a dream and all six women on the Giro squad would take the opportunity to ride professionally.

“I would like to be picked up up by a professional team, but also to be able to experience the real cycling,” explains Missiagia. “We we race, national races here in Italy, but they are a completely different thing. The Giro it's not what we do on every Sunday. So being here is a dream and I want to do more and more of this.

“I think after the Giro, I will be looking around to see if there is any opportunity for me. I would really like to try to go outside of Italy, experience what cycling is in other countries.” 

Gatscher is less a dreamer and more practical. “I would sign, but it's not my dream. I don't have a real dream. It's hard to work and train so if I see I have more to give, then I will continue, but I don't want to continue to work and do cycling. It’s too hard.” 

The Reality

The race goes well  for Mendelspeck. Angelo Oro is first home, finishing 51st, 1-27 behind winner Marianne Vos (Jumbo-Visma), and Francesca Pisciali was off the front for a while, showing the jersey on the live coverage.

While Oro is one of the younger riders, at 24 Pisciali is more experienced, and can pass the experience of three previous Giri onto her team mates.

“I like this year,” she says back under the gazebo, but now in the bustle of central Bergamo. “Now that the WorldTour is growing maybe we are in difficulty because we are on a lower level, but at the same time the WorldTour teams are so well organised that they give give us small teams the possibility to escape. In the other years we began full gas and we arrived full gas, there was not so much possibility to do a breakaway. So that's a good thing, I think.”

Pisciali works full time for cycle clothing brand Q36.5 and clearly has a good head on her shoulders. “There is a huge, huge difference between us and the WorldTour. I always say that the WorldTour is like a boat that's sailing away because they are becoming always stronger and richer, and we have to do this jump.” How do you do that working eight hours a day?

“That’s what I try and figure out, but maybe if you work hard and you try to attack. You never know.”

The most dramatic day of the Giro Donne so far saw Marianne Vos extended her record of stage wins to 32. The Dutch superstar won the sprint after a group of only 11 women survived the climb of Città Alta.

Lotte Kopecky (SDWorx) opened up the sprint first, but was unable to pass Vos, finishing second, with local rider Silvia Persico, from the local Valcar Travel and Service team, in third, the squad’s best result in this year’s Giro.

The final 10 kilometres of the race were hugely dramatic, the peloton catching late solo breakaway rider, Victoire Berteau (Cofidis) then fighting it out on the Città Alta climb. There, after a savage lead out form her Trek-Seagfredo team mate Lucinda Brand, Elisa Longo Borghini attacked. However, she was unable to drop Vos or Mavi García (UAE Team ADQ).

Overall leader Annemiek van Vleuten was caught out though, a crash causing her to unclip, and she was forced to chase, García being a GC threat only 25 seconds down at the start of the day. On the descent though, Van Vleuten brought the group back for the 11 woman sprint.

Tomorrow’s seventh day will expose any climbing weaknesses. The 112.9km stage starts in Prevalle, but finishes 1743m above sea level on the top of the Maniva.

How it happened 

The Giro Donne is heading north, but, for now at least there is not significant drop off in the heat, with 33º forecast in Sarnico on the far south western tip of lake Isea, about half way between Brecsia and the finish town of Bergamo.

There was one big star in town as the riders were presented in the Conad supermarket car park, local resident and world champion Elisa Balsamo (Trek-Segafredo) receiving the biggest cheers as she and her team were presented with a flourish greater than that afforded to the overall leader, Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar).

Essentially a circuit race with a tail, the bunch headed out for five laps of an 18km loop around Sernico, each with one third category climb. At only 1.8km at an average gradient of 5.7% that was unlikely to make a difference to most in the peloton, but it was the final, unclassified climb where the stage would be decided. 

After the final lap the bunch headed west to Bergamo where, in a rerun of last year’s Il Lombardia they would tackle Città Alta, the 1.3km climb into Bergamo Alta, the highest part of the city. At 7.1% it is an uneven climb and local knowledge would be of benefit, even with the 3.3km run to the line. With the Valcar Travel and Service team based in Bergamo it would be down the riders like Silvia Persico to represent the home squad.

With pressure from Canyon-SRAM the race split slightly on the first ascent to San Pantaleone, only for it to reform on the descent. And that became the pattern of things. 

Canyon-SRAM ensuring Elisa Chabbey could take the mountains points then relaxing again. But in the end the repetitive nature of the race and the heat of the previous days began to take their toll, and fewer riders would make it back to the front group.

Finally, after the third climb, and with 63km gone Francesca Pisciali (Mendelspeck) made her way off the front, though not for long, and when she was caught Alessia Vigilia (Topgirls Fassa Bortolo) got away, though only just, as she was left to dangle before being chased by Markéta Hájková (BePink) and Eukene Larrate (Bizkaia Durango).

While Vigilia was being chased the peloton sat back and left them to it, allowing a gap of over a minute to develop, but the chasers never caught the leader, and they were all caught by the peloton before the top of the final climb, 27km from the line.

