Emakumeen Bira 2012

The Race - The Stages - The Start List - Following The Race - News

Ever since the regrettable demise of Tour de France Feminin (last held in 2009, problems securing sponsors appear to have finished the race off for good) and the Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin (last held 2010, brought to an end for the same reason), the most important race and the only Grand Tour on the women's calendar has been the Giro Donne - however, the Emakumeen Euskal Bira goes a very long way to filling the void despite being reduced to four stages this year.

The race begins today in Iurreta for a 97.1km parcours that looks likely to finish with a sprint (Ina-Yoko Teutenberg, anyone?) at Matiena, then tomorrow the riders face 97.8km starting and ending at thefrom the busy fishing port Lekeitio. Stage 3 is a 13.4km individual time trial around Urduña and Queen Stage 4 takes in the hardest climbs this year on the 116km route from Urduña and back to Iurreta.

Emma Pooley, now with AA Drink

The Basques are one of the few peoples to rival the Belgians for their love of all cycling and will turn out in huge numbers to see the riders as they battle one another through 324.5km of tough climbs and beautiful Euskadi countryside. One rider who is guaranteed their support is the British star Emma Pooley (AA Drink-Leontien.nl) who, as one of the most gifted climbers in cycling today, is an obvious favourite for overall victory this year - not least of all because of the spectacular style in which she won the Durango-Durango Emakumeen Saria on Tuesday, a race that has tended in the past to reveal the General Classification contenders for this one. No matter what her form, she won't go unchallenged: Judith Arndt (Orica-GreenEDGE), Annemiek van Vleuten (Rabobank), Emma Johansson (Hitec Products-Mistral Home) and Alena Amialiusik (Be Pink) have all had a superb season thus far and every one of them is capable of winning. In fact, the only serious rival Pooley doesn't have to take into account is 2008/2011 winner Marianne Vos, who is recovering after breaking her collarbone at the Parkhotel Valkenberg Classic.

