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.

Weekly Women's Cycling News 29.04-05.05.2013

Karla Boddy wins Cheshire Classic - Wiggle-Honda at Nocturne - UK women-only MTB marathon - Sheffield GP secure women's race sponsor - Kaarle McCulloch wins Sportstar award - other news - Tweets - Photo of the Week

Karla Boddy wins Cheshire Classic

Karla Boddy

She only had two team mates to back her up (other riders had seven) and was far from a favourite to win, but Karla Boddy (MG Maxifuel) knows that clever tactics will frequently prove mightier than brute strength. After she'd spent the Cheshire Classic (28th April)  biding her time in the peloton, preserving her strength while attention was drawn away by the more crowd-pleasing, theatrical attacks of Penny Rowson (Breast Cancer Care) and Amy Roberts (Wiggle-Honda), most of those riders who were favourites had probably forgotten that she was even there; or if they knew they didn't pay any notice. Until, that is, she launched her sprint some 300m from the finish line during the tenth and final lap of the 7.7km circuit, catching the peloton by surprise. Matrix Racing Academy's Emma Grant responded quickest and went after her - but had she been quick enough? Even the two riders weren't sure at first, with joyous fans taking great pleasure in being able to reassure Boddy that she'd won. More here.

Cheshire Classic Top Ten
1 Karla Boddy (MG-Maxifuel)
2 Emma Grant (Matrix Racing Academy)
3 Emily Kay (Scott Contessa Epic)
4 Amy Roberts (Wiggle-Honda)
5 Gabriella Shaw (Breast Cancer)
6 Charline Joiner (MG-Maxifuel)
7 Hannah Walker (Matrix Racing Academy)
8 Louise Mahe (Team Mulebar Girl-Sigma Sport)
9 Amy Hill (Abergavenny RC)
10 Kayleigh Brogan (Breast Cancer Care)

Rowsell, Trott and King

Wiggle-Honda to race at London Nocturne
The Women's Criterium at the IG Markets London Nocturne has, within just a few years, become one of the most prestigious women's cycling events in the UK, able to attract the top names in the sport - to take part in the race and to support its future, as became necessary last year when pressure from British Cycling (who were concerned that the riders might be too tired to take part in a BC event the following day) very nearly led to the women's race being cancelled. This year, it's pulled in none other than the best-known women's team in the country: Rochelle Gilmore's British-registered Wiggle-Honda are sending Olympic stars Jo Rowsell, Dani King and Laura Trott to make the team's British racing debut at the event, which takes place at Smithfield Market on the 8th of June. More details here.

Britain's first women-only MTB marathon
I don't usually cover mountain biking on this site (the excellent Mountain Biking UK magazine and others began reporting on female riders and races right from the start of their existence, at a time when the road cycling mags didn't seem aware that women's road cycling even existed), but news that Wales is about to host Britain's very first women-only MTB marathon is well worth spreading.

The non-competitive event takes place near Builth Wells and features 20 and 40km off-road routes with something suitable for everyone; there is camping available and plenty of stuff to amuse children and dads whilst the mums are busy riding. For more information, see British Cycling.

Sheffield GP secure women's race sponsorship

Sheffield Grand Prix ‏@SheffGrandPrix
More big news. We are proud to announce that we have secured a headline sponsor for the Women's Grand Prix. All set for a fantastic race!!

McCulloch and Meares, 2011

Kaarle McCulloch is Tynan-Honda Sportstar of the Year
Chances are that, as the Olympic glow fades with every passing month since August last year, before too long the majority of the world's population will have once again forgotten that women's cycling exists as a sport. In the meantime, however, we can all enjoy seeing the athletes receive the attention they so rightfully deserve - as was the case with Australia's Kaarle McCulloch when she was named Tynan-Honda Sportstar of the Year this week. McCulloch, born in New South Wales, became Elite National 500m Champion for the fifth time in January this year.

McCulloch received the award for her bronze-winning Team Pursuit performance alongside Anna Meares - Australia's first track cycling medal at the Games.

