Premondiale Giro Toscana Int. Femminile-Memorial Michela Fanini 2013

11-15.09.2013 Official Site
Italy, 4-stage (+ prologue) Road Race, 461.22km
UCI 2.HC

Michela Fanini, born in Lucca on the 23rd of March in 1973, became National Road Race Champion of Italy in 1992 and won the Giro Donne in 1994. She was a rider with enormous potential, one who gave all the signs of becoming one of cycling's greatest stars had she not have been tragically killed when her Peugeot 205 hit a wall and rolled over on the 16th of October 1994. Her memory lives on, in the team S.C. Michela Fanini-Rox and in the name of this race.

The race consists of a prologue and four stages. In the case if Stages 2 and 4 the organisers have, for some reason, decided not to employ the standard technique of naming stages after the towns in which they start and end, using the names of the : Stage 1, Bottegone - Massa e Cozzile, actually ends in Montecatini Terme; Stage 3, Segromigno in Piano - Capannori, starts and finishes in Capannori. It's their race, I suppose.

The 2.HC classification designates this as being one of three Hors Categorie races, intended by the UCI to promote races awarded the status as being especially prestigious (the organisers of the Thuringen Rundfahrt declined the designation in favour of the standard 2.1, while the other 2.HC race, the Exergy Tour, is no longer held following sponsorship problems). As such, the points awarded to the winning riders are greater than in other races - first place in the General Classification receives 80 points, equal to two standard 2.2 events, second place receives 60 points, third place 45 points.

Please note: the official road book for the race appears to have several inaccuracies, both in the text and the diagrams. Routes and other features may therefore be different to those included here; please refer to the official site if in doubt.

Finally, whatever you do, make the most of and try to enjoy this race - it's the last Elite Women's stage race of 2013.

The Parcours

Prologue (11.09.2013; Campi Bisenzio, 2.22km)
With a short and flat parcours that, apart from the two turning points, is largely straight, the Prologue Individual Time Trial ought to see some blisteringly fast times. Look out for the TT specialists, who are going to be the ones to beat; but keep an eye on some of the climbers and sprinters too - there have been many climbers who were also good against the clock, and on a parcours like this a strong sprinter with good endurance could create surprise.

The climb on the Via Roma looks considerably bigger on the altitude profile supplied by the organisers than it actually is - if the profile was accurate, the climb would gain 25m in 0.15km at an average gradient of 16%. In fact, it gains only 5m in 1km; the average gradient is therefore 0.5% and the maximum, at the point where riders arrive at the bridge on the return journey, is only 3.2%.

Campi Bisenzio was the birthplace of Franco Ballerini, winner of the 1995 and 1998 editions of Paris-Roubaix.

Stage 1 (12.09.2013; Bottegone - Massa e Cozzile, 126.15km)

After yesterday's flat time trial, the Giro heads through rolling terrain for 33km to the hilly landscape around Montecatini Terme, where the riders face four laps of a local circuit featuring an ascent of the Piazza della Chiesa leading into the beautiful medieval village Massa e Cozzile, birthplace of Bruni Pasquini who won the Giro's brother race, the Giro di Toscana, in 1947.

While the climb is far from alpine with a maximum altitude of 223m, it gains the majority of that altitude in 3km; its average gradient of around 7.4% is sufficiently steep to earn it Category 2 status. The hill is climbed at 33.1km, 58.15km, 83.2km and 108.25km with GPM points being awarded each time. While there is plenty of opportunity for non-climbers to catch up in the last 14km from the final ascent to the finish, four ascents will have taken their toll and those riders that suffer on the climbs will be at a serious disadvantage to the climbers, making this a good stage for a small group of climbers - perhaps neo-pros and domestiques at this early point, before the GC contenders stamp their authority on the race - to form a break and go after a stage victory. Nevertheless, unless the climbers have managed to build up a big lead, they might find the sprinters get the last laugh after all - the final 3km are very flat and feature a couple of corners leading into a straight 500m to the finish.

In addition to GPM points, intermediate sprint points will be awarded at two points - the first is at the Palazzo Comunale in Montecatini Terme, 26.2km from the start; the second is at the second passage of the finish line on Centro Commerciale also in Montecatini Terme, 75.45km from the start. There is also a sprint prime named the Traguardo Volante Michela, located on the first passage of the finish line 50.4km from the start.

Stage 2 (13.09.2013, Porcari - Pontedera, 110.5km)

The first half of Stage 2 takes place on a parcours best described as rolling rather than hilly (though a couple of short ramps at 18km and 43km look steep enough to get knees aching, if only for a short time) while the second half, consisting of five laps of a 10.6km circuit at Pontedera is flat. There are no GPM points on offer for that reason, and so the climbers will probably sit back and conserve energy for Stage 3 (which has four Category 2 and two Category 1 ascents with GPM points aplenty) while the sprinters do their stuff and battle it out among themselves in the final 3km which, being flat with a corner  to mark the start of the last 200m, might have been laid out for no reason other than to encourage tactical bunch sprint finishes.

Once again, there are two intermediate sprints. The first, on the Via delle Colline in Cenaia, is 46.15km from the start; the second, at the fourth passage of the finish line on the Via Veneto in Pontedera, is 100.65km from the start. There is another Traguardo Volante Michela sprint prime, located at the second passage of the finish line 81.85km from the start.

Pontedera is the birthplace of several professional cyclists including Fabiana Luperini, born there on the 14th of January 1974. Luperini, who turned professional in 1997, would become one of the most successful female cyclists of all time with victories in the Giro Donne and the now-defunct women's Tour de France - she won both in 1995, 1996 and 1997 - and is still racing, with the Faren-Kuota team, to this day.

Stage 3 (14.09.2013; Segromigno in Piano - Capannori, 124km)

Yesterday's stage was one for the sprinters, today brings a route made for the climbers with no fewer than six categorised climbs - four rated Cat. 2 and two rated Cat. 1, making this an essential stage for any riders hoping to do well in the Mountains competition and a very important one for anyone hoping to win the General Classification.

The first 9km are flat (apart from a small climb 2km in), then the riders arrive at the first climb, Cat. 2 Segromigno in Monte. It's not a big climb, topping out at 100m above sea level, but the fact that it gains almost all of its height in a kilometre reveals why it's been given a high classification. What's more, the riders are going to climb it four times (11.3km, 28.2km, 45.1km, 62km) before turning off onto the second part of the parcours, where they face two ascents (84.2km, 112.4km) of the much higher and tougher Cat. 1 Valgiano climb - which rises to almost 400m in 9km with a very steep 2km section along the way.

The last 3km are flat with two corners in the last 1000m, making it ideal ground for a bunch sprint - though unless any one rider manages a solo break on Valgiano and stays away over the last 11.6km (which is exactly the sort of thing Marianne Vos does),  it's likely to be one fought by climbers and GC contenders rather than pure sprinters.

