Women's Cycling News 04-11.08.2013

UCI races this week - Route de France (Prologue, Stages 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7) - Polspoel wins Erondegemse Pijl - Women's Tour of Britain - Interesting Links - more to come...

UCI Elite Women's races this week: Route de France (03-10.08)

Villumsen wins Route de France, Bronzini takes record six stage victories
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Prologue

Emma Johansson

Time trial results are frequently close, but this one was seriously close with the top three riders all coming within two seconds of one another. The top two, Emma Johansson (Orica-AIS) and Linda Villumsen (Wiggle-Honda), were even closer still: the Swede beat the Denmark-born New Zealander by less than three quarters of a second to take an early overall lead. While that lead may be tiny at present, we've all seen plenty enough evidence over the last couple of seasons to know that when Johansson takes any sort of lead, it's very, very difficult to take it away from her.

Prologue Top Ten
1 Emma JOHANSSON (Orica-AIS) 5'07.93"
2 Linda VILLUMSEN (Wiggle-Honda) +0.73"
3 Amy PIETERS (Argos-Shimano) +1.34"
4 Evelyn STEVENS (USA NT) +4.78"
5 Roxane KNETEMANN (Rabobank-Liv/Giant) +5.12"
6 Iris SLAPPENDEL (Rabobank-Liv/Giant) +6.73"
7 Nettie EDMONDSON (Orica-AIS) +7.61"
8 Tatiana GUDERZO (MCipollini-Giordana) +7.71"
9 Esther FENNEL (Germany NT) +8.53"
10 Pauline FERRAND PREVOT (Rabobank-Liv/Giant) +8.55"
Full result and General Classification

Stage 1
Giorgia Bronzini celebrated her birthday on the 3rd of August (well, to be more accurate, her legions of fans celebrated while she kept busy in the Route's prologue) and today she marked the occasion with a fine stage win. Don't go thinking it was a birthday gift, however - Valentina Scandolara (MCipollini-Giordana) and Emma Johansson (Orica-AIS), formidable opponents and both more than strong enough to challenge her despite neither being sprint specialists, made her work for it and fought her every step of the way to the finish line.

Giorgia Bronzini

The first part of the race, a long south-westerly route from Soissons to Enghiens-les-Bains, was uneventful - as expected, the peloton cranked up to a high speed early on and split, with a lead group keeping the high revs coming as smaller pockets of riders down the road traveled at their own paces in the difficult crosswind. When it got to the final circuit in Enghiens, everything changed and Bronzini, using the climbing ability she's picked up in races such as the Giro Donne and which so few other sprinters possess, used a small climb to take care of anyone who might otherwise have been able to produce more watts once the line came within sight.

This whittled down the contenders to around 20, but there were all-rounders still with the strength to rejoin and, before long, the Italian rider realised that her rivals had increased in number to 37 - fortunately, she had plenty of team mates to lend her a hand, while strongest rival Johansson had only one: Wiggle-Honda took control and Lauren Kitchen led her into the last kilometre. Coming round the final corner, Bronzini was in third place and she timed her sprint perfectly, taking off with 150m to go and finishing by the best part of a bike length.

Scandolara, Johansson and the next 34 riders received the same time as the victor; as the stage did not feature bonification seconds, Johansson remains General Classification leader with an advantage of one second. I said yesterday that when Johansson finds any sort of advantage it's very hard to take it away from her, but with so few climbs in this race she's going to need far more team help than she received today to keep Bronzini at bay.

Stage 1 Top Ten
1 Giorgia BRONZINI (Wiggle-Honda) 3h22'
2 Valentina SCANDOLARA (MCipollini-Giordana) ST
3 Emma JOHANSSON (Orica-AIS) ST
4 Thalita DE JONG (Rabobank-Liv/Giant) ST
5 Amy PIETERS (Argos-Shimano) ST
6 Pauline FERRAND PREVOT (Rabobank-Liv/Giant) ST
7 Elizabeth ARMITSTEAD (Boels-Dolmans) ST
8 Anna Zita Maria STRICKER (MCipollini-Giordana) ST
9 Linda VILLUMSEN (Wiggle-Honda) ST
10 Alena AMIALIUSIK (BePink) ST 
Full result and General Classification

Stage 2
Strong winds were again an issue, breaking up the peloton into numerous groups of varying size, but with Stage 2 being more than 30km shorter than Stage 1 at just under 90km the attacks came right from the start and continued for most of the way, making for an entirely different sort of race.

Valentina Scandolara

Valentina Scandolara (MCipollini-Giordana) made hers stick, placing 35" between herself and the pack for a short while; as soon as she was caught Alexandra Burchenkova (Russia NT) launched her own attempt and got even further away, riding 1'25" ahead as the race neared the final quarter. Not very surprisingly, it was Orica-AIS and Wiggle-Honda that brought her back: Orica's Emma Johansson started the stage with an overall lead of just 1" and will be wanting to improve on that, while Wiggle's Linda Villumsen is in second place overall - and with the run-in to the finish line featuring a short uphill section, her team mate Giorgia Bronzini, who revealed later that she and Johansson had worked together to orchestrate the chase, was a favourite for a second consecutive stage win.

