Women's Cycling News 21-28.07.2013

UCI races this week - Thuringen Rundfahrt (Stages 6, 7 & GC) - Tour en Limousin (Stages 1, 2, 3 & GC) - Women's TdF petition nears 70,000 signatures, ASO indicate interest, Harriet Harman MP lends support - Mexican coach investigated after alleged assault on rider - British Circuit Championships to be televised - Daisy Depoorter recovering after crash - Interesting Links - more to come...

UCI Elite Women races this week: Thuringen Rundfahrt (15-21.07); Tour en Limousin (18-21.07); U23 European Road Race Championship (21.07); Sparkassen Giro (28.07).

Thuringen Rundfahrt
(Previous stages here)
(Race preview here)
Stage 6
With all the attempted breakaways in the first few kilometres, it was obvious that many riders have become tired of bunch sprint finishes and were hoping to grab a few General Classification seconds today, but none of them had stuck by the time the race arrived at the first intermediate sprint where the points went to Lisa Brennauer and Trixi Worrack (both Specialized-Lululemon), then Anna van der Breggen (Sengers): all three had begun the day near enough to the top for the bonification seconds to make a notable difference to their times - though with Brennauer still 1'31" down overall on Emma Johansson, unlikely to be enough to make a notable difference to the outcome of the race now that there's one stage to go.

Scandolara takes the penultimate
stage

Hanka Kupfernagel attacked whilst climbing the Steilen cobbles a short while later but her rivals, well aware that the German rider's cyclo cross skills would give her an advantage on the rough terrain, were not going to let her get away and marked her closely. Emilia Fahlin (Hitec Products-UCK) and Worrack then briefly managed to escape, but Orica-AIS got on the case and brought them back almost immediately.

Worrack's presence in the short-lived break may have been nothing more than a Lululemon ploy, however, because with the pack's attention diverted and Orica settling back into place, her team mate Tayler Wiles got away and found an advantage on the road of a whole minute - much to the delight of fans, who sang "Happy Birthday to You" as she passed them (Wiles is 24 today)! She remained in front at the top of the next categorised climb where Christine Majerus (Sengers) was second and Johansson again third, then managed to stay a handful seconds away through the next intermediate sprint (Romy Kasper of Boels-Dolmans was second, Johansson third) before the pack finally caught her.

Roxane Knetemann (Rabo) attacked soon afterwards and won the final intermediate sprint where Kasper and Johansson were again second and third, but with the finish line approaching the peloton wasn't going to let her stay away even though, having started the day in 12th place with a deficit of at least two minutes to anyone with a realistic chance of challenging for overall victory, her chances of gaining any significant advances seemed slight so late in the race. Valentina Scandolara (MCipollini-Giordana) had started the day in 17th place, 7'11" down the GC, and has no chance of troubling Johansson - but if you can't get on the podium, you may as well salvage some glory in the shape of a stage win. So, she took advantage of the work Knetemann had done and launched her own attack once the Dutch rider was caught, and proved herself stronger than the riders who chased after her, winning alone with an advantage of 10".

In the hubbub of Scandolara's attack, Annemiek van Vleuten (Rabo) crashed but is reportedly fine to start tomorrow. Johansson, caught up behind her, was delayed as a result; however, as the crash had occurred on the descent in the final 3km she did not lose time and now leads overall by 32".

Stage 6 Top Ten
1 Valentina SCANDOLARA (MCipollini-Giordana) 2h45'45"
2 Lucinda BRAND (Rabo-Liv/Giant) +10"
3 Adrie VISSER (Boels-Dolmans) ST
4 Elke GEBHARDT (Germany NT) ST
5 Emily COLLINS (Wiggle-Honda) ST
6 Tatiana GUDERZO (MCipollini-Giordana) ST
7 Beate ZANNER (Germany NT) ST
8 Linda VILLUMSEN (Wiggle-Honda) ST
9 Amy CURE (Australia NT) ST
10 Lisa BRENNAUER (Specialized-Lululemon) ST
Full stage result and General Classification

Stage 7

Emma Johansson wins overall

If there was one feature of the Stage 7 parcours that was certain to play a big part in the race, it was the Hankaberg - a cruelly-steep climb  named after local star Hanka Kupfernagel (it used to be called Dörtendorferberg) who was, of course, in the race this year. Several attempts to get away from the pack before the first ascent came to nothing, then Valentina Scandolara (MCipollini-Giordana) and Roxane Knetemann (Rabo-Liv/Giant) made good use of the gradient, which reaches a 16% gradient, breaking away from the bunch. BePink's Doris Schweizer was the only rider able to bridge and the trio got a minute and a half in front, staying away all the way until the third lap.