Other News
UK
Cheshire Classic (Northwich Guardian)
An insight into cycle racing by Karla Boddy (ThameNews)
Jess Varnish: Pendleton left a void (Track Cycling News)
Chris Newton is new British Cycling women's Team Pursuit coach (Eurosport)
Worldwide
Grey Ghost Bicycles will host a Women’s Cycling Series event featuring Megan Guarnier (PostStar, NY, USA)
Tunisia to host third Arab Women's Cycling Championship (Magharebia)
Women-only cyclocross team races onto the Bay Area cycling scene (Bay Area Living)
Putting on a show in the Norwegian Cup (Tone Hattland, Cycling News)
Celebrate women in cycling on Women's Ride Day (CatWalkChatt, North Georgia, USA)
Cyclists get hearts racing at Spartanburg's Spring Fling (GoUpstate, USA)
All-women bike rides around the globe (Canoe Travel)
Bangladesh Ansar won two gold medals in the 8th Bangladesh Games (Financial Express)
Wiasak 'stoked' with hard-fought time-trial win (Canberra Times)

Tweets
Ashleigh Moolman ‏@ashleighcycling
"@TheDailyPeloton: Giro Rosa unveils participating teams and stages http://www.dailypeloton.com/displayarticle.asp?pk=20520 … #womenscycling @GiroRosa2013" looking forward :-)

Marianne Vos ‏@marianne_vos
Meet the riders of my team @RaboLivGiant: http://youtu.be/kqsTNstYHsQ 
Proud to be part of this motivated group!

CyclingFlash ‏@CyclingFlash
VIDEO Women Cyclingfever: G. Bronzini (@GiorgiaBronzini, @WiggleHonda) wins 1st stage #ElsyJacobs 2013 - http://women.cyclingfever.com/stage.html?etappe_idd=MjkxMzQ=&_ap=video …

Photo of the Week

From the Gracia Orlova
Photo by Bell X One; do not use without owner's
permission

IG London Nocturne Rapha Women's Criterium

Hannah Barnes won for the
fourth time

Following an outcry from riders and fans when British Cycling asked organisers to drop the women's race this year, Nocturne officials announced they'd go ahead and run the race provided sufficient female riders signed up - and so it was great to see more than 30 lined up on the start line, among them some of the best racers Britain and Europe have to offer.

It had rained for much of the week and many riders will have been expecting treacherous conditions on the several tight corners along the technical 1.05km parcours around Smithfield Market in London, but the riders enjoyed glorious evening sunshine as the race began. The weather also encouraged fans and interested onlookers to turn out in their thousands, and since the racing was first-rate, at least a few spectators with no previous interest in cycling will have gone home thinking that they might quite like to see some more in the future - making the event every bit as advantageous to women's cycling as it was to the local pubs, cafes and shops that did a roaring trade keeping everyone topped up with drinks and food.

Despite puncturing right at the start (Team UK Youth entered into the festival spirit of the event by supplying her with one of their own replacement wheels) Hannah Barnes of Ibis Cycles won for a fourth time after she successfully held off strong competition, not least of all from the older and more experienced big stars Helen Wyman and Sarah Storey who came eighth and tenth respectively. Dutch rider Hannah Welter was second, closely followed by Australian Belinda Goss (Escentual For VioRed).

A highlights programme including footage of the Rapha Criterium, the Elite Men's race, the penny-farthing and folding bike races and the longest fixie skid competition will be shown next Sunday at 07:10 on Channel 4 - the first cycling the broadcaster has scheduled since 2001 and, hopefully, the first of many (if you have better things to do at that time on a Sunday morning, it'll also be available on the 4OD catch-up service).

"I love the London Nocturne because of the course and the crowd support – the atmosphere is electric. It was great to race it and win it for the fourth time and I hope to be back again next year." - Hannah Barnes

