All my posts that a probably race previews in some way.
The 2023 Baloise Ladies Tour sees 6 stages over 5 days as we get a rare split stage. An opening prologue will introduce some time gaps and whilst there are hills on Stage 1 and 2, they shouldn’t be decisive in the overall general classification.
The Giro Donne is one of the longest running major stage races in the women’s cycling calendar. You can trace it all the way back to 1988 when Maria Canins won…
The Tour des Suisse Women has quickly moved up the ranks since its re-introduction to the calendar. Opening up as a 2.1 in 2021, it was a 2.Pro in 2022 and now part of the Women’s WorldTour in 2023. It had been a 20-year wait from the last original edition in 2001 and the return in 2021. The two races were linked by the presence of Olga Zabelinskaya, the Russian-born Uzbek taking part in both sides of the gap.
The women’s Dwars Door het Hageland has had 2 editions so far, both this side of the covid pandemic. The first year, 2021, was won by classics queen Chantal van der Broek-Blaak in a solo victory of 36 seconds ahead of teammate Christine Majerus.
The CIC-Tour Féminin Pyrénées has a limited history with just the one edition in 2022. Krista Doebel-Hickok was the strongest rider over the 4 stages, taking the GC by 1’07” from Eri Yonamine and Ricarda Bauernfeind back at 1’38” behind the American.
This year’s Dwars Door de Westhoek has been scaled back due to roadworks. The riders will tackle 12 laps of a 10km circuit that presents little challenge when it comes to elevation. So we’re probably heading for a sprint finish, although the peloton will be whittled down in that Flanders racing style by the end …
A quick preview look at Dwars Door de Westhoek 2023 Read More »
The Alpes Gresivaudan Classic kicked off last season with, forgive me, a classic. Evita Muzic was the pre-race favourite and whilst she took the win, it wasn’t formulaic. Eglantine Rayer, still a junior in 2022, pushed her right up to the finish line. The two will be on the same France national team this year, …
A quick preview look at Alpes Gresivaudan Classic 2023 Read More »
Kicking off in 2022, the Vuelta a Andalucia Ruta del Sol saw Arlenis Sierra take the inaugural victory in what was a fun trio of stages. Mavi Garcia and Ricarda Bauernfeind rounded out the podium but they weren’t able to defeat Sierra, who took 2 stages and finished 2nd behind teammate Jelena Eric on the …
A quick preview look at Vuelta a Andalucia Ruta del Sol 2023 Read More »
RideLondon Classique History After a tumultuous off-season, RideLondon Classique returns in 2023 still just about as a Women’s WorldTour level race. Last year, only the final day’s stage was given live coverage, a decision that breached the rule about providing a minimum of an hour’s coverage per stage. The race effectively had its WWT status …
The Thüringen Ladies Tour is another race with a long storied history in the women’s peloton but probably without the top-drawer race level that would normally bring. Hosted since 1986, it has never made it to the highest level of the women’s cycling calendar, although moves are being made to change that now. The race can look back on a list of winners that includes greats like Ina-Yoko Teutenberg, Mirjam Melchers, Hanka Kupfernagel, Zulfia Zabirova, Judith Arndt, Emma Johansson, and Lisa Brennauer.