Start list

STICHTING-RABO WOMEN

1 VAN VLEUTEN, Annemiek (NED)

2 SLAPPENDEL, Iris (NED)

3 DE JONG, Thalita (NED)

4 KITCHEN, Lauren (AUS)

5 KNENEMANN, Roxane (NED)

6 DE VOCHT, Liesbet (BEL)

SPECIALIZED-LULULEMON

11 TEUTENBERG, Ina Yoko (GER)

12 VAN DIKJ, Eleonora (NED)

13 WORRACK, Trixi (GER)

14 BECKER, Charlotte (GER)

15 BRENNAUER, Lisa (GER)

16 COLCLOUGH, Katie (GER)

HITEC PRODUCTS-MISTRAL HOME

21 JOHANSSON, Emma (SWE)

22 MUSTONEN, Sara (SWE)

23 BORGHINI, Elisa Longo (ITA)

25 FERRIER, Christel (FRA)

26 KAPUSTA, Sylwia (POL)

DIADORA-PASTA ZARA

31 TAGLIAPIETRA, Alice (ITA)

33 BORGATO, Giada (ITA)

34 JANELIUNAITE, Edita (LTU)

35 SILINYTE, Agne (LTU)

36 STEFANI, Francesca (ITA)

LOTTO BELISOL

41 MOOLMAN, Ashleigh (RSA) - withdrawn

42 DUYCK, Ann- Sophie (BEL)

43 HENRION, Ludivine (BEL)

44 VAN DE WINKEL, Joanna (RSA)

45 OLIVIERS, Lise (RSA)

46 KAAT, Hannes (BEL)

DOLMANS-BOELS

51 BRAS, Martine (NED)

52 KOSTER, Anouska (NED)

53 DECROIX, Lieselot (BEL)

54 PIJNENBORG, Mascha (NED)

KLEO

62 VAN DOORSLAER, Annelies (BEL)

63 DIJKMAN, Petra (NED)

64 LINDBERG, Marie (SWE)

65 ARYS, Evelyn (BEL)

66 CORAZZA, Martina (ITA)

LOINTEK

71 LLNYKH, Julia (RUS)

72 ITURRIAGA, Eneritz (ESP)

73 POTOKINA, Anna (RUS)

74 EPELDE, Mireia (ESP)

75 USABIAGA, Ana (ESP)

76 ORTEGA, Margot (FRA)

FASSA BORTOLO-SERVETTO

81 BERLATO, Elena (ITA)

82 FIORI, Jennifer (ITA)

83 GATTO, Viviana (ITA)

84 CAUZ, Francesca (ITA)

85 CECCHEL, Erika (ITA)

86 SCHWEIZER, Doris (SUI)

TEAM ALRIKSSON GO GREEN

91 FREDANG, Linnea (SWE)

92 NILSSON, Hanna (SWE)

93 KIHLBOM, Jessica (SWE)

94 SANDSTROM, Beata (SWE)

95 RYDLUND, Malin (SWE)

96 SJOBLOM, Linnea (SWE)

GREENEDGE-AIS

101 ARNDT, Judith (GER)

102 HAUSLER, Claudia (GER)

103 SPRATT, Amanda (AUS)

104 VILLUMSEN, Linda (NZL)

105 GUNNEWIJK, Loes (NED)

106 CROMWELL, Tiffany (AUS)

SKIL-ARGOS

112 VAN DE REE, Monique (NED)

113 PIETERS, Amy (NED)

114 TROMP, Esra (NED)

115 VAN RIJEN, Linda (NED)

116 JANNEKE, Kanis (NED)

BE PINK

121 ZRIMSEK, Petra (SLO)

122 VALSECCHI, Silvia (ITA)

123 AMIALIUSIK, Alena (BLR)

124 KOZONCHUK, Oxana (RUS)

126 GEBHARDT, Elke (GER)

MICHELA FANINI

131 GRIFI, Sara (ITA)

132 SANCHEZ, Azucena (ESP)

133 RUZICKOVA, Martina (CZE)

134 SCANDOLARA, Valentina (ITA)

135 MICHAL, Ella (ISR)

136 FORESI, Lorena (ITA)

AA DRINK-LEONTIEN

141 POOLEY, Emma (GBR)

142 BRAND, Lucinda (NED)

143 BLAAK, Chantal (NED)

144 ARMITSTEAD, Lizzie (GBR)

145 LAWS, Sharon (GBR)

146 OLDS, Shelley (USA)

GERMANY

151 SANDING, Madeleine (GER)

152 POHL, Stephanie (GER)

153 KASPER, Romy (GER)

154 KROGER, Mieke (GER)

155 HOFMANN, Srah-lena (GER)

156 SCHNITZMEIER, Anna Bianca (GER)

OURIBIKE

161 RAMIREZ, Anna (ESP)

162 GONÇALVES, Sara (POR)

163 AZNAR, Cristina (ESP)

164 COSTA, Rute (POR)

165 PATRICIO, Joana (POR)

166 GONÇALVEZ, Ana (POR)

BIZKAIA-DURANGO

171 SANCHIS, Anna (ESP)

172 ALCALDE, Cristina (ESP)

173 ESKAMENDI, Dorleta (ESP)

174 HOGAN, Joanne (AUS)

175 MARTIODA, Amaia (ESP)

176 SANTESTEBAN, Ane (ESP)

FAREN HONDA

181 COOKE, Nicole (GBR)

182 BLINDYUK, Julia (RUS)

183 UTROBINA, Elena (RUS)

185 HOHL, Jennifer (SUI)

186 TAMANINI, Luisa (ITA)

AUSTRALIA

191 NOONAN, Sinead (AUS)

192 ELVIN, Cracie (AUS)

193 ALLEN, Jessica (AUS)

194 SULZBERGER, Grace (AUS)

195 MCCONVILLE, Chloe (AUS)

196 TAYLOR, Carlee (AUS)

Following the race

As tends to be way with women's cycling, following the race can sometimes be difficult. However, local TV station Canal Bizkaia will - apparently - have some footage on their news reports; it may be possible to find livestreams of the channel. EiTB, available free and legally online, might also have reports. The race doesn't have an official account, but #EmakumeenBira will be the best way to keep up to date on Twitter and Karl Lima (Hitec Products-Mistral Home manager) is always a dafe bet for up-to-the-minute Tweets on all teams, not just his own. Wielerland is usually the best source for women's cycling news and Google's autotranslate copes sufficiently with Dutch to render it into something more-or-less understandable to those who can't speak it. Deia.com should have daily reports and other news.