With the break caught, numerous riders began attacking. Liesbet de Vocht (Rabo) managed to put 17" between herself and the pack but was caught soon afterwards and Anna van der Breggen (Sengers) led the last time the race reached Hankaberg, but she tired on the climb and Tatiana Guderzo (MCipollini-Giordana) got the better of her, reaching the summit first; when the Italian showed no sign of slowing down a chase group made up of potential stage winners accompanied by bunch sprint lieutenants formed - Amy Cure and Grace Sulzberger (both Australia NT),  Lucinda Brand and Knetemann (Rabo), Lizzie Armitstead and Jessie Daams (Boels-Dolmans) and Emma Johansson and Shara Gillow (both Orica-AIS) along with Bigla's Andrea Graus and BePink's Georgia Williams.

Although none of them now stood any realistic chance of knocking Johansson from the top perch in the General Classification, the Swedish rider made sure she was near the front of the group just in case matters needed to be taken in hand but played it safe, making sure she'd cross the line rather than risking everything with a last minute battle for stage victory. Guderzo thus took the stage, remaining 18" ahead, with Brennauer and van der Breggen second and third. Johansson was tenth, taking the same time as the runners-up; her overall advantage at the end of the race remained 32".


Stage 7 Top Ten
1 Tatiana GUDERZO (MCipollini-Giordana) 2h51'11"
2 Lisa BRENNAUER (Specialized-Lululemon) ST
3 Anna VAN DER BREGGEN (Sengers) ST
4 Amy CURE (Australia NT) ST
5 Elizabeth ARMITSTEAD (Boels-Dolmans) ST
6 Lucinda BRAND (Rabo-Liv/Giant) ST
7 Linda VILLUMSEN (Wiggle-Honda) ST
8 Shara GILLOW (Orica-AIS) ST
9 Georgia WILLIAMS (BePink) ST
10 Emma JOHANSSON (Orica-AIS) ST

Final General Classification Top Ten
1 Emma JOHANSSON (Orica-AIS) 17h07'57"
2 Shara GILLOW (Orica-AIS) +32"
3 Lisa BRENNAUER (Specialized-Lululemon) +01'23"
4 Anna VAN DER BREGGEN (Sengers) +01'31"
5 Linda VILLUMSEN (Wiggle-Honda) +01'36"
6 Amanda SPRATT (Orica-AIS) +02'23"
7 Lucinda BRAND (Rabo-Liv/Giant) +02'43"
8 Georgia WILLIAMS (BePink) +02'48"
9 Hanka KUPFERNAGEL (Germany NT) +02'58"
10 Roxane KNETEMANN (Rabo-Liv/Giant) +03'36"
Points: 1 Emma JOHANSSON (Orica-AIS) 53pts; 2 Valentina Scandolara (MCipollini-Giordana) 24 pts; 3 Annemiek van Vleuten (Rabo-Liv/Giant) 23pts. Mountains: Christine Majerus (Sengers) 40pts; Roxane Knetemann (Rabo-Liv/Giant) 26 pts; Valentina Scandolara (MCipollini-Giordana) 15 pts. Youth: 1 Anna van der Breggen (Sengers) 17h09'28"; Lucinda Brand (Rabo-Liv/Giant) +01'12"; Georgia Williams (BePink) +01'17". Combativity: Linda Villumsen (Wiggle-Honda).
Full stage and General Classification results


Tour Feminin en Limousin
(Race preview here)
Unfortunately, it seems the organisers don't want us to have an easy time of following this one, which is a pity because it looks like being an excellent race - there are no updates on the official site nor, it seems, anywhere else, and it took until Stage 4 for results to appear on the UCI website. How do organisers expect fans to be fans of their races if they're not going to put the information out there? Such is the great Unanswered Question of Women's Cycling.