Photos by Wig Worland

Results
1.      Hannah Barnes           Ibis Cycles
2.      Hannah Welter           Netherlands
3.      Belinda Goss            Escentual For VioRed
4.      Julia Soek                      Netherlands
5.      Harriet Owen            Node4 Giordana
6.      Nicola Juniper          Corvida Allpress
7.      Natalie Creswick                Team Mule Bar Girls
8.      Helen Wyman                     Kona Factory Racing
9.      Alice Barnes            23c Orbea
10.     Sarah Storey            Escentual For VioRed
11.     Corrine Hall            Node4-Giordana
12.     Lydia Boylan            Look Mum No Hands!
13.     Louise Mahe                     Team Mule Bar Girls
14.     Estelle Rogers          Corvida Allpress
15.     Elise Sherwell          Look Mum No Hands!
16.     Jo McRae                        Look Mum No Hands!
17.     Collyn Ahart            Eagle Road Club
18.     Emma Craddock           South Downs Bikes
19.     Jessie Walker           Matrix Fitness-Prendas
20.     Sarah Brook                     Team Mule Bar Girls
21.     Delia Beddis            ViCiOUS Velo
22.     Emily Bagnall           WyndyMilla-UK Youth
23.     Elle Hopkins            Escentual For VioRed
24.     Fiona Strouts           Stevens Bikes p/b Pactimo
25.     Elinor Winter           Corvida Allpress
26.     Elizabeth Chittenden    Eagle Road Club
27.     Stephanie May           Team Quest-The BIKE Shop
28.     Julie Granshaw          WyndyMilla / UK Youth
29.     Rohan Battison          Escentual For VioRed
30.     Sarah Kent                      Escentual For VioRed
31.     Eryn Nolan                      Pretorius Bikes

London Nocturne - Rapha Women's Criterium

Intro - Parcours - Hazards - Favourites - Weather - Spectating - TV

Smithfield Market (in the foreground, East Poultry Lane) -
the riders will race for 30' + three laps around it

Today is the 9th of June - and that means tonight is the night of the unique, spectacular and enormously popular IG Markets London Nocturne in which the best riders Britain has to offer go head-to-head with the best of the rest of the world (Elite Women start list here).

The women's race almost didn't happen this year after British Cycling approached organisers and asked for it to be dropped. Their reasoning was that the riders might favour the Nocturne over another race taking place the next day (one organised by British Cycling, funnily enough). Team Mule Bar Girl were first on the case, drumming up support for the race with their Facebook page:

"So British Cycling have asked Smithfield Nocturne NOT to hold a women's race because it makes the girls tired for a big BC race the next day. The last I checked we weren't living in North Korea and we are allowed to choose how we spend our time. The Nocturne Women's race is one of the most talked about on the calendar, it's the one we get bubbly with excitment for. It took a big effort and some beautiful support for it to happen in the first place, just to have it taken away, it totally sucks!!!"

Stefan Wyman , as owner and manager of one of Britain's best-known women's teams Matrix-Prendas and perhaps the foremost advocate of women's cycling in the country, also felt that the riders should have the choice to enter whichever race they preferred. He also revealed that British Cycling had made their request without first asking the riders for their opinions, and highlighted the fact that as the Nocturne is televised and attracts a huge crowd it's a more important event as far as women's cycling is concerned:

"The Smithfield nocturne was a stand out event in 2011.  Professional promotion, closed circuit, exciting commentary and a huge crowd, made for a thrilling evening race.  This was all topped off with television coverage making this event exactly what I feel women’s cycling in the UK needs." (Wyman was kind enough to pen a statement on the matter, which can be read here)

Then the fans got involved, emailing and writing to the Nocturne organisers in huge numbers asking them to go ahead with the race as well as letting British Cycling know what they thought of their request. It didn't take long for the Nocturne to announce that, provided sufficient riders signed up to take part, they'd reinstate the race - and it happened, living proof that team officials, race organisers, riders and fans can all help promote women's cycling and do something towards getting it the recognition, coverage and respect it and the riders deserve. Congratulations are due also to Rapha for giving the race financial backing.

The Parcours

The parcours (click the image to enlarge)

The races takes the simple, familiar criterium format that is so ideally suited to TV on a 1.05km circuit around Smithfield Market with the women racing for 30 minutes plus three laps from 20:45 (race programme here). They begin on Long Lane (51°31'7.61"N 0°6'5.29"W) at the Rotunda Garden, now a tranquil place among the insane London traffic but for centuries the site of public executions, then head south-west and follow the curve of the road as it leads for 237m to a tight right corner after onto Snowhill before an even tighter right 80m and mere moments later back onto Long Lane. After passing the Poultry Market on the left, they turn 90 degrees left into East Poultry Lane and under an 81m covered section (signs at both ends say "DEAD SLOW," but the riders won't be paying much attention to those) and then right again onto Charterhouse Street for a straight and almost flat 210m blast along the northern side of the Meat Market. Another 90 degree right turn takes them onto Lindsey Street, then 90m later they arrive at the last right turn back onto Long Lane to pass by the VIP area and pass the finish line to begin a new lap. To add to the fun, the race features the IG Speed of Execution Challenge a an alternative to intermediate sprints - timing chips fitted to each bike will measure the speed at which they cross the line after each lap, the fastest riders winning £500. For many of the riders, especially in the women's race, that's a lot of money: expect it to be hotly contested (it's also an excellent idea aimed at making the race more thrilling to those spectators who are watching the race simply because they happen to be in the area but don't follow the sport - exactly what cycling needs to gain new fans).