News

A Bira without a favourite - Deia.com

The most disputed Emakumeen Bira - Que.es

Anna Sanchis in great form for Emakumeen Bira - Esciclismo.com

Ashleigh Moolman ‏@ashleighcycling

Hard decision to make, but I won't be starting Bira tour today! Down with flu virus and don't want to put the rest of my season at risk!

Energiewacht Tour 2012 Stages 4a and 4b

Stage 4a - click to enlarge
(image credit: Energiwacht Tour)

Stage 4a (Saturday 7th) both starts and ends at Winsum, a town sometimes termed the treasure of the north according to the Tour website - with two traditional Dutch mills and what is reputed to be The Netherlands' oldest pub (Der Gouden Karper) set among quintessentially Dutch countryside.

The parcours leaves Winsom to the north, travelling up to Baflo and then taking a long, fast loop west and south-west to Mensingeweer. Next, it heads east along a road called the Wildeveldseweg (which must sound fantastic in a Dutch accent). Just visible to the south-west from this point is Ezinge, the oldest continually-inhabited village in the country.

The terp at Ezinge, the Netherland's oldest village
(image credit: Ruben Binnendijk CC BY-SA 3.0)

Long before the ancient tribes who would become the Dutch worked out how to drain the boggy landscape, they would create artificial islands upon which to live (now known as terps and, since drainage, resembling low hills) - the example at Ezinge is still evident and is now occupied by the village's 13th Century church. During the early 20th Century, worked who dug peat for fuel began finding strange objects that were obviously of great age in the area, soon attracting the attention of archaeologists who found many more - including Roman artifacts and part of a sword almost identical to another dicovered at the Sutton Hoo ship burial in Great Britain. By dating the objects, they determined that people have lived in Ezinge since at least 600BCE, making it among the oldest continually-inhabited villages anywhere in Europe. The riders will complete five laps of the route, which should allow Ezinge to be seen even if there is early morning mist, bringing them up to a total of 76.6km.

Stage 4b, the team time trial, takes place on Saturday afternoon and covers 26.5km, beginning at Veendam some way off to the south-east from 4a. After beginning in the centre of the town on JG Pinksterstraat (53° 6'19.91"N 6°52'27.74"E), the teams pass through the streets and cross the canal, then the N33 motorway as they head into the flat fields. A route made up of fast straights punctuated with 25 bends and corners will make for a fast stage, but one in which a slower rider could very easily be dropped off the back of the squad and never find her way back. When they arrive at Oude Pekela, they follow Feiko Clockstraat into town, then turn left to arrive at the finish on Raadhuislaan (53° 6'17.39"N 7° 0'24.65"E).

Stage 4b - click to enlarge
(image credit: Energiwacht Tour)

Marianne Vos has pointed out that Stage 4b is likely to prove the pivotal point in the campaign of any rider - including herself - who hopes to win this race, because a race leader's General Classification advantage can very rapidly be wiped out by a slow team. For fans and rivals, this is our first opportunity to see how well the Rabobank Women's team, which was formed with the express intention of supporting Vos, performs under team time trial race conditions; making this stage one of the most important races so far this season.