The British-registered team's plans worked out perfectly yesterday, so they used similar tactics: with 38 riders approaching the line, Charlotte Becker, Mayuko Hagiwara and Lauren Kitchen marked Orica and ensured nobody could make a last minute break while Bronzini and Villumsen waited it out to see what would happen. Villumsen hadn't been feeling her best and so, when it became clear that a pure sprinter was going to have the best chances of a win, Kitchen switched roles and led Bronzini around the last corner where the Italian was able to latch onto the back wheel of Boels-Dolmans' Lizzie Armitstead - and then, on the last little climb that suited her so well, she launched with 150m to go. Ashleigh Moolman (Lotto-Belisol) and Thalita de Jong (Rabobank-Liv/Giant) responded, but neither could rival Bronzini's power and had to accept second and third.

The first 38 riders crossed the line together and were thus awarded equal times; Johansson was fifth and retains GC leadership with a 1" advantage. Villumsen remains second overall, Amy Pieters (Argos-Shimano) is the leading rider in the Youth category and is third overall at +3". Bronzini, who began the day in 36th place at +31", is now in 31st place with her disadvantage remaining +31". Everything may change tomorrow as the teams start making the moves that they hope might bring them General Classification victory, and Wiggle-Honda certainly have plans to do just that - “Linda said that she was not so good today at the start, so I told her to reserve her power for the next stage when she feels better. So we’ll try something tomorrow because, if the wind is like today, tomorrow’s stage is longer and maybe in the final we can try to do something for her, to try to take the jersey," Bronzini said after the stage.

Stage 2 Top Ten
1 Giorgia BRONZINI (Wiggle-Honda) 2h12'10"
2 Ashleigh MOOLMAN (Lotto-Belisol) ST
3 Thalita DE JONG (Rabobank-Liv/Giant) ST
4 Chloe MCCONVILLE (Australia NT) ST
5 Emma JOHANSSON (Orica-AIS) ST
6 Elizabeth ARMITSTEAD (Boels-Dolmans) ST
7 Amy PIETERS (Argos-Shimano) ST
8 Pauline FERRAND PREVOT (Rabobank-Liv/Giant) ST
9 Valentina SCANDOLARA (MCipollini-Giordana) ST
10 Alena AMIALIUSIK (BePink) ST
Full result and General Classification

...after the stage, Orica's Nettie Edmondson posted a good-humoured Tweet demonstrating the sort of luxury that female professional cyclists so regularly enjoy:

Annette Edmondson ‏@NettieEdmondson

Ahh the joys of women's cycling... But hey, at least we have a roof over our head! #glamour http://twitter.yfrog.com/mo6tdzzj?sa=0

...Team Sky's bus probably gets to stay in more luxurious garage!

Stage 3

Sandrine Bideau enlivened the first half

Much of Stage 3 was uneventful, with the exception of a brilliant solo escape by Sandrine Bideau in the first 60km - the 24-year-old managed to rapidly drive a two-and-a-half minute wedge between herself and the peloton and, though she was caught by the halfway point, her efforts to show the Vienne-Futuroscope jersey at the head of the race will have gone down very well indeed with the sponsors. Mindful of the fact that any riders able to replicate Bideau's break in the second half would get into the two laps of the finishing circuit at Mamers with a decent advantage and almost certainly have had a good chance of winning, the pack made the most of the unchallenging route and picked up the pace to prevent any further attacks.

Giorgia Bronzini said yesterday that her Wiggle-Honda team had plans to place Linda Villumsen - who trailed Emma Johansson of Orica-AIS by one second in the General Classification - into the race leader's jersey today, and right up until the final moments of Stage 3 it looked as though that's precisely what was going to happen. Orica, meanwhile, were out to try to preserve Johansson's lead and, if at all possible, strengthen it; being the masters they are at controlling a fast race, they made sure that the average speed rose still higher on the circuit.

However, there was one factor that neither team had foreseen - while the circuit featured numerous tight corners and was obviously very technical, what had not been obvious on paper was that it also featured a number of very short but relatively steep climbs: Bronzini territory. The Italian had shadowed her team leader  Villumsen into the circuit in order to support her attempt to take time from Johansson, but with the Swede keeping a careful eye and staying right on Villumsen's wheel it became obvious that Bronzini once again had the best chance at victory - she waited, then made full use of her stunning ability to accelerate uphill and completely overpowered Johansson to win by a bike length.

The first seventeen riders crossed the finish line in a group and thus shared Bronzini's time; as a result Johansson, who was second, remains General Classification leader with her advantage still standing at one second. Lizzie Armitstead (Boels-Dolmans), 16th overall following Stage 2, was third and is now in 14th place overall with a disadvantage of +15"; Amy Pieters (Argos-Shimano) was seventh, remains third overall with a disadvantage of +2" and leads the Youth category. Bronzini, who started the day in 31st place overall, is now 29th; her disadvantage stays +31".

Stage 4 is the longest in the race and looked set to be little more than a transitional stage; however, with a straight parcours, it may prove to be the scene of an epic battle between Orica and Wiggle-Honda.

Stage 3 Top Ten
1 Giorgia BRONZINI (Wiggle-Honda) 3h22'17"
2 Emma JOHANSSON (Orica-AIS) ST
3 Elizabeth ARMITSTEAD (Boels-Dolmans) ST
4 Pauline FERRAND PREVOT (Rabobank-Liv/Giant) ST
5 Pascale JEULAND (Vienne-Futuroscope) ST
6 Alena AMIALIUSIK (BePink) ST
7 Amy PIETERS (Argos-Shimano) ST
8 Roxane KNETEMANN (Rabobank-Liv/Giant) ST
9 Valentina SCANDOLARA (MCipollini-Giordana) ST
10 Tatiana GUDERZO (MCipollini-Giordana) ST
Full stage result and General Classification

Stage 4

Lauren Kitchen

Stage 4 might have been the longest in this year's race at 140km, but it wasn't the most technical parcours ever seen in professional cycling and as a result the peloton remained largely intact all the way to the end despite some attempts by the USA and Russia national teams and MCipollini-Giordana to break things up.