Stage 1 Top Ten
1 Oxana KOZONCHUK (RusVelo) 3h29'20"
2 Svetlana STOLBOVA (Pratomagno) ST
3 Katarzyna PAWLOWSKA (GSD Gestion-Kallisto) +01"
4 Natalia BOYARSKAYA (Russia NT) +03"
5 Irina MOLICHEVA (Pratomagno) ST
6 Claire THOMAS  (GSD Gestion-Kallisto) ST
7 Sara MUSTONEN (Faren-Let's Go Finland) ST
8 Sophie DE BOER (Parkhotel Valkenburg) ST
9 Jennifer FIORI (Top Girls-Fassa Bortolo) ST
10 Elana VALENTINI (Top Girls-Fassa Bortolo) ST
Full stage result and General Classification

Stage 2 Top Ten
1 Tatiana ANTOSHINA (MCipollini-Giordana) 26'15"
2 Katarzyna PAWLOWSKA (GSD Gestion-Kallisto) +25"
3 Edwige PITEL (S.C. Michela Fanini-Rox) +41"
4 Natalia BOYARSKAYA (Russia NT) +46"
5 Karol-Ann CANUEL (Vienne Futuroscope) +01'11"
6 Belen LOPEZ (Lointek) +01'21"
7 Lucy COLDWELL (Breast Cancer Care) +01'22"
8 Elena KUCHINSKAYA (RusVelo) +01'25"
9 Svetlana STOLBOVA (Pratomagno) +01'27"
10 Oxana KOZONCHUK (RusVelo) +01'34"
Full stage result and General Classification

Stage 3 Top Ten
1 Katarzyna PAWLOWSKA (GSD Gestion-Kallisto) 3h31'30"
2 Oxana KOZONCHUK (RusVelo) ST
3 Karol-Ann CANUEL (Vienne Futuroscope) ST
4 Svetlana STOLBOVA (Russia NT) ST
5 Alexis RYAN (USA NT) ST
6 Elena BERLATO (Top Girls-Fassa Bortolo) ST
7 Belen LOPEZ (Lointek) ST
8 Jennifer FIORI (Top Girls-Fassa Bortolo) ST
9 Edwige PITEL (S.C. Michela Fanini-ROX) +04"
10 Tatiana ANTOSHINA (Russia NT) ST
Full stage result and General Classification

General Classification Top Ten
1 Katarzyna PAWLOWSKA (GSD Gestion-Kallisto) 7h27'11"
2 Tatiana ANTOSHINA (Russia NT) +01"
3 Edwige PITEL (S.C. Michela Fanini-ROX) +42"
4 Oxana KOZONCHUK (RusVelo) +01'02"
5 Karol-Ann CANUEL (Vienne Futuroscope) +01'04"
6 Svetlana STOLBOVA (Russia NT) +01'06"
7 Belen LOPEZ (Lointek) +01'18"
8 Lucy COLDWELL (Breast Cancer Care) +01'39"
9 Elena BERLATO (Top Girls-Fassa Bortolo) +01'41"
10 Aizhan ZHAPAROVA (RusVelo) ST
Full GC result

Original, large-scale (and printable) poster here

Women's TDF petition nears 70,000 signatures
Some people say that there simply isn't enough interest in women's cycling for the sport to ever match men's cycling in popularity. The petition started by Kathryn Bertine, Emma Pooley, Marianne Vos and Chrissie Wellington asking the Amaury Sport Organisation to add a women's race to the Tour de France proves that those people are wrong - a little over a week since it was launched, almost 65,000 people have signed.

The petition is now aiming for 75,000 signatures and looks entirely capable of reaching that figure - or, perhaps, topping it. If you haven't already done so, add your support here.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports that Tour organisers the ASO are showing interest - in contrast to reports elsewhere last week that suggested otherwise. For more, see Cycling News.

Harriet Harman MP lends support
French politicians have involved themselves in cycling many times during the sport's history; their British counterparts tend not to do so - but Harriet Harman, British Labour MP and Shadow Deputy Prime minister and Shadow Minister for Culture, Media and Sport, joined the discussion when she wrote to Tour director Christian Prudhomme. Her letter, which displays an understanding of some of the issues facing women's cycling, has been made available through a party press release:

"Dear Christian

I am writing to call on you to hold a women's race alongside the Grand Départ of the Tour de France in 2014.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour, former world champion and Olympic silver medallist Emma Pooley called for a women's Tour de France to be reinstated. She has since signed a petition on the subject, along with female cycling champions Kathryn Bertine and Marianne Vos, triathlon world champion Chrissie Wellington, and tens of thousands of others.