The two intermediate sprints and the Traguardo Volante Michela sprint prime take place in Lunata at the premises of Mercatino Fanini, the company owned by Michela's family. The sprints are at 38km and 71.8km, the prime is at 54.9km. Capannori is the birthplace of Mario Cipollini, who was often listed as the most successful sprinter in cycling history until the rise of Mark Cavendish.

Stage 4 (15.09.2013; Lucca - Firenza, 98.8km)

With two Cat. 3 climbs offering the only GPM points today, we'll see either a hotly-contested battle for the Mountains classification or a total lack of interest among the classification contenders - if there are only a few points between the riders at the top of the classification it'll be the former, if one rider led over the bigger climbs on yesterday's parcours then she'll have found an insurmountable lead and it'll be the latter.

The competition between the General Classification leaders is almost certain to be far stiffer - those categorised climbs, along with the uncategorised ones around 30km from the start, are just enough to give a breakaway plenty of scope to steal victory from right under the noses of the race leaders, or for the race leader (or someone near to her in the GC) to get into a break and turn a victory into a definitive, glorious one. There's still plenty of room for the climbers and sprinters to duke it out, too: while the climbs will give the climbers an advantage up until the summit of the second Cat. 2, the long and steep descent on the other side, with only 5.1km left to the finish line, puts them at a disadvantage and favours the bigger, heavier riders who can retain more effective control over their bikes at high speed. Then there's the finish itself: flat throughout the last 3km with a corner approximately 100m from the line, there'll be a fast and furious sprint if nobody's stayed away and the riders approach in a bunch.

Lucca was the birthplace of Michela Fanini, in whose memory this race and the S.C. Michela Fanini-Rox team are both named. Firenze was the birthplace of 2000 Giro d'Italia King of the Mountains Franco Casagrande (and of the Renaissance, which even cycling fans will admit is an even greater claim to fame).

Jerseys
The Memorial Michela Fanini has an unusually high number of classification leader jerseys, including two - awarded to the "most generous" rider (usually the most hard-working domestique) and the "most elegant" rider (awarded to the rider judged to have the best bike-handling skills) - that are unique to this race and were presumably invented to make more places to put sponsor's names, which is a practical enough reason.



Starters
A definitive starters and team roster list has not yet been published and it's probably safe to assume that this one is very provisional. Check Women Cycling Fever for regular updates.

S.C. MICHELA FANINI-ROX

CHIRIO FORNO D'ASOLO

COLOMBIA NT

FAREN-KUOTA

LOTTO-BELISOL

OPTUM P/B KELLY BENEFIT STRATEGIES

PASTA ZARA-COGEAS

SERVETTO-FOOTON

SLOVENIA NT

MAXX SOLAR

TOP GIRLS-FASSA BORTOLO

VAIANO-FONDRIEST

WIGGLE-HONDA

BEPINK
ARZUFFI Alice Maria
CANTELE Noemi
FRAPPORTI Simona
MUCCIOLI Dahlia
VALSECCHI Silvia
ZRIMSEK Petra

BOELS-DOLMANS
DAAMS Jessie
KESSLER Nina

HITEC PRODUCTS-UCK
BJORNSRUD Miriam
FAHLIN Emilia
HOSKING Chloe
LONGO BORGHINI Elisa
NEYLAN Rachel
RATTO Rossella

MCIPOLLINI-GIORDANA
ANTOSHINA Tatiana
CARRETTA Valentina
GUDERZO Tatiana
JASINSKA Malgorzta
SCANDOLARA Valentina
TAGLIAFERRO Marta

ORICA-AIS
CROMWELL Tiffany
CURE Amy
EDMONDSON Annette
JOHANSSON Emma
SUNG EUN Gu

RABOBANK-LIV/GIANT
BRAND Lucinda
VAN VLEUTEN Annemiek
VOS Marianne

SENGERS
VAN DER BREGGEN Anna

ARGOS-SHIMANO
GARNER Lucy
WILD Kirsten

SPECIALIZED-LULULEMON
WORRACK Trixi Germany

TIBCO-TO THE TOP
BLAAK Chantal

FRANCE NT

GERMANY NT

ITALY NT

USA NT

Following the race
It has to be said that the Giro's organisers haven't got the greatest website ever seen on the Internet. That's not entirely their fault - few women's races have the budget to employ hotshot web developers, as seen with races like the Tour de France - but in this case it really wouldn't be a bad idea to try to improve matters (how about offering a VIP, access-all-areas pass for next year's race to anyone willing to tidy things up for free? There must be a few fans out there capable of doing it), because while the determined fact-hound will eventually get the information they're after, more casual visitors will quickly give up.

Hitec Products-UCK and Boels-Dolmans are both racing, which means one of the best ways to follow the race is by following Karl Lima and Richie Steege on Twitter. Lima is the manager of Hitec, Steege is the mechanic of Boels-Dolmans; both of them know the sport inside-out and provide regular updates on the progress of their own teams and their rivals in all the races they attend.

GP de Plouay Bretagne 2013

31.08.2013 Official Site
France, One-day Road Race,
UCI CDM

With the Women's World Cup consisting of only eight rounds this year (a loss of one third when compared to 2006, when there were twelve, but no different to 2012 and still an improvement on 1998, the first year the competition was held, when there were six), we've been left with a rather peculiar situation in which three rounds were held within a three week period in March, then there was another one in April and another in May before a three-month wait until the Vargarda team time trial and road race rounds, which take place on the same weekend. Two weeks after Vargarda it's the GP de Plouay-Bretagne and then, once that's over, so is the World Cup - and so we begin to approach the end of another cycling season.

Cup standings before the race
1 Marianne VOS (Rabobank-Liv/Giant) 354pts
2 Emma JOHANSSON (Orica-AIS) 252pts
3 Ellen VAN DIJK (Specialized-Lululemon) 224pts

With 75 points on offer to the winner, we're in a similar situation to 2012 when Marianne Vos started the race with an unassailable advantage of 84 points. This year, her advantage is even greater at 102 points; she is, therefore, guaranteed a fifth Cup victory (others: 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012). However, Ellen van Dijk trails Emma Johansson by only 28 points, meaning that she could still take second place - their Lululemon and Orica teams have proven many times that they are evenly-matched rivals, setting the scene for an epic battle. Fourth place Elisa Longo Borghini trails van Dijk by 68 points, meaning that she could take third place if she wins (for a breakdown of points awarded to each position, see the bottom of this article) and van Dijk does poorly, but cannot challenge for a higher place than that. Anna van der Breggen, in fifth, trails van Dijk by 101 points and thus cannot challenge for a podium position.

Don't take your eyes off Vos, though: she could stop off halfway round the parcours for a couple of beers if she felt like it, but that's not her style - she'll fight every bit as hard for a final first place over the finish line as she has at every other race she's taken part in. After all, she didn't need to win this race last year - but she still did, and by 35".