Whilst that doesn't make for an interesting race over the majority of the stage, it does tend to set things up for an exciting bunch sprint - and when no fewer than 69 riders approached the finish in one enormous group, it was obvious that any riders not at the very front of the pack were going to have a hard time finding a passage through. Giorgia Bronzini, as we've already seen three times in this race and many, many times in the past, knows a thing or two about sprinting, though - soo do her team mates Linda Villumsen and Lauren Kitchen, who battled a way through until there were only 200m left; then, having delivered their Italian payload to the front, they peeled off, at which point Bronzini attached herself to General Classification leader Emma Johansson's rear wheel for a moment or two before launching into another victorious sprint.

Although she finished outside the top ten, Johansson retains the overall lead with a 1" lead over Linda Villumsen (Wiggle-Honda). Amy Pieters (Argos-Shimano) is third overall and leads the Youth category. Bronzini rises to 27th place and trails by 31" overall.

Stage 4 Top Ten
1 Giorgia BRONZINI (Wiggle-Honda) 3h23'44"
2 Melissa HOSKINS (Orica-AIS) ST
3 Roxane FOURNIER (France NT) ST
4 Elizabeth ARMITSTEAD (Boels-Dolmans) ST
5 Pascale JEULAND (Vienne-Futuroscope) ST
6 Edita JANELIUNAITE (Pasta Zara-Cogeas) ST
7 Fanny RIBEROT (France NT) ST
8 Amy PIETERS (Argos-Shimano) ST
9 Pauline FERRAND PREVOT (Rabobank-Liv/Giant) ST
10 Thalita DE JONG (Rabobank-Liv/Giant) ST
Full stage result and General Classification

Stage 5
As if four consecutive stage victories wasn't impressive enough, Giorgia Bronzini found the strength to take a fifth today - and by doing so equaled the record held by Jeannie Longo. Perhaps most remarkable is that she was still able to out-sprint some very fast rivals even after she'd mounted a solo attack lasting around 15km and getting her 50" ahead of the peloton roughly halfway through the stage. So Mark Cavendish is the greatest sprinter in the history of cycling, right...?

Amelie Rivat kept the race interesting mid-parcours

Once again, it hadn't been planned - Bronzini's Wiggle-Honda team were out to pile serious pressure on General Classification leader Emma Johansson (Orica-AIS) whose advantage has stood precariously at just one second ever since she won the prologue. That was accomplished, with the riders from the British-registered team taking it in turns to trouble Johansson once a first-half attack by Amelie Rivat of Vienne-Futuroscope had come to nothing.

Bronzini was captured almost as soon as the race arrived at the first of the two finishing laps, at which point her team mates Mayuko Hagiwara and Lauren Kitchen took over. Then, a surprise: Wiggle leader Linda Villumsen took over; a brave move that would have brought glory had she have been able to get away for a solo win but one that on this parcours didn't work. What it did do, though, was afford Bronzini a few minutes to sit back and recharge her batteries; she was able, therefore, to take Johansson's back wheel into the sprint and then power past her to the finish.

With the first 44 riders crossing the line in a group, the General Classification changed little. Johansson, who was second to finish, is still overall leader; Villumsen, who was 14th to finish, is second overall at +1"; Pieters, who is the best-placed Young rider and finished in 11th, is third overall at +2". Bronzini, despite her stage wins, is still 27th at +31".

Stage 5 Top Ten
1 Giorgia BRONZINI (Wiggle-Honda) 2h27'48"
2 Emma JOHANSSON (Orica-AIS) ST
3 Pauline FERRAND PREVOT (Rabobank-Liv/Giant) ST
4 Pascale JEULAND (Vienne-Futuroscope) ST
5 Roxane FOURNIER (France NT) ST
6 Chloe MCCONVILLE (Australia NT) ST
7 Alena AMIALIUSIK (BePink) ST
8 Elizabeth ARMITSTEAD (Boels-Dolmans) ST
9 Tatiana GUDERZO (MCipollini-Giordana) ST
10 Lauren KITCHEN (Wiggle-Honda) ST
Full stage result and General Classification

Stage 6
It's probably fair to say that the Route organisers' decision to try to avoid any one rider building up a race-winning advantage early on hasn't met with universal approval - in fact, even some of the most passionate women's cycling fans and bloggers have been so critical that they've admitted they find this race boring (I don't, but then I've been known to spend an hour watching a bike propped up against a wall).

You can trust Giorgia Bronzini to give us some excitement, though: the two-time World Champion, riding for the British Wiggle-Honda team, broke a world record on this stage when she won for the sixth consecutive time - something that has never been achieved in the history of women's cycling. "It’s absolutely unbelievable - I could never imagine this happening, but I’m happy and I must have good shape!" the Italian rider exclaimed after the race. The World Championships are only a month and a half away and, while the parcours with the five ascents of 295m Fiesole looks to favour climbers rather than sprinters, it should be remembered that Bronzini isn't a bad climber, either - with current champion Marianne Vos apparently feeling the strain after adding mountain biking to her calendar this year, a third title may well be coming Bronzini's way.