This highlights the divide between men's and women's cycling. Britain's women won 5 medals at London 2012 (compared to 7 for the men). Britain has some of the best women cyclists in the world - but for years they had to compete for foreign teams as there was no investment in an elite women's team.

In her retirement statement, former world champion and Olympic gold medallist Nicole Cooke wrote of how women's road racing had 'crumbled' since 2002 including the loss of the women's Tour de France.

Overall, women's sport misses out compared to men's sport: women's sport only receives 0.5% of total sports sponsorship in the UK and only 4% of sports coverage in national and local newspapers is dedicated to women's sport.

The Grand Départ being held in Yorkshire and from Cambridge to London in 2014 presents a great opportunity to hold a women's event and set an example to the rest of Europe and Le Tour. After the success of the Olympics, women's cycling should not be allowed to slip back into the shadows.

I support the call for a women's Tour de France and call on you to organise a women's race alongside the Grand Départ.

I have also sent copies of this letter to British Cycling, UK Sport, Leeds City Council, Cambridge City Council, and Cambridgeshire County Council.

Yours sincerely,

Harriet Harman MP"

Interesting Women's TdF Links
Britain’s female cyclists can conquer the Alps too (The Independent)
Emma Pooley: "A women's TdF would not harm anybody" (Cycling Weekly)

Mexican coach investigated following alleged assault
Arturo Meneses, the Mexican coach who allegedly physically assaulted rider Erika Varela at the Mexican Road Race Championships, is the subject of an investigation into the incident being carried out by the country's Commission of Physical Culture and Sports (CONADE), according to ESPN.

Cycling fan Gustavo Garcia says that he went to see what was going on after hearing shouting and saw Meneses attack Varela during an argument. He then took a series of photographs that appear to show a struggle, followed by the coach pushing the rider over and pulling her roughly back upright.

Erika Varela

Days later, reports claimed Varela had denied any assault had taken place: "What the pictures really show is him trying to get me to stand when I didn't want to. To clarify, he did not at any time hit me or anything like that - it was just an argument when we were both angry. Arturo and I remain friends; it was just an angry row - the rest is just gossip and people misinterpreting the pictures," says a piece published by Terra.com.

Yet the following day, in a report published by PeriodicoAM under the title "Confirma Erika Varela pleito,"  ("Erika Varela confirms lawsuit"),Meneses gave a rather different account: "The situation is this: Erika has asthma and she'd ridden like a wild horse early in the race. Then, she fainted - when it looks as though I was throwing her in the photo, I was actually holding her up."

PeriodicoAM says that it contacted another rider, who wanted to remain anonymous, and was told: "I remember him well. Whenever things didn't go well [in a race], he became disrespectful and swore. He's a despot."

Jesús Mena, CONADE director, said "It is vital that CONADE fully investigates this accusation, and that what took place is fully understood. The world of sport must practice and promote the values of respect towards everyone equally."

British National Circuit Race Champs to be televised
For the first time this year, highlights of the British National Circuit Race Championships will be televised on ITV4. It's not clear if this will include the women's races, but as ITV4 have shown at least some coverage of the Johnson HealthTech GP, it seems likely that we'll get at least something.

Daisy Depoorter recovering
Daisy Depoorter, the CycleLive Plus-Zannata rider who suffered serious injuries when she was hit by a car during a training ride before Stage 3 at the Thuringen Rundfahrt last week, has been keeping fans updated on her recovery via Twitter...

Daisy Depoorter ‏@DaisyDep
After 7 days in the hospital in Jena I have finally green light for friday 26/07 to go back to Belgium. I will stay in AZ Damiaan in Ostend.

...The first 3 days were for me excruciating pain, vomiting and a collapsed lung. After those 3 hellish days I became every day little stronger...

...And i can move my legs again! #revalidation pic.twitter.com/hhm38augSX

Best wishes, Daisy - the ever-increasing number of women's cycling fans around the world are all looking forward to seeing you back in action soon!

Interesting Links
United Kingdom
Preview: 2013 British Cycling National Circuit Race Championships (British Cycling)
Cycling firm hits a milestone (Blackpool Gazette)
Worldwide
It's time for televised women's cycling (Daily Peloton)

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.