Previous Winners
2002 Regina Schleicher
2003 Nicole Cooke
2004 Edita Pucinskaite
2005 Noemi Cantele
2006 Nicole Brändli
2007 Noemi Cantele
2008 Fabiana Luperini
2009 Emma Pooley
2010 Emma Pooley
2011 Annemiek van Vleuten
2012 Marianne Vos

Since its inauguration, Plouay has earned a reputation as one of the most well-organised and fun events on the Elite Women's calendar and the committe makes sure there's plenty enough going on to keep the huge crowds that show up to watch happy even when no racing is taking place - with a selection of music, food, drink and all sorts of other entertainments also on offer, it attracts people with no interest in cycling and are simply looking for a good day out, which also makes it the ideal event to visit with your family if you've not yet persuaded them that cycling is something they ought to show some interest in. It all comes together to form a superb showcase for cycling, so who knows - it might be this race that finally gets them to see the light.

The Parcours
The race takes an almost identical route to the 2012 edition with only a few minor changes to the parcours leading through Plouay shortly after the start line. These changes do not alter the length of the circuit, which remains 27km; as was the case last year the riders will complete five laps (in red on the official maps, blue on the Les Déesses map; the shorter, blue circuit depicted on the official map is the parcours used by some of the other events taking place).

Back in 2000, Plouay hosted the World Championships and, just north of the velodrome on a road named the Boulevard des Championnats du Monde in honour of the event, a hard-surfaced area was created to host the event "village" with plenty of space for the team vehicles and race infrastructure. This area was preserved and is now used for the GP village; opposite it is a raised grassy area that, for those spectators who can find space among the vast crowds that pack onto it, offers excellent views of the spectacularly fast starts along the straight and slightly downhill initial 0.5km as the riders head into the first corner.


View GP de Plouay Bretagne 2013 in a larger map

Once past the unspeakably ugly Carrefour and Netto supermarkets just past the start line the riders head into the first corner, a tight left with a drain cover placed in the middle of the left-hand carriageway (potentially a hazard in the wet). Moments later, they pass a fuel station and then turn left again to join the D178 leading through the outskirts of Plouay to the first climb, Cote du Lezot. The summit is marked by a footbridge; just past it is another raised area alongside the road which forms another good point from which to watch the race. The route begins to climb again shortly afterwards and looks reasonably steep around the next bend, a non-technical left leading towards the village of Kerscoulic; beyond the village at Questenen Plaine is an easy right turn onto the D110.

The race follows the D110 for several kilometres through the Foret Domaniale de Pont-Calleck, an area of stunning natural beauty but one where the roads, as with all forests, can be treacherously slippery due to wet leaves after wind and rain. Soon they cross a bridge over the Le Scorff river and come to a roundabout, heading right to follow the course of the river north to Chateau de Pont-Calleck. The road rises and falls, but the route is primarily uphill. After bending left, the road starts to climb more steeply on the approach to Chapelle Ste Anne de Bois, a tiny church that looks like a miniaturised Baroque cathedral. Anne is the patron saint of lost objects; if hope is an object perhaps riders who suffered on the climb to reach her chapel will refind it on the fast, flat 5.1km that now takes them to the same roundabout they visited earlier. At the end of the road, the right turn to join the D204 is very tight and leads immediately into a fast descent.

The D204 ends at another roundabout, where the race turns left and then left again onto the D769, a wide and fast road with none of the charm of those running through the forest. Very soon, they leave the road by turning right and then immediately left, taking a road that is little more than a track running alongside the D769. It's not the more pleasant of the two routes, however, because it takes in the Minojenn du Calvaire climb which is as steep as 13% at points. Once over it, they rejoin the D769 and continue to the Cote de Ty-Marrec, the final climb of the circuit, and then enter the last 5km. A sharp left turn with a traffic island leads from the D769 to the D760BIS, which the riders will follow around a right-hand bend (and past more trees, hence more hazards if the weather is bad) and back toward Plouay. A road joining from the right marks 1km to go; the remainder is flat and straight all the way to the finish line and, if no rider manages to get away earlier on as Vos did in 2012, makes a fast bunch finish likely.

Start List

Click to enlarge. List is provisional.

How to follow the race
Regular updates are posted on the official website, with images at Plouay TV (turn the sound down if you're at work). Unfortunately, the organisers do not seem to have set up a Twitter account; however, Hitec-UCK manager Karl Lima, Boels-Dolmans mechanic Richie Steege and journalists Bart Hazen and Anton Vos all Tweet live from the races they attend.

Points awarded according to position: 1: 75 - 2: 50 - 3: 35 - 4: 30 - 5: 27 - 6: 24 - 7: 21 - 8: 18 - 9: 15 - 10: 11 - 11: 10 - 12: 9 - 13: 8 - 14: 7 - 15: 6 - 16: 5 - 17: 4 - 18: 3 - 19: 2 - 20: 1 

Lotto-Belisol Belgium Tour 2013

23-26.08.2013 Official Site
Belgium, 4-stage Road Race, 332.5km
UCI 2.2

If you want to be rich, women's cycling is not the place to go seeking your fortune - most of the teams operate on notoriously tiny budgets and riders can never be certain that their sponsors won't suddenly announce they're ending their links with the sport which, in all too many cases when the team is unable to find a new sponsor, means the end. Fortunately, there are a few companies out there that are willing to ignore the bean-counters and put in large amounts of money for returns that, as women's cycling doesn't receive anything like the exposure that men's cycling does, often seem not to make sound financial sense. Rabobank proved itself to be a company that genuinely cares when it elected to continue sponsoring a women's team after pulling out of men's cycling entirely; Boels, a plant machinery firm, is another example, one that sponsors a team and three races (the Boels Ronde van Drenthe, which took place in March, the Boels Hills Classic in May and Boels Ladies' Tour, previously known as the Holland Ladies' Tour and one of the most prestigious events on the Elite Women's calendar, which will take place early in September). There is also Lotto, the Belgian national lottery, and Belisol, a Belgian manufacturer of solar panels, doors and windows - together, they sponsor the Lotto-Belisol men's and women's teams and this race, the Tour of Belgium.

Unlike the Tour de France, which has stages that start in one town and end in another, the Belgium Tour is more like a rock band's tour - it visits a different town each day and the riders then compete on a circuit that starts and ends at the town. This has numerous advantages, chiefly that costs are cut by having each stage consist of several laps rather than one long parcours and fans get to see the race pass by several times, either by remaining at the same point or by moving around to see it from different places.