Iris Slappendel

As has been the case with many of the previous stages, the first half of the stage was uneventful. The second half, on the other hand, was livened up by an excellent solo break by Rabobank's Iris Slappendel who became virtual leader for a short while, and then by almost non-stop attacks courtesy of Rabobank-Liv/Giant, the USA National Team and, most notably, Wiggle-Honda, whose team leader Linda Villumsen went off on her own in the final 10km in an attempt to catch Noemi Cantele (BePink), Kristin McGrath (USA NT) and Grace Sulzberger (Australia NT), who had successfully escaped after Slappendel was caught.  Emma Johansson's overall General Classification lead would have been in very real danger if Villumsen was permitted to stay away but, in a replay of events from Stage 1, she was unable to rely on team support when she needed it most - when she discovered that nobody nearby was able to chase and bring back Villumsen for her, she had to expend valuable energy herself.

Meanwhile, Villumsen had Bronzini, who rode hard to support her leader - so much so that she thought she was finished on the final descent. Villumsen had other ideas, though: knowing both that she'd used up too much energy when she went after the break earlier and that Johansson would be hurting, she told Bronzini she might as well have a go and instructed the rest of the team to ride for her. Lauren Kitchen led her into the final kilometre among a group of 46 riders, and when other riders began to sprint they saw their chance: suddenly, a gap opened in front of them and Kitchen leaped into it with Bronzini on her wheel. Then, 200m from the finish, Bronzini took over, and once again nobody - even Boels-Dolmans' Lizzie Armitstead, one of the strongest riders around today, who came second - had the legs to take her on.

With all 46 riders in the lead group finishing together, there was little meaningful change in the General Classification: Johansson was fourth and thus retains her GC advantage of 1" over second-placed Villumsen; however, Wiggle-Honda have everything to play for tomorrow. Bronzini stays in 27th place but, due to having come 66th in the Prologue with a time 31" slower than Johansson, remains too far behind to challenge for overall victory tomorrow. Amy Pieters (Argos-Shimano) was third and is third in the GC; she remains the leading Young rider.

Stage 6 Top Ten
1 Giorgia BRONZINI (Wiggle-Honda) 3h29'04"
2 Elizabeth ARMITSTEAD (Boels-Dolmans) ST
3 Amy PIETERS (Argos-Shimano) ST
4 Emma JOHANSSON (Orica-AIS) ST
5 Alena AMIALIUSIK (BePink) ST
6 Tiffany CROMWELL (Orica-AIS) ST
7 Chloe MCCONVILLE (Australia NT) ST
8 Pauline FERRAND PREVOT (Rabobank-Liv/Giant) ST
9 Edita JANELIUNAITE (Pasta Zara-Cogeas) ST
10 Pascale JEULAND (Vienne-Futuroscope) ST
Full stage result and General Classification

Stage 7
The Route's organising committee opted for a parcours that some fans and writers have labeled boring in an attempt to ensure no rider could be sure of General Classification victory this year. It worked - Emma Johansson (Orica-AIS) has held an advantage ever since she won the Prologue time trial a week ago, but it's remained tiny at just 1" and has looked distinctly shaky all the way, with Wiggle-Honda seemingly on the very cusp of taking it away from her and giving it to their team leader Linda Villumsen for most of the race.

Linda Villumsen wins her second Route,
eight years after her first

It was a big risk, but it was one that worked: it wasn't until the final stage that Wiggle's plans finally came to fruition and, when they did, they did so in such a spectacular fashion that this might just have been the greatest end to any race this season - on the Col de Dun, the only notable climb in the race this year, the Danish-born New Zealander left the peloton behind and caught solo breakaway Evelyn Stevens (USA NT), then dropped her on the descent. Then, with the pack having to take more care due to weight of numbers once they'd made it over the summit, she put all her time trial and bike-handling skills to excellent use, tucking in and making the most of the greater space afforded by her solitude, becoming faster and faster and increasing her advantage. All she needed to win was two seconds, but instead she won by 5'53" - a much larger margin that all the previous stages combined.

It has to be said that the Route only just worked out, though: just like last year, fans who were following the Route for the first time wondered if it might be a sort of Tour de France-equivalent for women, something that despite the promises it always makes the Route has never been, and had it not have been for those incredible, record-beating six consecutive stage victories clocked up by Giorgia Bronzini, many of those fans would in all probability have lost interest and been following the Arctic Tour of Norway, Tour de l'Ain or one of the other six UCI Elite Men's races going on right now. Perhaps in 2014 we'll see the Route return to some of those big climbs it visited in 2012, the Planche des Belles Filles included. Perhaps it'll even venture a little further south to the Pyrenees, or east to the Alps. Send the race up those roads and excitement is guaranteed from start to finish.

Stage 7 Top Ten
1 Linda Villumsen (Wiggle-Honda)
2 Lizzie Armitstead (Boels-Dolmans) +05'53"
3-10 not yet available...
Full stage result (when available)

General Classification Top Ten
1 Linda Villumsen (Wiggle-Honda)
2 Emma Johansson (Orica-AIS) +05'52"

3 Evie Stevens (USA NT) +05'57"
4-10 not yet available
Full General Classification (when available)

Polspoel wins Erondegemse Pijl
Race Preview

Maaike Polspoel

Belgium, for many, is the true home of cycling; so, after many weeks without an Elite Women's race, the Erondegemse Pijl drew large crowds who were treated to a fine example of Flemish racing that was so fast and furious 48 riders were unable to finish - and fans will have gone home delighted after Belgian riders took first, second and fifth making them the most successful nationality in the top ten. Winner Maaike Polspoel's victory, her first of 2013, was a decisive one, too - she beat the rest to the line by 57".