Profile - click to enlarge

Hazards

Hannah Barnes

This being one of the world's busiest cities, there is street furniture aplenty all along the parcours - it'll all be covered in thick padding, of course, but it still hurts if a rider hits it. One obviously hazardous point, especially on the first and last laps when a large number of riders are altogether and traveling at speed, is the intersection between Snowhill and Long Lane where riders are squeezed into a narrow section bending to the right: a place where it will be very easy to collide with the crowd barriers. An added danger, and one far harder to predict than street furniture, is diesel spills left by the hundreds of trucks that make deliveries to and pick up from the Meat Market - this is especially likely to be the case along Lindsey Street where riders will pass through the loading bays right after the corner (Edit 10.06.12 - there was in fact a crash at precisely this point during the men's race!). If the roads are wet, diesel can be lethal. There are more loading bays all along Long Lane, making the Lindsey Street/Long Lane corner (by the brasserie) another potential dangerpoint. There's also a tricky bottleneck section just before arrival back at the Rotunda Garden where the footpath juts right out into the road, reducing the width of the road from 10m to 4m - if all the riders try to get through at the same time, there'll be problems.

Favourites

Helen Wyman - Les Déesses choice for
today

Likely winners? Hard to say in a race like this, when there are so many variables and such a strong field. Helen Wyman (Kona Factory Racing) and Sarah Storey (Escentual for VioRed) both compete at the top levels of cycling and are obvious choices. Stef Wyman's Matrix-Prendas riders are all on first-rate form at present, as we've seen with their stunning performances in the Johnson HealthTech GP series. Then there's Ibis Cycles' Hannah Barnes (current British Criterium Champion) and Eileen Roe (who won the criterium in Colchester on Thursday), also lighting up similar races on the Johnson GP in recent weeks, and Node4-Giordana's Sarah King, Corinne Hall and Harriet Owen, and all the riders from the lesser-known clubs for whom victory in this race could lead to a step up to the next level. If I had to pick one, it would be Helen - her extensive experience of the short, intense cyclo cross courses in Belgium and the Netherlands combined with her famously fast starts and powerful sprints are likely to be very useful on this parcours, which in many ways resembles an asphalted 'cross course.

The only thing that's certain, however, is this is going to be one of the most hotly-contested races Britain has seen for some time.

Weather
Well, how about that? After nearly a week of rain and with another week of rain expected to start tomorrow, it looks as though Saturday is going to be dry and even quite warm at 20C - which will come as good news to the participants of the London Naked Bike Ride also taking place today. It'll be a little cooler this evening when the race kicks off, but since large cities remain a few degrees warmer than surrounding countryside and the buildings provide shelter from the wind around 16C can be expected during the women's race.

Spectating
All points along the parcours are easily accessible and the event is free to watch. Obvious vantage points are the start line (especially due to the Speed of Execution Challenge), though large crowds will gather here (51°31'7.61"N 0° 6'5.11"W); the Snowhill/Long Lane corner (51°31'3.87"N 0° 6'16.84"W); the exit of East Poultry Lane (especially if the cafe over the road is open, 51°31'9.59"N 0° 6'10.61"W) and the Charterhouse Road/Lindsey Street corner (51°31'12.48"N 0° 6'0.86"W).

TV
Channel 4 will be showing highlights of all the races - including the penny-farthing race and the longest fixie skid contest - in a 55-minute programme to be broadcast at 07:10 on Sunday the 17th, the first time they've covered cycling since they gave up the right to broadcast Tour de France coverage eleven years ago. Channel 4 is available via online streams around the world and the programme will be made available on their 4OD catch-up service.