Cyclopunk's prediction: GreenEDGE take the stage, but with an insufficient advantage to knock Marianne off the top spot in the GC

Weather: The riders face a chilly start to the day - it's currently only 4C at Baflo, and with a northerly wind of 25kph it feels more like -2C, possibly -4C in exposed places. At present, it's raining lightly - it should dry up later, but further showers are likely. Veendam looks set to be similar, though afternoon temperatures of 7C will at least feel above freezing though not by much, perhaps 3C.

As ever, the best way to get information during the race is by following the official Twitter @ewacttour, hashtag #EWT12 and @richiesteege. Local TV RTL7 is broadcasting a short highlights show daily: Stage 4a will be shown at 14:45 BST (+1 hour for local time/CEST), Stage 4b will be shown along with Stage 5 tomorrow at the same time.

Stage 1 / 2 / 3 / 4a-4b / 5 / Guide / Video Vault

Energiewacht Tour Stage 3

Stage 3 - click to enlarge
(image credit: Energiewacht Tour)

Stage 3 (Friday 6th) consists of six laps of an 18.4km circuit  around the Oldambtmeer lake (53°10'16.18"N 7° 1'31.82"E). It begins on Hoofdstraat by a church (53°11'40.37"N 7° 0'36.38"E), then heads briefly south before rounding the southern edge of the water. At 800 hectares, Oldambtmeer is one of the largest lakes in the Netherlands and is completely artificial, having been created as part of an environmentally sustainable project that includes Blauwestad, a new village designed specifically to encourage bicycle use - since the Dutch in the rest of the country are already well and truly in love with the bike, it seems likely that the locals here are going to turn out in huge numbers to see the race.

Kirsten Wild
(image credit: AA Drink-Leontien.nl)

After passing between the two smaller lakes on the western side, the riders follow the road along the southern banks and then turn north onto the N967. They arrive at Oostwold and then head west along Huningaweg, back to Hoofdstraat and on to the finish line located at the same point they started. It's another very flat parcours, with a straight and slightly downhill initial section that will promote fast starts and, as was the case yesterday, encourage breaks - if a group of favourites forms in the early part of the race again, they could easily dominate the race. If they don't, expect attacks aplenty from the lesser-known riders - and a concerted effort from the big guns as they pull them back in the final lap.

Marianne Vos (Rabobank) prefers a twistier parcours but since she excels on any route, chances are she'll retain and probably increase her General Classification lead today. The stage will in all likelihood finish with a large group crossing the line together, which means that with  the 2.5km, ever-so-slightly uphill final section between Oostwold and the church it'll be the powerful sprinters such as Lizzie Armitstead and Kirsten Wild (both AA Drink-Leontien.nl) who are the ones to watch.

Note: Oldambtmeer is an important nature reserve - if you're fortunate enough to be at the race or to have access to footage, look out for the spoonbills which nest in the reeds at this time of year.

The weather's not looking bad for the stage with sunshine expected for at least part of the day. However, there's a reasonably high chance of light showers and although it won't be windy the temperature as the race begins will feel cold at 6C. Maximum temperature today will be about 9C.

Follow the official race Twitter @ewachttour for details during each stage and information on the race. Local TV RTL7 is broadcasting a short highlights show daily, today's edition being at 16:45 BST (+1 hour for local time/CEST).

Stage 1 / 2 / 3 / 4a-4b / 5 / Guide / Video Vault

Energiewacht Tour

The first women's stage race of the European season, Energiwacht Tour begins on Wednesday the 4th of April at Appingdam in  Groningnen. It's not an especially well-known race outside the Netherlands and the world of women's cycling; however, since it brings together the very cream of the crop for six stages (one split), it ought to be: the 2011 edition, won by Adrie Visser, was one of the highlights of the season. Take a look at the placings - with riders such as those finishing in the top 20, it was top-notch racing all the way.