Parcours
Stage 1: Warquignies-Angreu (23.08.2013, 19.7km Team Time Trial)

View Tour of Belgium Stage 1 2013 in a larger map
The only non-circuit stage of the race, Stage 1 will see the teams putting their bike handling skills to the test with a series of very sharp corners in the first two kilometres, where it'd be very easy indeed to lose a couple of riders to unfortunate crashes and end up with insufficient numbers to even be awarded a time - which would mean race over. Once through, there's a forested section (which always increases the likelihood of punctures, which can be disastrous when racing against the clock) with a climb of around 70m in 2.5km, then a long and flat straight section running south-west along the Av. du Haut-Pays where the fastest squads will be able to get their heads down and find a serious time advantage against those who haven't been practicing their TTT tactics quite so much as they ought. Another very sharp bend then leads onto the remaining part of the parcours, finishing 19.7km (which is why it's a stage rather than a prologue; a prologue in an Elite Women's race cannot be longer than 4km according to UCI rule 2.6.006).

Altimetry

The route uses many open lanes running alongside flat, wide fields; although the parcours is in Wallonia, the region is subject to typically Flandrian wind and rain - with so little shelter along much of the route, the stage could become an ordeal if the weather is bad. There is also a cobbled section on the Rue des Juifs at Onnezies; however, the cobbles are flat, regularly-placed and in good condition, they will therefore not cause the riders serious problems.

Stage 2: Angreau (24.08.2013, 110.16km)

View Tour of Begium 2013 Stage 2 in a larger map
Stage 2 both begins and ends at the Place d'Angreu, where Stage 1 also finished. From the start line, the riders head into a 12.24km circuit taking them first south to Roisin; they then travel north-east to the first GPM climb of the race - the Cote du Autreppe (5.48km from the start, points awarded at 5.48km, 29.96km, 54.44km, 78.92km, 103.4km), where points will be awarded during the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th and final lap. There are also four intermediate sprints, each of which begins as the riders cross the finish line during the 2nd, 4th, 6th and 8th laps (24.48km, 48.96km, 73.33km, 97.92km).

A tight left-hand turn leads onto the narrow Rue d'Autreppe, at which point the parcours will be familiar to the riders as it now follows the same route via Onnezies (including the 300m Rue des Juifs cobbles), Angre, Honnelles and back to Angreau.

Riders must complete nine laps of the circuit; the Cote, though neither high nor steep, will have a considerable cumulative effect and there'll be some sore knees on the final passage.

Altimetry

Stage 3: Nijlen (25.08.2013, 115.12km)

View Lotto-Belisol Belgium Tour 2013 Stage 3 in a larger map
The place names reveal that the Tour has left Wallonia behind and is now in Flanders, perhaps the most cycling-obsessed region in the world. Many of the little towns that dot the flat landscape have produced famous riders, including Nijlen where the race begins - it was the birthplace of Victor van Schil, trusted lieutenant of Eddy Merckx and winner of the 1968 Brabantse Pijl (sadly, van Schil took his own life in 2009 at the age of 69), Bjorn Leukemans (who may have won far more had he not have crashed so often) and Nick Nuyens, winner of the 2011 Ronde van Vlaanderen and husband of Evy van Damme, Belgian Road Race Champion in 2000 and 2001.

Most of the great Flemish races have taken place in warm, dry conditions in recent years, but for many people racing in this part of the world will always be associated with cold winds and driving rain. The parcours is far enough from the coast to avoid the worst, but with the topography being as flat as it is any wind blowing in from the North Sea rips across the land and still has plenty of power by the time it reaches Nijlen - crosswinds on the section heading west between Herenthout and Kruiskenberg and headwinds on the section heading north between Heikant and Nijlen may create some problems. Riders must complete nine laps of the 14.49km circuit, making the stage

There are no GPM points on offer on this, the flattest stage of the 2013 edition; the feed zone passes through an area known as Kruiskenberg, which sounds dauntingly like one of the brutally steep climbs for which Flemish racing is infamous, but which is in fact an undemanding hillock rising no higher than 20m with an average gradient of around 1.5% (maximum 3.5%). There are, however, four intermediate sprints. Each begins at the Cafe de Max located at Bevel-Dorp 160 in Bevel and points will be awarded on the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th laps (10.59km, 39.57km, 68.55km, 97.53km).

Altimetry

Stage 4: Geraardsbergen (26.08.2013, 87.47km)

View Lotto-Belisol Belgium Tour 2013 Stage 4 in a larger map

Rather than several identical laps like the earlier stages, Stage 4 consists of a total of four laps around three circuits; the first is 29.16km in length with one GPM climb and will be completed once, the second is 19.17km with no GPM climbs and will be completed once and the third, which is 19.57km in length and features one GPM climb, will be completed twice. There are also intermediate sprints when the parcours crosses the finish line for the first, second and third times.

The first circuit begins at marketplace in Geraardsbergen, a town that will be familiar any riders who took part in Gooik-Geraardsbergen-Gooik back in May - it's also been a feature in many editions of the Ronde van Vlaanderen over the years. Very soon after heading out into the neutral zone they'll catch glimpses of what, to cyclists, is Geraardsbergen's most famous feature, Kapelmuur, but for the time being they can concentrate on other things. Racing gets underway 1.9km from the start on Verhaegenlaan and the parcours remains unchallenging until Parikeberg, a 0.6km climb offering GPM points, with an average gradient of 5.8 and maximum of 7%; it is 21.44km from the end of the neutral zone. The remainder of the circuit runs back into Geraardsbergen, with several tight and potentially risky corners leading into the town.  The riders will take the last (non-GPM) climb to arrive at the start line at the market place, then continue to the first T-junction where earlier they turned right; now they turn left and follow Vesten, passing the finish line and contesting the intermediate sprint for the first time.

Riders tackle the Muur van Geraardsbergen
during the 2006 Ronde van Vlaanderen voor
Vrouwen

A short while later they turn south onto Edingseweg, then west on Guilleminlaan and follow it through two sweeping curves until it joins Vesten heading south and the race then continues along the same route as earlier until reaching the T-junction at Priem. In Circuit 1, the riders turned left here to travel west; this time they turn east along Molenstraat, neatly avoiding Parikeberg. A few hundred metres ahead, they rejoin the Circuit 1 parcours and follow it back into Geraardbergen, taking the same route via the marketplace and back to the finish line where another intermediate sprint is contested.

To begin Circuit 3, the riders turn right before reaching the Oude Steenweg junction used in Circuit 2 and follow Oudebergstraat, a route that takes them directly to and over the notorious Kapelmuur - the reason that Geraardsbergen has featured in so many legendary races, Kapelmuur is, according to some, the toughest climb in East Flanders. With cobbles as large as steps and a maximum gradient of 19.8% (average is 9%), it's proved decisive many times and may well do so again today, even on the first lap of the circuit if one rider manages to get away and a crash in the peloton holds everyone else up - when that happens, many riders find it impossible to get going again on the steep slope and have to run up instead. Once over the top, the parcours takes Oudeberg and Dreipikkel for the short distance to Oude Steenweg and turns right, the remainder of the circuit following the route of Circuit 2. By the time the finish line approaches, those climbs will have taken their toll and there might not be any sprinters left in contention, in which case the race will be fought out by the climbers - unless, of course, one of them has built up a sufficient solo lead to win ahead of the pack.

