Tour de France Femmes (avec Zwift) (et avec spoilers)

[Peter Salt]

AvV just totally marmalising everyone (except for Vollering whom she just slightly marmalised) is a bit of a problem. She's done the same, or very similar, in the past on the Zoncolan in the Giro Rosa. I don't think it's only because she's very very good, (which she undeniably is). It might be because the most prestigious women's races tend to be the classics meaning that there isn't so much reason for riders to train for big climbs. If the TdFF is going dominate the calendar will it drive a change in women's racing overall? And could that actually be a problem?

I hope no one takes this the wrong way, but as a fan of women's cycling, this is something I'm a bit used to.

The underlying reason (I think) is that despite being called a 'PRO' there's a huge chunk of the peloton that is 'semi-PRO' - they either make their living doing something else or did something really well early in their life to be able to focus on cycling full time or came from different sports. I believe AvV only started cycling in her late 20s herself. So we have Tadej Pogacar who is 23 and has 14 years of experience in racing and on the other side AvV who is 39 and has... 14 years of experience in racing.

It's just a lifecycle of a discipline - people get interested so media gets involved so sponsors get their wallets out so now potential competitors can get paid enough to consider making a living out of it. The more people interested, the more media, the more money, the more pay, the more competitive the field.

Why was there so much excitement about this while the Giro Rosa/Donne has been going for quite a while and tends not to get the same buzz? It even got into trouble with the UCI a couple of years back for not being televised enough, presumably because it couldn't make it pay. I guess the answer to that is the marketing power of the magic words "Tour de France" and the might of ASO.

Of course it's the name/prestige, it's the frigging Tour! The pecking order of cycling events has long been established. Also, there's definitely a bit of sorting out to do on the calendar front of the women's events. Making sure they're properly apart and ideally not overlap men's races.

I guess another question is what women's racing should be aiming for? Is the ultimate aim 21 day tours just like the men's or should it be aiming for its own, distinctive, events? After all, you could spin it as a positive that it's not burdened down with "tradition".

Not sure about 21 days but I would love to see it increase. The fact alone that AvV was able to claim the Giro win and 2 weeks later the TdF to me proves that they can go harder - longer stages, more climbing, more days, an ITT. Maybe 13 stages with 1 rest day?

 

[Dogtrousers]

The Giro Rosa/TdF clash may be resolved ... possibly.

Lappartient: “We’re working with the Giro d’Italia Donne to think about another date for 2023,” Lappartient said during a visit to the men’s Tour de France. “Also for the visibility of the ladies to have this race during the Tour de France it’s quite difficult to be seen, and the Giro d’Italia Donne is also a wonderful race. https://www.velonews.com/news/road/...july-under-potential-calendar-changes-by-uci/

The underlying reason (I think) is that despite being called a 'PRO' there's a huge chunk of the peloton that is 'semi-PRO' - they either make their living doing something else or did something really well early in their life to be able to focus on cycling full time or came from different sports. I believe AvV only started cycling in her late 20s herself. So we have Tadej Pogacar who is 23 and has 14 years of experience in racing and on the other side AvV who is 39 and has... 14 years of experience in racing.

The fact that there is a big gap between the stars and the average team rider is explained by that. But it wasn't a just bunch of semi-pro domestiques that AvV marmalised (and has marmalised in the past), it was also the cream of the crop.

I could be wrong but it seems to me that most of the stars and rising stars seem to be better suited to the Amstel Gold or Tour of Flanders or Strade Bianche than big days out in the mountains. Quite why Annemiek is so good ... I don't have an answer for that

 

[alex_cycles]

I could be wrong but it seems to me that most of the stars and rising stars seem to be better suited to the Amstel Gold or Tour of Flanders or Strade Bianche than big days out in the mountains. Quite why Annemiek is so good ... I don't have an answer for that

For the last two years everyone thought Pogacar was unbeatable

 

[cwskas]

I watched the replay everyday. What impressive riding! Very inspiring! Beautiful scenery shots from the helicopter also.