Fast and furious - last year's edition

This year, the race has grown to five days - a promising sign in these times when so many races are disappearing for lack of sponsorship or, worse, interest. There's not much in the way of hills in this part of the world (in fact, at a few points along the way the riders will be below sea level), which makes some people think the race will be boring. That couldn't be further from the truth - flat stages such as these promote breakaways and attacks, leading to a fast and furious sort of race, and with a large field of well-matched riders we can expect some very exciting competition. In the final stage, we're likely to see a different sort of racing in which good team trial tactics work well: it's a parcours made up of several very long, very straight and very fast sections where the best plan is also the simplest - stick with the team, get your head down and concentrate on turning the pedals. A full list of the teams and riders (subject to change - Martine Bras and Irene van den Broek definitely won't be there) is available here.

So, unless you only like mountains, this race pretty much has everything covered. Unfortunately, there seems to be no live coverage of the race but video may appear online after each stage - if it does, it'll be added to the daily stage reports on this blog. Local TV station RTL7 has some limited coverage, details can be found at the bottom of this article.

The Stages

Stage 1 - click to enlarge
(image credit: Energiwacht Tour)

Stage 1 (Wednesday 6th) is a 15.1km individual time trial heading west out of Appingdam (53°19'13.91"N 6°50'48.52"E) and through the flat pastureland to Garrelsweer (53°18'48.25"N  6°47'0.82"E) where it turns east to head back, following the canal past some grand country houses. With good roads and no hills, it promises to be a very fast parcours indeed - definitely territory for the time trial specialists.

Stage 2 - click to enlarge
(image credit: Energiwacht Tour)

Stage 2 (Thursday 7th) starts and ends at Bad Nieuweschans (53°10'60.00"N 7°11'60.00"E). It takes us further out into the countryside, covering 107.3km over four circuits of the route and making a sortie over the border into Germany. Once again, there are no hills, which makes this an ideal parcours for a breakaway - a group of fast riders who manage to get away early on and keep going might just succeed in escaping the peloton for the rest of the race, but with the flat run to the finish they'll have their work cut out for them as the stage reaches its climax.

Stage 3 - click to enlarge
(image credit: Energiwacht Tour)

Stage 3 (Friday 6th) consists of six laps of an 18.4km circuit  around the Oldambtmeer lake (53°10'16.18"N 7° 1'31.82"E). It begins on Hoofdstraat by a church (53°11'40.37"N 7° 0'36.38"E), then heads briefly south before rounding the southern edge of the lake. When at the eastern end, they turn north and follow the N967 to Oostwold and then west along Huningaweg, back to Hoofdstraat and on to the finish line located at the same point they started. It's another very flat parcours, with a straight and slightly downhill initial section that will promote fast starts and encourage breaks. If they don't, expect attacks aplenty - especially in the last lap as the riders try to gain an upper hand before it's too late.

Stage 4a - click to enlarge
(image credit: Energiwacht Tour)

Stage 4a (Saturday 7th) both starts and ends at Winsum, a town sometimes termed the treasure of the north according to the Tour website - with two traditional Dutch mills and what is reputed to be The Netherlands' oldest pub (Der Gouden Karper) set among quintessentially Dutch countryside. The parcours leaves Winsom to the north, travelling up to Baflo and then taking a long, fast loop west and south-west to Mensingeweer. Next, it heads east along a road called the Wildeveldseweg (which must sound fantastic in a Dutch accent). Just visible to the south-west from this point is Ezinge, the oldest continually-inhabited village in the country. Long before the ancient tribes who would become the Dutch worked out how to drain the boggy landscape, they would create artificial islands upon which to live (now known as terps and, since drainage, resembling low hills) - the example at Ezinge is still evident and is now occupied by the village's 13th Century church. During the early 20th Century, worked who dug peat for fuel began finding strange objects that were obviously of great age in the area, soon attracting the attention of archaeologists who found many more - including Roman artifacts and part of a sword almost identical to another dicovered at the Sutton Hoo ship burial in Great Britain. By dating the objects, they determined that people have lived in Ezinge since at least 600BCE, making it among the oldest continually-inhabited villages anywhere in Europe. The riders will complete five laps of the route, which should allow Ezinge to be seen even if there is early morning mist, bringing them up to a total of 76.6km.