Altimetry, Circuit 1 and Circuits 3/4

Starters

Specialized-Lululemon
Ellen van Dijk
Lisa Brannauer
Gillian Carleton
Trixi Worrack
Evelyn Stevens
Katie Colclough
Loren Rowney

Sengers
Kimberly Buyl
Joanne Hogan
Birgit Lavrijssen
Julia Soek
Evelyn Arys
Sofie de Vuyst
Vera Koedooder

Lotto-Belisol 
Marijn de Vries
Jolien d'Hoore
Ann Sophie Duyck
Kaat Hannes
Steffi Lodewijks
Kim Schoonbaert
Celine can Severen

CycleLive Plus-Zannata
Annelies van Doorslaer
Carla Ryan
Annelies Dom
Daisy Depoorter
Monique van der Ree
Latoya Brulee
Liz Hatch

TopSport Vlaanderen-Bioracer
Jessy Druyts
Kelly Druyts
Else Belmans
Tessa de Moyer
Gilke Croket
Nel de Crits

Tibco-To The Top
Shelley Olds
Claudia Hausler
Chantal Blaak
Melanie Spath
Jasmine Glaesser
Lauren Stevens

Boels-Dolmans
Lizzie Armitstead
Adrie Visser
Romy Kasper
Nina Kessler
Jessie Daams
Martine Bras

Orica-AIS
Emma Johansson
Loes Gunnewijk
Gracie Elvin
Jessie MacLean
Tiffany Cromwell
Melissa Hoskins

Hitec Products-UCK
Rossella Ratto
Emilie Moberg
Thea Thorsen
Elisa Longo Borghini
Siri Minge
Cecilie Gotaas Johnsen
Chloe Hosking

Futurumshop NL
Karen Elzing
Sarah Lena Hofmann
Anouska Helena Koster
Mieke Kroger
Janine van der Meer
Mascha Pijnenborg

Crano Go:Green
Madeleine Olsson
Jessica Kihlbom
Linnea Sjobom
Hanna Nilsson
Martina Thomasson
Alexandra Nessmar
Hanna Helamb

Argos-Shimano
Kirsten Wild
Fllortje Mackaij
Esra Tromp
Janneke Busser-Kanis
Willeke Knol
Kelly Markus
Amy Pieters

Wielerclub De Sprinters Malderen
Chantal Hoffmann
Sarah Ingelbrecht
Mieke Leeman
Lilianne Leenknegt
Steffy van den Haute
Laure Werner
Joyce Willems 

Mixed Team (Rabobank-Liv/Giant, Autoglass Wetteren, Group Solar, FCS)
Tamina Kate Oliver
Amy McGuire
Daniela Gass
Roxane Knetemann
Thalita de Jong
Marieke Blomme
Adeline de Vestele

Napoleon Games-St Martinus-Kerksken
Joyce Accoe
Evelien Deltombe
Nele Seghers
Helga Sibick
Janicke Gunvaldsen
Vittoria Bussi

Endura Lady Force
Ines Klok
Margriet Kloppenburg
Michelle Geoghegan
Natasja Nieuwenhuizen
iris van der Stelt
Marjolein Claessen
Elke Bolangier

Dura Vermeer
Kirsten Coppens
Rowena van de Klundert
Charlotte Peeters
Chantal Verstraten
Brigitta Roos
Natalie van Gogh
Demi de Jong

NWVG-Bike4Air
Geertje Hoeke
Olivia Koster
Mary Rose Postma
Danielle Lissenberg-Bekkering
Anne Peer
Nathalie van Katwijk
Femke van Kessel

Parkhotel Valkenburg
Aafke Eshuis
Bianca van den Hoek
Inge Klep
Riejanne Markus
Rozanne Slik
Lisanne Soemanta
Nathaly van Wesdonk

Water, Land en Dijken
Nike Beckering
Melissa Slewe
Bernadette Jeremiasse
Marleen de Kroon
Corrinne Smith
Sigird Jochem

SWABO
Sofie van Horik
Annemarie Pasveer
Domenique van Santen
Harriet Koorn
Nina van Tol
Yvonne van Dam
Stella Blom-Visser

Les Filles Racing Team
Lydia Boylan
Nicola Juniper
Alexie Shaw
Helen Ralston
Nicole Oh
Nikki Engelbach
Kate Hewett


Mixed Team (Boretti, Matrix, Vanderkitten)
Sara Olsson
Kate Chilcott
Tracy Best
Emma Grant
Christina Siggard
Gina Hofland
Jessica Smits

RC Jan van Arckel
Moniek Tenniglo
Kristen Peetoom
Silke Kogelman
Winanda Spoor
Roos Hoogeboom
Hester Wagenaar
Britt Jansen

GSD Gestion-Kallisto

Keukens Redant

Canada NT
Anika Todd
Shoshauna Laxson
Sarah Coney
Annie Foreman-Mackie
Veronique Fortin
Veronique Labonte

Australia NT
Emily McRedmond
Madeline Marshall
Alexandria Nicholls
Samantha de Riter
Miranda Griffiths

Belgium NT

Further details to be announced; check Women Cycling Fever for regular updates.

Following the race
As is the case with the majority of Belgian races, getting to the Tour is a simple process from anywhere in North-Western Europe - including from the United Kingdom: traveling by ferry from Dover to Dunkirk with a car costs as little as £74 return (check online for deals; Hull to Zeebrugge, a better choice for much of Britain's population, is for some reason far more expensive - around £200 with a bike rather than a car) and none of the Tour towns are more than 180km from the port. Better still, travel by bike - port to race is a day's ride for a fit cyclist, two at a more comfortable pace and, with the Belgians' legendary love for bicycles and cyclists, you'll be sure of a warm welcome. None of the towns are tourist traps, so accommodation will also be affordable.

If you can't get there, the choices for following the race are typically limited to Twitter feeds. Hitec Products-UCK manager Karl Lima provides regular updates on the progress of his team and the rest; Boels-Dolmans mechanic Richie Steege and photojournalists Bart Hazen and Anton Vos (who may attend regarless of whether or not his sister Marianne Vos is there with the Rabobank-Liv/Giant team) are also good choices.

La Route de France 2013

03-10.08.2013 Official Site
France, 7-stage (+ prologue) Road Race, 834.9km
UCI 2.1

The Giro Rosa, which used to be the Giro Donne, is of course the only women's Grand Tour (though this will not be the case for much longer, with a bit of luck and plenty of signatures). However, La Route de France comes close - an eight-day, prologue-and-seven-stages race that covers 834.9km of highly varied French countryside. Held since 2006, except in 2011, it has become the biggest women's race in France since the demise of the Grand Boucle (Tour de France Feminin) in 2009, despite losing a stage this year.