Polspoel's team mates Sofie de Vuyst and Christine Majerus (who won the Sparkassen Giro last week, where Polspoel was second) led the pack over the line for second (enough for de Vuyst to retain overall lead of the Lotto Cup) and third, making the race a superb day out for Sengers. The next 80 riders recorded the same time as de Vuyst and Majerus, then Liliano Leenknegi came in at +1'27" and Nel de Crits finished things off at 1'30". Among the riders not to finish was last year's winner Adrie Visser.

Top Ten
1 Maaike POLSPOEL (Sengers) 3h05'07"
2 Sofie DE VUYST (Sengers) ST
3 Christine MAJERUS (Sengers) ST
4 Kirsten PEETOOM (RC Jan van Arckel) ST
5 Kelly DRUYTS (TopSport Vlaanderen-Bioracer) ST
6 Kim DE BAAT (Dolmans-Boels) ST
7 Daniela GASS (MIX Wetteren-Bourgogne-Scapatella) ST
8 Anna TREVISI (Vaiano-Fondriest) ST
9 Monique VAN DE REE (CycleLive Plus-Zannata) ST
10 Nathalie LAMBORELLE (Bigla) ST
Full result and General Classification

More details on Women's Tour of Britain

A stage of the race will be named in honour
of Laura Trott

Brian Cookson, current president of British Cycling, confirmed last week that for the first time next year there will be a women's Tour of Britain, to be held as a stand-alone event rather than in conjunction with the men's race.

Since then, more good news has been released by SweetSpot, who organise the men's race and will also organise the new event - most notably, that the women will compete for prizes equal to those offered to the men (very often, the overall winner of a women's stage race receives less than a stage winner in a men's race).

It will be, says SweetSpot's Guy Elliott, "the only cycling event in the world where women are not second best." Speaking to The Guardian newspaper, he added: "The goal is to wrap a social agenda for change in health and social terms around a sports event, to send a strong message to women that they don't have to be second best. It's a game changer. It cannot carry on, that we discriminate against women in sport from the age of 15."

Elliott also revealed that each stage will be themed - a stage running through the Hertfordshire town of Cheshunt, home to Laura Trott, will be named in honour of the Olympic champion.

Interesting Links
Emma Pooley remains frustrated at women's low status in cycling (The Guardian)
Jo Rowsell to have surgery on broken collar bone (Cycling Weekly)
High recognition for Moolman Pasio (SuperSport)

Women's Cycling News 9-16.06.2013

Women's Cycling News You Might Have Missed

Johansson wins the Bira - JHT GP: Barnes wins Woking, Day wins Aylsham - Barnes also wins controversial Nocturne - British Cycling boss Cookson to stand for UCI presidency - New US MTB race seeks to even up pay disparity - Interesting Links - Elite Women Results - Photo of the Week - more to come...

Johansson bosses Vos at Bira

Emma Johansson, 2013 Emakumeen Bira victor

Rabo-Liv/Giant's Marianne Vos is widely considered the most successful cyclist in the world, so when she won Stage 1 at the Emakumeen Bira much of the women's cycling world sat back and waited for what very often seems to be inevitable - Marianne's total domination of the race. However, Marianne's incredible success has not negatively affected the sport by reducing competition as some commentators suggested it might: in fact, the opposite is true and, just as Helen Wyman wisely argued in January 2012, competition has become stronger as other riders have stepped up their efforts to take on the current World Champion.

One of those riders is Emma Johansson, who moved from Hitec Products to Orica-AIS for 2013 and has been no stranger to the podiums this year, proving herself a very strong adversary to Vos in the process and beating her at Gooik-Geraardsbergen-Gooik in May. The Swede got into a break with Orica team mate Tiffany Cromwell, old Hitec team mate Elisa Longo Borghini and Vos during Stage 2, leaving the pack behind shortly after the middle point of the stage as heavy rain created treacherous conditions. At the final climb, Johansson and Longo Borghini were able to split the break and began heading towards the finish together.

With Vos marooned away from helpers and with Longo Borghini having used up more energy due to not benefiting from the assistance of a team mate in the earlier break, this seemed an ideal situation for Johansson, but she knows that Vos must never be underestimated. "Elisa and I knew we had to go at it together. We couldn’t start playing games. We needed to try to keep the distance between us and the chasers as big as possible. We knew Marianne would take risks on the descent, but we played it safe. We worked together all the way to the line," she explained after the stage.

Elisa Longo Borghini, a rider heading
for the top of the sport...

Stage 1 had ended with a bunch sprint, meaning that although Johansson had finished 18 places behind Vos the Dutch woman had started Stage 2 without a time advantage; when Longo Borghini took second place Johansson now found herself with a very valuable 26" overall lead - and Stage 3 was to be an individual time trial, a discipline at which by her own admission Vos doesn't excel (her palmares suggests it's the only one at which she doesn't excel) but one at which Johansson performs very well indeed. A difficult parcours and more heavy rain made it a very hard stage. "I was suffering the whole time," she said later, but the first time check revealed that her speed was not - she was 10" faster than Longo Borghini and, as the stage progressed, she got even faster: "I was confident in Emma’s ability, but I was pleasantly surprised at the time gaps,” Orica directeur sportif Dave McPartland admitted. “Technically, her ride was brilliant. It had been raining to varying degrees all day, and it was a slight drizzle on and off during Emma’s ride. She rode as if it was dry and told me after her race that she hadn’t taken any risks. I’d like to see what she looks like when she is taking risks!" When the stage ended, she had finished 38" faster than second, third and fourth-placed riders Ellen van Dijk (Specialized-Lululemon), Longo Borghini and Anna van der Breggen (Sengers) and taken Orica's 200th podium place since the team came into being at the beginning of 2012.