Stage 4b - click to enlarge
(image credit: Energiwacht Tour)

Stage 4b takes place on Saturday afternoon, a 26.5km team time trial located at Veendam some way off to the south-east from 4a. After beginning in the centre of the town on JG Pinksterstraat (53° 6'19.91"N 6°52'27.74"E), the teams pass through the streets and cross the canal, then the N33 motorway as they head into the flat fields. A route made up of fast straights punctuated with 17 right-angled bends and corners will make for a fast stage, but one in which a slower rider could very easily be dropped off the back of the squad and never find her way back. When they arrive at Oude Pekela, they follow Feiko Clockstraat into town, then turn left to arrive at the finish on Raadhuislaan (53° 6'17.39"N 7° 0'24.65"E).

Stage 5 - click to enlarge
(image credit: Energiwacht Tour)

Stage 5 (Sunday 8th) covers 103.3km in total with riders completing three laps of a parcours made up of numerous long, flat stretches with sharp bends between them - not dissimilar to an extended version of Stage 4b, in fact, and almost a stage for a sprinter. The riders set out from the museum in Fraeylemaborg along a street lined with the sort of houses that in the USA are called Dutch Colonial (and here, presumably, "Dutch") and then almost immediately comes to a tight and, by the looks of it, potentially slippery left corner - with the peloton still closely packed just metres from the start, this is a point with an obvious likelihood of accidents. A road called Schlocterdiep leads to a village, Denemarken, and over a canal into a short twisty section before arriving at Eemskanaal. From this point, the route is almost entirely arrow-straight and pancake flat (well, near enough - according to Aerodata International Surveys there are a number of "hills" as high as 80cm along the way!) - this is the sort of road where clever tactics make little difference and everything comes down to which rider, or more likely which team since this is ideal territory for drafting, can ride the fastest. With the left turn at the end out of the way, the remainder of the circuit is formed of a pair of long, fast U shaped roads leading through Harkstede and to the finish line, which is 16.6km away where the stage began.

Predictions

2011 winner Adrie Visser, now riding for Skil-1t4i
(image credit: Highroad Sports)

At this end of the race, it seems hard to see past Rabobank, probably the most well-drilled team in women's cycling right now - especially since the team reported on Tuesday afternoon that Marianne Vos has recovered from the illness that kept her away from the Ronde van Vlaanderen and will be back for this race. We've seen that this is a parcours that favours attacks and sprints, and when it comes down to transmitting sheer power through the chain and back wheel into the road, Vos is without equal. Rabo hasn't put all its eggs in one musette, either - should Vos be forced to abandon, Iris Slappendel and Annemiek van Vleuten are more than capable of taking the race. AA Drink-Leontien.nl are a squad worth watching too, as would be any team that was sending both lightning fast Lizzie Armitstead and Kirsten Wilde. Specialized-Lululemon have Ina-Yoko Teutenberg, another experienced rider who specialises in power, and Clara Hughes - anyone who rememebers Hughes' spectacular solo break at the Copenhagen World Championships will not be surprised if she picks up points and perhaps even a stage win. GreenEDGE have been on a winning streak since the start of the season and with Loes Gunnewijk (second place last year) and Judith Arndt onboard, that state of affairs may continue. Nicole Cooke of Faren-Honda is another rider who is very good at riding bikes very fast - she too is likely to do well. Finally, Skil-1t4i, the team led by last year's winner Adrie Visser.

To sum up, Vos is top choice (just as she is in any race, regardless of the terrain); but there are numerous riders who will chase her all the way - and when conditions are right, each of them is capable of performing exceptionally well.

RTL7 coverage

Note times are CET - minus 1 hour for BST
(image credit: Energiwacht Tour)

Stage 1 / 2 / 3 / 4a-4b / 5 / Guide / Video Vault