Some fans are not keen on La Route, saying that it's a boring race. To be fair, it does seem a bit of a shame that it misses out so much of the spectacular scenery seen a few weeks earlier in the Tour de France and a few high mountain stages would undoubtedly be a welcome addition (in 2012, Stage 7 climbed the Vosges' Planche des Belles Filles), but the flatter part of France between Paris and the Massif Central (which the race tantalisingly glimpses this year) is not without its charms either - and remember that a high-speed bunch sprint to the line can be a very thrilling sight. Whatever happens, right now the Route is the nearest thing we have to a women's Tour de France, hence the extensive start list; it gives just a little taste of the race we'll have to look forward to if the Amaury Sport Organisation decide to listen to demands that they add a women's race to the greatest sporting event the world has ever seen (which, incidentally, you can help persuade them do by signing this petition).

Previous winners
2006 Linda Villumsen (racing for Wiggle-Honda this year)
2007 Amber Neben
2008 Luise Keller
2009 Kimberly Anderson
2010 Annemiek van Vleuten
2012 Evelyn Stevens (racing for the USA NT this year)

Stages
Prologue (03.08.2013, Soissons, 3.8km ITT)

View Route de France Prologue in a larger map

Soissons, the start town of Stage 4 last year, is the location of this year's Prologue, a 3.8km individual time trial taking place on wide streets and boulevards. The smooth road surfaces and non-technical nature of the parcours, with no tight corners, will allow all riders to record good times and the time trial specialists may even set some records.

Stage 1 (04.08.2013, Soissons-Enghien Les Bains, 121.9km)

View Route de France Stage 1 in a larger map

One for the rouleurs, this. Or at least, until the race reaches Enghien Les Bains in the Île-de-France, on the northern outskirts of Paris, because from that point on the parcours changes character dramatically - gone are the long, straight roads through the countryside where a small group of fast riders can work together, choreographing themselves so as to gain time, to be replaced by a tight urban route with several sharp corners. Then, near the end, they enter a criterium-style circuit around the Lac d'Enghien. What happens in the four laps around it could very easily end any advantage riders found earlier.

Stage 2 (05.08.2013, Enghien Les Bains-Mantes La Jolie, 89.3km)

View Route de France Stage 2 in a larger map

Setting out from the north-western suburbs of Paris, Stage 3 carries the race away through the gently rolling countryside of the Ile-de-France to Mantes La Jolie, some way west of the capital. It's prime territory for the domestiques to join breakways, picking up a few seconds (and the gratitude of their sponsors) while the team leaders are sizing one another up and saving their legs for stages still to come.

Stage 3 (06.08.2013, Anet-Mamers, 123.6km)

View Untitled in a larger map

The main issue facing the riders on the long 113.5km route to Mamers is likely to be punctures - though relatively undemanding, the parcours carries the race through some thick forest where, at this time of year when conditions are dry, even the slightest breeze can snap off thorny twigs and leave them on the road. If the wind has been strong at any point in the week or so prior to the race, expect wheel changes aplenty.

Once Mamers is reached and the riders enter the finishing circuit around which they will complete two laps, things change completely just as was the case in Stage 1 - the circuit features a series of very tight corners, road furniture, slippery road markings and an assortment of other potential hazards. This makes it look promising for those riders who have lots of urban criterium racing experience as they'll be able to take the corners at speed and identify hazards in the split second that is all they get on this sort of parcours, but it's entirely possible that a breakaway might have found a huge advantage on the main route and arrived at the circuit with enough time in the bag to take Mamer's streets at a leisurely, safe pace and still win.

Stage 4 (07.08.2013, Cloyes Sur Le Loire-Briare, 140km)

View Route de France Stage 4 in a larger map

The longest stage of the 2013 edition, Stage 4 appears to be a transitional stage with little purpose other than to get the riders from one part of the race to another - but might well turn out to be an interesting route because, with all those long, straight sections, those squads that have spent a long time practicing their team trial technique could treat it as just that: a very long team time trial in which they can get their heads down, take turns at the front and gain some serious time advantages over riders in teams that aren't so well-drilled in races against the clock.

All of the towns and villages along the route have something to offer. The most notable to English speakers is Beaugency, where the Devil helped to build the bridge over the Loire in the local version of the well known "the Devil builds a bridge in return for the first soul to cross it" story, as recounted by James Joyce. As is always the case in the story, the first soul to cross belonged to a cat; cats' souls apparently having less value to the Devil than human ones. In addition to the bridge, the town has a spectacular ruined castle and an abbey church.

Stage 5 (08.08.2013, St Fargeau-Pougues Le Eaux, 98.7km)

View Route de France 2013 Stage 5 in a larger map

Saint-Fargeau, with its typically Burgundian clocktower, hosts the start of a stage that quickly takes the race into thick forest, where a badly-timed puncture could leave a rider who started the day full of promise with a big time disadvantage to make up.

Most of the route is fairly flat, but there is a considerable climb over the 5km leading into Alligny-Cosne and, once through the town, a steep descent over the next 2.5km en route to Donzy, an attractive medieval town and the birthplace of professional cyclists Henri Prevost (who rode the Tour de France in 1929 and 1930) and Yves Hezard, who enjoyed many successes through the 1970s and later became directeur sportif of Bernard Hinault's La Vie Claire team: while the route up favours the climbers, the descent is sufficiently steep for heavier riders to gain a lead on the way down. With the exception of a brief climb before Pougues-les-Eaux, the rest of the parcours is gently rolling. It ends with two laps of a 13.4km circuit that shouldn't give the riders problems, though two sharp corners (D267/D8) and D8/D907) might claim a few victims if it rains.

Stage 6 (09.08.2013, Pougues Le Eaux-Vichy, 127.4km)

View Route de France 2013 Stage 6 in a larger map

The volcanoes of the Massif Central are long extinct, but great forces underground stil generate heat - hence the large numbers of spa towns in the regions around the mountains. Once a popular example, Pougues-les-Eaux fell on hard times in the 1970s when tourists stopped coming to take the waters - which were bottled and sold for a few more years, until they fell out of popularity too. Nowadays, the town survives largely as a tourist base, a place where visitors can base themselves and make excursions out to surrounding areas. One destination is Bourbon l'Archambault, the next town on the parcours, where the spa is still active. Vichy, at the far end of the stage, is also a spa; however, it is better known for having been the capital of Vichy France - the part of the country not occupied by the Nazis - from 1940 to 1944. During that time, France ceased to be a republic under the government of Nazi collaborator Philippe Pétain.

Starting off flat, the parcours becomes steadily more rolling as the race nears the mountains; expect plenty of attacks and breaks early on in the race when the riders who don't have much chance of winning try to get some bonus seconds and sponsor-pleasing time in the spotlight before those that do take over towards the end.