...as is Anna van der Breggen

She thus began the fourth and final stage with 38" on Longo Borghini and a whole 1'51" on Vos, time gaps sufficient to allow her to win the race by cruising along in the peloton surrounded by a phalanx of protecting team mates. Except that women's cycling doesn't tend to work that way - after the first hour-and-a-half of racing had been spent with numerous attacks, counter-attacks and constant changes at the front of the pack, Longo Borghini and Johansson escaped again, this time accompanied Evelyn Stevens (Specialized-Lululemon) and Shara Gillow (Orica-AIS). Gillow worked hard for her leader, finally leaving the break between the two final climbs; that the 23-year-old Anna van der Breggen was able to bridge and join the break as the other three riders collaborated and increased their advantage on the way up the last hill is indication that she's a rider destined for greatness and very much one of the riders to watch at the forthcoming Tour de Bretagne, which she won in spectacular style last year. This time around, the stage deservedly went to Longo Borghini who had worked so hard throughout the race. Stevens followed her over the line for second with Johansson right on the American's back wheel for third, the three women recording an equal time while van der Breggen was three seconds slower; Vos was 1'06" down in sixth place.

"This is as close to a hometown win as anything for me,” the jubilant Johansson said once she'd climbed down from the podium and begun celebrating her first General Classification victory since 2012's Tour de Free State. "My first contract was with a Basque team based in Durango. I lived up north in Sweden at that time, so I couldn’t go home between races. Instead, I stayed with the girls here. I became good friends with my teammates. Their family became my family. I saw a lot of familiar faces out on the course every day. It feels like I’ve won at home." The Basques have a tradition of adopting riders they see as being worthy of becoming honourary Basques; Emma may ride for an Australian team these days, but she'll always find a warm welcome in Euskadi. (Race results further down the page)

Johnson HealthTech GP: Hannah Barnes wins Woking, Gabby Day wins Aylsham

Hannah Barnes, who required nine stitches
in her chin after winning in Woking, is
the 2013 overall winner.

She crashed hard enough early on in the race to need medical assistance once she'd crossed the finish line, but a rider like MG-Maxifuel's Hannah Barnes doesn't let anything as trifling as pain get in her way and her injuries didn't prevent her winning the round.

Her biggest rivals were Louise Borthwick of Edinburgh RC, who attacked time and time again throughout the race and finished up winning both the Sprints category and the Combativity award, and France's Roxanne Fournier who put up a stiff fight in the final sprint, only just missing out to Barnes at the line. MG-Maxifuel were the winning team and went to the fifth and final round in Aylsham with 180 points amassed so far, an advantage of 28 to second-placed MuleBar Girl-Sigma Sport's 152. This closely resembled the situation in the individual riders category where Barnes, with 72 points, led while Louise Mahe (MuleBar Girl-Sigma Sport) has 52.

Woking has hosted a round of the Tour series every year since its inception. Aylsham is a new addition, but with both the races and the afternoon of free cycling-related activities proving hugely popular despite heavy rain, it seems likely that this won't be the last visit. Other rounds have also been more successful than ever this year, proving that women's cycling is definitely on the up in Britain - let's hope that, in order to allow those towns that want the Series to come back next year to again host races and also retain an interesting variety of courses, we'll get a couple of extra rounds for 2014.

The rain made the course treacherous, leading to a nasty crash for Penny Rowson (Breast Cancer Care) who hit the barriers hard and was extremely fortunate (and surprised, going by her Twitter messages after the race) to escape without broken bones. Six other riders, including last year's Individual Standings overall winner Annie Simpson, were unable to finish.

Penny ‏@penny_rowson
Omg thankyou so much for the lovely messages I am one lucky girl! Hit the barriers hard and nothings broken or fractured! #madeofstrongstuff

Annie Simpson ‏@LittleSimo
Very happy to have @penny_rowson  back under my watchful eye. Nothing broken & I've bought her cookies so she'll be fine ;)

Round 5 winner Gabby Day

Natalie Creswick (MuleBar Girl-Sigma Sport) and Gabby Day (Matrix Racing Academy) escaped the pack early on and led for the rest of the race. Creswick's ability to stay with the highly experienced and successful cyclo cross rider Day is evidence that she has some serious bike-handling skills, but when it came to the final sprint to the line she was unable to generate the power she needed to prevent her rival taking victory which, with team mates Hannah Walker, Harriet Owen and Jessie Walker in fifth, ninth and tenth, gave Matrix their first win of this year's series.

Meanwhile, Hannah Barnes rode intelligently by remaining in the pack and staying out of trouble rather than risk throwing her advantage away in a crash, coming in 16th among a bunch led by France's Roxanne Fournier; she therefore wins the Individual Standings with 84 points. Creswick overtook Louise Mahe and finishes in second place overall with 73 points while Day is in third with 72, equal to Mahe who now takes fourth. Day also won the Sprint competition for the round; Barnes wins the category overall with 35 points to second placed Mahe's 23 and third placed Creswick's 19. MG-Maxifuel win the overall Teams category with 204 points, MuleBar Girl-Sigma Sport are second with 192 and Matrix Racing Academy are third with 187.

There is an excellent gallery of photos of the round by Paul Douglas on Matrix RA's website. Highlights of the race will be broadcast on ITV4 at 10pm on the 14th of June.