Though overall leader Annemiek van Vleuten crested the top first, she was distanced on the descent, a small of four quality riders going clear and causing panic in the peloton. More attacks came in the run to the day’s only intermediate sprint, but with 23km to go Victoire Berteau got away. While there was a relative lull in the peloton, she was never able to gain more than a minute’s advantage, and was finally caught on the Città Alta climb 

ResultRace, stage six: Sarnico - Bergamo (114.7km)

1. Marianne Vos (Ned) Jumbo-Visma in 2-58-30
2. Lotte Kopecky (Bel) SDWorx 
3. Silvia Persico (Ita) Valcar Travel and Service 
4. Kristen Faulkner (USA) BikeExchange-Jayco 
5. Amanda Spratt (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco
6. Annemiek van Vleuten (Ned) Movistar 
7. Marta Cavalli (Ita) FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope 
8. Mavi García (Esp) UAE Tema ADQ
9. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 
10. Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Den) FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futurosccope all at same time 

General classification after stage six

1. Annemiek van Veuten (Ned) Movistar in 11-51-35
2. Mavi García (Esp) UAE Team ADQ Marta at 25 sec
3. Cavalli (Ita) FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope at 57 sec
4. Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Trek-Segafredo at 5-00
5. Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Den) Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope at 5-13
6. Amanda Spratt (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco at 5-14
7. Silvia Persico (Ita) Valcar Travel and Service 5-25
8. Niamh Fisher-Black (NZ) SDWorx at 5-28
9. Elise Chabbey (Sui) Canyon-SRAM at 5-45
10. Evita Muzic (ira) FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope 5-55

“I love the north and the rain!” Francesca Pisciali smiled as she got back on her bike. Moments earlier she had been slumped against the barriers, a team staffer trying to cool her down. But when an ambulance reversed up to her she slowly got up.

Behind her the podium presentation for stage five of the Giro Donne was almost over. Elisa Balsamo had taken the cheers of the crowd and Annemiek van Veluten was about to get her maglia rosa.

“I don’t like sun,” a red faced Pisciali, who comes from Bolzano, close to the Austrian border laughed as she rode slowly off to find her Mendelspeck team vehicles.

It’s been a hot Giro Donne. You might expect July temperatures to be high in Italy, but this year has been exceptional, especially in the north. Only this week the Italian government declared a state of emergency after the worst drought in 70 years. This covers the north of the country, including Monday’s host town Cesena, and the remaining five stages.

While riders have to cope in whatever conditions they encounter, and some deal with it better than others.

After finishing stage four into Cesena Canadian Magdeleine Vallieres Mill (EF Education-Tibco-SVB) posted a picture on her Instagram story showing a maximum temperature of 51º recorded by her bike computer during the stage, which was won by Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar), and an average temperature of 44º.

While these temperatures are likely to be in the sun as opposed to the regular way of ensuring temperatures in the shade, they are extreme.

“It was very, very crazy,” she told CW while sheltering from the sun by her team bus on Tuesday morning. “It’s really, really hard, you’re trying to push your body and your body’s producing heat by working out, so it’s just being amplified.

“Your power goes down around 15-20% and with heat like this your body just shuts down and your heart rate is higher. Everything is harder.”

Her team mate British Abi Smith came to Italy straight from a rainy nationals in Scotland. “The heat has been pretty ridiculous going from nationals where is twas just 15º to 50º [here], it’s crazy and I’ve not adapted at all. I think I’ll be thankful if I make it to the end.

“You're hyperventilating and you can't get enough air because every everything's affecting your breathing and your respiratory rate, and everyone's heart rates as well. We have to drop the power to match the heart rate, and it's really difficult because you you look at the Wahoo and think ‘I'm only doing so many watts on this climb’ but your lungs and your heart say no. We’re at max, you can't do any more.”

The inability to perform in hot conditions obviously affects riders’ results. DSM’s French climber Juliette Labous came to Italy looking for a good GC, but was under pressure from the heat from the start, eventually finishing 11-07 down.

“Normally, I'm kind of okay, but yesterday was just extreme and it was a bit too much for me,” the 23 year-old who recently won the Vuelta a Burgos explained. “I felt the power was crazy high but it was not and I just overheated.

“Your heart rate is going high and staying high, even if you reduce your power. And after the race I had pain in my lungs, it was really hard to breathe.” And all this despite hot baths and heated turbo rides to prepare. “It can happen like this.”

And afterwards? “You have to keep drinking with some salt and minerals because I'm a salty sweater. I don’t know exactly how much I had after, but 1.5- two litres."

While temperatures are now expected to settle in the low to mid 30s one question remains

“When is it hot enough for the extreme weather protocol?” asked Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope).

When indeed? Most riders didn’t know who the safety representative for the riders’ union, the CPA (Cyclists Profesionnels Associés) was for the race, and one who did said she hadn’t seen her.

We emailed the association but received no response prior to publication.