Stage 7 (10.08.2013, Cusset-Chauffailles, 130.2km)

View Route de France 2013 Stage 7 in a larger map

With Stage 7 ending so near to the Beaujolais mountains, which are themselves the foothills of the Massif Central, it would have been a pity if the riders didn't have any climbs ahead of them today - so the organisers have seen to it that the parcours takes in the most serious climb of the race so far, the Col de Dun. Topping out just short of 1000m above sea level, the Col has some steep sections but the primary factor the riders will have to deal with is the narrowness of the road up - anyone who finds themself stuck in the peloton will have great difficulty in getting to the front of the pack in order to chase any climbers that manage to get away. Secondly, much of the climb runs through thick forest; if a rider punctures here she'll have problems getting back into position - especially if the narrow road hampers the team car's efforts to reach her.

There's plenty to see along the route. Montaiget-en-Forez has an impressive medieval city gate while Marcigny is famous for its La Tour du Moulin, a remarkably well-preserved 15th Century fortification that was later converted into a watermill - it now contains a museum. La Clayette's chateau is the star of many a jigsaw; Chauffailles is a larger town but its chateau is smaller and far less grand.

Starters
The official start list is here. As usual in women's cycling, the list of riders who actually start the race may be quite different; Women Cycling Fever keeps a regularly-updated list.

How to follow the race
The race has an official Twitter account with updates on what's happening with the organisation throughout the year and information during the event.

Erondegemse Pijl (Erpe-Mere) 2013

03.08.2013 Official Site
Belgium, 1-day Road Race, 121.9km
UCI 1.2

2012 winner Adrie Visser, pictured at the
2012 Thuringen Rundfahrt

There have been some excellent races in some exotic places over the last few months, and every one of them has been highly enjoyable. However, as far as many people are concerned, if you want to see some proper, tough-as-nails, battle-for-supremacy cycling, you've got to see a Belgian one-day race - and we haven't had one of those for two-and-a-half months now.

So it's about time for the Erondegemse Pijl, then.

If you're not familiar with the Pijl, it's a simple formula. You just take one short course of 9km, one long course of 38.5km and a short circuit of 9.3km, sending the riders round the latter eight times. Then, garnish with four intermediate sprints, season with four categorised climbs of the short-but-knee-crackingly-steep the Belgians favour and, for an authentic flavour experience, baste for as long as it takes the riders to complete the parcours with the warmth-sapping rain that we tend to say Flanders "enjoys" during the Spring Classics but actually gets all year round. The organisers haven't deliberately added any cobbles, though there are a few along the road verges in case anyone overcooks the bends, but there are plenty of rough sections where the modern asphalt has sunk and now follows the shapes of the ancient pavé below.

Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

Previous Winners
The men's version of the race is now in its 19th edition; it wasn't joined by the women's race until 2011 when Chantal Blaak won, followed by Adrie Visser in 2012.

Parcours


View Erondegemse Pijl 2013 in a larger map

Neutral Zone - yellow
Short Course - blue
Long Course - red
Circuit - purple

Altimetry

Short Course

Long Course

Circuit

Starters 

Full details not yet available. Women Cycling Fever, as always, has the most accurate and regularly-updated start lists.

Visiting the race

All the Flemish races are extremely easy to reach from the United Kingdom, so why not consider going along to give the riders your support? Go by bike and, with the Belgians' legendary love for cycling and all cyclists, you'll be guaranteed an excellent short holiday and the very warmest of welcomes.

Ferries sail from Hull to Zeebrugge daily; a return trip for one adult with a bike costs around £224 with P&O, though cheaper deals may be available. Zeebrugge to Erondegem is approximately 80km, avoiding motorways. Calais to Erondegem is a much longer ride at around 180km (doable for the keen, fit cyclist; well within the ability of most people if split over two days); however, Dover to Calais with a bike by P&O costs as little as £20.

How to follow the race

More details to come...

Tour Féminin en Limousin

18-21.07.2013 Official Site
France, 4-stage Road Race, 387.7km
UCI 2.2

2005 winner Edwige Pitel is racing
again this year, for S.C. Michela
Fanini-ROX. Can she win again,
thus matching Grete Treier and
Marianne Vos?

Inaugurated in 1995 but known by a variety of names since then, the Tour Féminin en Limousin has quickly risen to become one of the most prestigious events on the Elite Women's calendar; not least of all for its varied selections of routes and for the impressive list of past winners. An earlier race, held in 2002, was known by the same name and was won by Marina Jaunatre who would go on to achieve three consecutive victories at the Tour de Bretagne from 2005 to 2007.

2005 Edwige Pitel
2006 Marianne Vos
2007 Svetlana Boubnenkova
2008 Natalya Boyarskaya
2009 Grace Verbeke
2010 Grete Treier
2011 Grete Treier
2012 Marianne Vos

With such a range of terrain, Limousin is a race that tends not to favour specialists and can be decided on intermediate sprints, which offer bonus seconds in addition to points. In accordance with UCI rules, awarded bonuses will be 3" for 1st place, 2" for 2nd place and 1" for third place.

A big chapeau to Claude Lecourt, president of l’Association des Amis du Cyclisme Féminin and of the organising committee of the Tour. In his presidential message, M. Lecourt notes that while there are many great champions at the race this year, they are not as numerous as in years gone by. Though he acknowledges that this in part due to the Tour clashing with the Under-23 European Championships, he also highlights the "dommage" (unfortunate, shameful) fact that female cyclists of the "haut niveau" (highest level) frequently have to work for a living due to not receiving a guaranteed minimum wage as do their male counterparts.

Stage 1 (18.07.2013 Bussière-Dunoise, 120.9km)
Interactive Map

While devoid of big climbs, no fewer than ten small ascents of approximately 100m apiece will have a severe cumulative effect, revealing early on in the race which riders are in a position to earn good places in the final General Classification. After arriving at the finish line 73km from the start, riders will complete six laps of an 8km local circuit.

GPM points are on offer at Jallibout (22.8km), St Léger le Guéretois (32.2km), Le Villard (59.4km) and Les Couperies Hautes (69km). All four climbs are rated at 1st Category. The three Intermediate Sprints are located at the 1st (73km), 2nd (81km) and 3rd (89km) passes of the finish line.

Stage 2 (19.07.2013 Sous-Parsat, 20.7km ITT)
Interactive Map

There's not enough climbing to give the time trial specialists any problems, but 240m of altitude gain will put the sprinters at a disadvantage to the rest. May become a battle between the specialists and the rouleurs.

Stage 3 (20.07.2013 Saint-Brice-sur-Vienne - Saint-Junien, 123.4km)
Interactive Map

As was the case with Stage 1, there are no big climbs but numerous small ones combine to take their toll. None are steep enough to favour out-and-out climbers, so this looks to be a parcours for the rouleurs - though the final climb to the finish line is sufficiently steep to throw the best-laid plans into flux. The race ends with a series of local laps, eventually finishing at St Junien.