Woking Top Five
1 Hannah Barnes (MG-Maxifuel)
2 Roxanne Fournier (France)
3 Coryn Rivera (Breast Cancer Care)
4 Ella Hopkins (Breast Cancer Care)
5 Charline Joiner (MG Maxifuel)
Full results

Aylsham Top Five
1 Gabby Day (Matrix Racing Academy)
2 Natalie Creswick (MuleBar Girl-Sigma Sport)
3 Roxanne Fournier (France)
4 Coryn Rivera USA (Breast Cancer Care)
5 Hannah Walker GBR (Matrix Racing Academy)
Full results

Hannah Barnes scores controversial Nocturne win in front of record crowd

Laura Trott

Britain's female professional cyclists are flying higher than ever before right now - ask your non-cycling friends to name some male riders from this country and they'll tell you Wiggins, Cav and Hoy, ask them for some female riders and chances are they'll have heard of Pendleton, the Trotts, Rowsell, King, Armitstead, Cooke, Pooley, Houvenaghel and perhaps - if you choose your friends wisely - Wyman, who really ought to be much better known in her home country than she is. So that's three men who've become household names and at least nine women: truly a superb state of affairs and one that caused the organisers of the IG Markets Smithfield Nocture to predict that the Elite Women's race would draw a larger crowd than the Elite Men's race this year.

"The crowd was absolutely phenomenal" - Dani King

It being a free event, accurate figures are had to come by, but videos and photographs of the event prove beyond doubt that the women rode in front of a considerably larger crowd than last year - and every single one of the thousands that watched the race unfold will be glad they made the effort, having been treated to a thrilling race that kept things uncertain right to the end.

The result proved controversial. Reigning Olympic Team Pursuit and Omnium champion Laura Trott (Wiggle-Honda) and Hannah Barnes (MG-Maxifuel) fought hard in the final sprint, crossing the line so closely together than judges required a photo finish to decide who'd actually won, then declared that Trott had  got her wheel over the line first, while Barnes (who'll be on that list of household names by the next Olympics) recorded the same time of 34'51". However, after reviewing footage recorded by Channel 4, they decided that "it is clear" Barnes was in fact first but did not then declare her the winner, deeming the rider to have contested the sprint dangerously - the footage shows her lifting her arms aloft in celebration, as riders commonly do when finishing a race and as can be seen in this screenshot from the BBC, which British Cycling commissaires deemed dangerous "given the leaders' proximity in the sprint to a slower group of riders ahead on the road."

Nocturne organisers supported British Cycling's decision, but the cycling world was not convinced justice had been done. Legendary sprinter Mark Cavendish, no stranger to a spot of sprinting controversy himself, weighed in with the following Tweet in support of Barnes...

Mark Cavendish ‏@MarkCavendish
Reading about @bannahharnes getting demoted to 2nd in that #IGNocturne race. Is it true it was for celebrating the win?! Disgraceful if so.

...and fans were no less happy, as could be seen from the percentage of "#womenscycling" tweets discussing the matter and the appearance of a new tag, "#nocturnegate." Finally, in the afternoon of Saturday the 15th, a new official result was announced: Barnes was declared winner.

Trott's victory had been the first on home soil for her British-registered team, making the race a superb day out for Wiggle-Honda that got even better when Dani King took third place , Lauren Kitchen sixth, Jo Rowsell seventh and Charlotte Becker ninth with the team thus accounting for half of the top ten places. Nevertheless, team owner and manager Rochelle Gilmore was happy her rider had been relegated: ""We were delighted with what we understood was a narrow win for Laura Trott, but on discovering that Hannah Barnes had crossed the line first, we felt the decision to relegate her was harsh. We totally accept the reversal of this decision and offer our full and sincere congratulations to Hannah for an excellent win."

Top Ten further down the page.

Official statement here. Highlights of the event - with, hopefully, a decent-sized slot devoted to the Elite Women and the Women's Criterium - will be broadcast by Channel 4 at 07:35 on Sunday 16th of June.

Video

Matrix Fitness RA2013 UK women's Calendar has been amazing. Top races, riders, teams & TV. Belgium is so last year as a proving ground. UK is where its at.

Women's cycling-friendly British Cycling boss to stand for UCI president
Current UCI president Pat McQuaid has come in for a great deal of criticism over his perceived failure to develop women's cycling and apparent lack of concern for the sport during his time in office, most memorably from Australian rider Chloe Hosking, who called him "a bit of a dick" and was then to all intents and purposes let off without punishment by her National Federation when she apologised, but also by numerous other riders and (probably) the majority of women's cycling fans.

Few of those fans - including me - will have been at all upset when the Irish Federation's nomination of him to stand as a candidate for a third term was found not to have been carried out in accordance with the constitution of the organisation and declared void (the Federation then called an Extraordinary General Meeting, to be held on the 15th of June); now comes the good news that Brian Cookson, president of British Cycling and a staunch supporter of women's cycling in the past and has argued for equality between male and female athletes, intends to stand for the post.

"Cycling is quite a male chauvinist sport, culturally it has been for years, but it's taken a long time to change,"  said Cookson, who is also the current president of the UCI Road Commission, following a Management Committee meeting in October last year. "What I asked the senior management team to do was look at short, medium and long-term actions we can put in place. I'm not clear that we've actually got that process right; we've got a lot of work to do."

Cookson has opened a Twitter account and will publish his manifesto on his website in the near future.

New US MTB race seeks to even up pay disparity
The Specialized Catamount Classic, a new mountain bike competition to take part in Vermont, USA, is a UCI Cat 2 Pro XCT event and, as a result, female riders that take part have to be paid only 65% as much as their male counterparts.