GPM points are on offer at Saillat sur Vienne (26.6km; Cat. 1), the Cote des Trois Bornes (45.6km; Cat. 2) and the Cote de la Croix de Lavergne (63km; Cat. 2). The three Intermediate Sprints are at St Junien (39.1km) and at the 1st and 2nd passes of St Brice sur Vienne (83.5 and 106.3km).

Stage 4 (21.07.2013 Saint-Denis-de-Jouhet, 122.7km)
Interactive Map

Unless anyone has already gained an insurmountable lead, the race may very well remain undecided until today. The biggest climb in the race and repeated smaller ascents will trouble the sprinters and are just enough to allow the climbing specialists some opportunities, but a level run-in to the line gives the sprinters their own chance to take back time. Having arrived at the finish line 56.7km from the start, the riders will complete five laps of a 14km local circuit.

GPM points are on offer at the Cotes de la Folie (20.4km; Cat. 2), du Mont (35.6km; Cat. 1) and de Laleuf (52.5km; Cat. 2). The three Intermediate Sprints are located at St Denis de Jouhet and will be contested on the 1st (56.7km), 2nd (70.7km) and 3rd (84.9km) passes.

Starters
Provisional and subject to change; Women Cycling Fever maintains regularly-updated lists.

S.C. Michela Fanini-ROX
1. Edwige PITEL 
2. Gloria BOLDRINI 
3. Yevgenia VYSOTSKA 
4. Mireia ELPELDE 
5. Lisa GAMBA 
6. Maneephan JUTATIP 
Reserves
Litsi RIST (EST)
Lara VIECELI (ITA)

GSD Gestion-KALLISTO
7. Katarzyna PAWLOWSKA
8. Claire THOMAS 
9. Lina-Kristin SCHINK 
10. Stephanie ROORDA  
11. Alizea BRIEN 
12. Anne-Marie MORIN 
Reserves
Charlene DELEV 
Catherine COUTURE

Vienne Futuroscope 
13. Karol-Ann CANUEL 
14. Audrey CORDON 
15. Jessica ALLEN 
16. Sandrine BIDEAU 
17. Pascale JEULAND 
18. Emmanuelle MERLOT 
Reserves
Oriane CHAUMET 
Amélie RIVAT 
Manon SOUYRIS 

Parkhotel Valkenburg 
19. Sophie DE BOER 
20. Bianca VAN DER HOEK 
21. Riejanne MARKUS 
22. Jermaine POST 
23. Lisanne SOEMANTA 
24. Ashleigh NEAVE 
Reserves
Hannah WELTER 
Annelies VISSER 
Inge KLEP 

Lointek
25. Belen LOPEZ 
26. Edith GUILLEN 
27. Emma CRUM 
28. Lucia GONZALES 
29. Alexia MUFFAT 
30. Eider MERINO 
Reserves
Mathilde FAVRE 
Julia ILIYNIKH 
Elena UTROBINA

Lotto Belisol
31. Marijn DE VRIES 
32. Jolien D’HOORE  
33. Sharon LAWS 
34. Ashleigh MOOLMAN 
35. Carlee TAYLOR
36. Mical ELLA 
Reserves
Ann Sophie DUYCK 
Marion ROUSSE 
Kym SCOONBAERT 

Servetto Footon
37. Marina LARI 
38. Corinna DEFILE 
39. Veronica CORNOLTI 
40. Simona BORTOLLOTI 
41. Isabella FERRARI 
42. Annalisa CUCINOTTA 
Reserves
Georgia NANNI 

USA NT
43. Kaitlin ANTONNEAU 
44. Amber PIERCE
45. Heather FISCHER 
46. Alexis RYAN 
47. Beth NEWELL 
48. Scotti WILBORNE 
Reserves
Jamie BOOKWALTER 
Brianna WALLE 
Jacquelyn CROWELL 

Russia NT
49. Tatiana ANTOSHINA 
50. Svetlana STOLBOVA 
51. Marina LIKHANOVA 
52. Natalia BOYARSKAYA 
53. Anna POTOKINA
54. Irina MOLICHEVA 
Reserves
Elena UTROBINA 
Tatiana CHAMOVA 
Yulia MARTISOVA 

Top Girls-Fassa Bortolo
55. Elena BERLATO 
56. Irene BITTO 
57. Silvia CECCHINI 
58. Jennifer FIORI 
59. Chiara PIEROBON 
60. Elena VALENTINI 
Reserves
Asja PALADIN 
Francesca STEFANI 

DID Electrical 
61. Amy BRICE 
62. Siobhan McNAMARA 
63. Michelle GEOGHEGA 
64. Julie ERSKINE 
65. Melanie SPATH 
66. Mary COSTELLOE 

Faren-Let’s Go Finland
67. Martha BASTIANELLI 
68. Christel FERRIER BRUNEAU 
69. Giuzeppina GRASSI 
70. Fabiana LUPERINI 
71. Sara MOUSTONEN 
72. Ashlynn VAN BAARLE 
Reserves
Jutta NIEMINEN 
Patricia SCHWAGER 
Carolina RODRIGUEZ GUTTIERREZ

RusVelo
73. Elena KUCHINSKAYA 
74. Alexandra BURCHENKOVA 
75. Evgenia RAMANIUTA 
76. Oxzana KOZONCHUK 
77. Aizhan ZHAPAROVA 
78. Anastasiya CHULKOVA 
Reserves
Yulia LINDUK 
Elena BOCHARNIKOVA 
Maria MISHINA 

Stevens La Crossteam/Racing Students 
79. Liv-Susanne BACHMANN 
80. Stephanie BORCHERS 
81. Steffi MEIZER 
82. Heike NOEVER 
83. Jutta STIENEN 
84. Benita WESSELHOEFT 
Reserves
Andrea BÜCHEL
Esther SCHMIDMEISTER
Ellen HEINY

Breast Cancer Care
85. Jane BARR 
86. Amy BRADLEY 
87. Lucy COLDWELL 
88. Clara HORNE 
89. Laura MURRAY 
90. Coryn RIVERA 
Reserves
Ella HOPKINS
Gabriella SHAW

Anne EWING

How to follow the race
For regular updates direct from the Hitec Products-UCK team car, follow the legendary Karl Lima on Twitter - Karl keeps fans so well-informed, not only on his own team but on all the race action, that it's possible to get a good idea of what's going on via his Twitter account alone. Amber Pierce (USA NT) and Marijn De Vries (Lotto-Belisol) are two of the friendliest and most articulate riders in cycling; while they might not find the time to Tweet often during the race (though Pierce did at the Giro Rosa in 2012!), they're both worth a follow and usually have plenty of insights once the race is over.