You'll have read several stories that begin with similar sentences if you've followed women's cycling, on road or off, and will no doubt consider it absolutely unjustifiable. This time, however, thanks to the Catamount organisers agreeing that it's unjustifiable, the story takes a different course: in order to help give women's cycling the financial boost it needs to get onto an equal footing with men's cycling, they're spending an equal amount on the men's and women's races that make up the event - and, for the first time in mountain biking history and probably in the entire history of cycling, the women will be paid more than the men.

That'll probably bring some accusations that the men are now being discriminated against; but with prize funds in other races and so many more races open to them it's hard to make such an argument stick - the men will still earn a great deal more, and enjoy a lot more support, over the course of the season.

"We have been striving to support women in cycling for years and are excited that we can do this on a national stage with the support of companies like G-form and Specialized," says race promoter Eric Bowker.

Interesting Links
Britain
Highly recommended: Chris Davies' Redditch Johnson HealthTech GP photos
Annie Simpson on the Redditch Johnson HealthTech GP (Cycling Weekly)
Jo Rowsell latest rider to demand more women's races running alongside men's
Crystal Lane wins Paralympic bronze in Italy (British Cycling)
Live in Newcastle? Fancy a talk on Emily Davison and the role of the bicycle in the Women's Suffrage movement (June 14th/15th)?
Velo Club Walcott searching for new female members (NowBath)
Video: Becky James urges young riders to try out track at the Chris Hoy Velodrome (Daily Record)
Emily Kay wins Hillingdon GP (British Cycling)
Worldwide
Julie Emmerman wins North Boulder Park Classic (Daily Camera, Colorado, USA)
Fatehah Mustapa wins Keirin at SE Asian Track GP (New Straits Times, Malaysia)
An interview with Loren Rowney (ROAR)

Elite Women Results
Tour of Adygeya, Russia
1 Natalia BOYARSKAYA (Russia) 9h06'34"
2 Eivgenia VYSOTSKA (Ukraine) +30"
3 Anna ZAVERSHINSKAYA (Russia) +01'33"
4 Alexandra BURCHENKOVA (RusVelo) +02'22"
5 Anna EVSEEVA (Russia) +02'50"
6 Elena KUCHINSKAYA (RusVelo) +03'45"
7 Tatiana SHAMANOVA (Russia) +04'44"
8 Svetlana STOLBOVA (Russia) +04'54"
9 Aizhan ZHAPAROVA (RusVelo) +05'04"
10 Marina LIKHANOVA (Russia) +05'05"
Points: Boyarskaya (32p, Russia) KOM: Kuchinskaya (19p, RusVelo)
Stages: 1. Burchenkova (RusVelo) 2. Boyarskaya (Russia) 3. Chulkova (RusVelo) 4. Boyarskaya (Russia)
Full results here

Emakumeen Bira
1 Emma JOHANSSON (Orica-AIS) 7h56'47"
2 Elisa LONGO BORGHINI (Hitec Products-UCK) +38"
3 Evelyn STEVENS (Specialized-Lululemon) +02'14"
4 Anna VAN DER BREGGEN (Sengers) +02'45"
5 Marianne VOS (Rabo-Liv/Giant) +02'57"
6 Alena AMIALIUSIK (BePink) +04'12"
7 Megan GUARNIER (Rabo-Liv/Giant) +04'15"
8 Lucinda BRAND (Rabo-Liv/Giant) +04'35"
9 Fabiana LUPERINI (Faren-Let's Go Finland) +04'44"
10 Shara GILLOW (Orica-AIS) +04'45"
Points: KOM:
Stages: 1. Vos (Rabo-Liv/Giant) 2. Johansson (Orica-AIS) 3. Johansson (Orica-AIS) 4. Longo Borghini (Hitec Products-UCK)

IG Markets Smithfield Nocturne
1 Hannah Barnes (MG-Maxifuel) 34'51"
2 Laura Trott (Wiggle-Honda) ST
3 Dani King (Wiggle-Honda) +01"
4 Coryn Rivera (Breast Cancer Care) +02"
5 Corrine Hall (Matrix Racing Academy) ST
6 Lauren Kitchen (Wiggle-Honda) ST
7 Jo Rowsell (Wiggle-Honda) ST
8 Louise Mahe (MuleBar Girl-Sigma Sport) +04" 
9 Charlotte Becker (Wiggle-Honda) +05" 
10 Natalie Creswick (MuleBar Girl-Sigma Sport) +41"
Full results and Women's Criterium results

Photo of the Week

Johnson HealthTech GP, Redditch, 2013
Used with the very kind permission of Chris Davies; do not reuse or
reproduce without gaining the permission of the owner.

The new season begins for Johansson and Vos

Emma Johansson sustained two
broken collarbones on the 14th of January
(image credit: Eriohm CC BY 3.0)

Emma Johansson - the 28-year-old rider who sustained two broken collar bones during a training ride when she was involved in a collision with a car a month and a half ago - has recovered in time to compete in the upcoming Omloop van 't Hageland, her Hitec Products-Mistral Home team has confirmed. She had hoped to be able to ride in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, originally planned as the start of her season, but was aware doing so would be unlikely. The race takes place this Sunday the 4th of March at Tielt-Winge.

Marianne Vos

Meanwhile, following a short break after the cyclo cross season (which saw her yet again become World Champion) the Dutch superstar Marianne Vos will begin her season at the Acht van Dwingeloo on the 8th of March, which she won last year at the beginning of a spectacular season which confirmed her status as one of the most successful professional cyclists of all time. Now backed by a Rabobank team constructed around her and with the intention of driving her towards even more victories, her opponents will be keeping close watch to see just what they're up against this year.