The newsletter IS BACK. And for a reason she could turn to regret, Abby Mickey has temporarily handed the reins over to me (Georgie Howe) to run you all through the news of the week in women’s cycling.
I’ll be trying some new things, I promise none TOO weird. But you all are my barometer, so let me know when I go too far…
There is much to cover from the last ten days. So many races, I’ll do my best to keep these words succinct. We had action in Belgium and Spain, with the Italian Classics block already underway.
In the words of one of my favourite movies of all time:
Alright, alright, alright! Let’s get this show on the road!
Racing roundup
Belgian Classics see Van der Breggen's return, Kool still building
Often when you ask a rider what their racing schedule is like for the beginning of the spring, a common response is, “Omloop, Hageland…and Le Samyn,” usually followed by a long exhale. It is a tough way to open your Classics campaign. Belgium is back on the menu, with many riders cutting their teeth on the small roads for the first time that season. Nerves are high, expectations are vague. Can we truly take the results here as gospel? Let’s dive in and have a look.
As you would have heard on the podcast (link below), Omloop van het Hageland (135 km) was raced with utter vigour. The race featured a decisive cobbled climb on the laps towards the finish line along with iconic cobbled sectors such as the Kerkstraat. With Charlotte Kool (Picnic-PostNL) on the startlist, a sprint finish was always going to be expected. What wasn’t on Kool’s bingo card was a Classics-ready Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime). Van der Breggen sat out Omloop Niewsblad, using Hageland as her foray into the twists and turns of Belgian roads. And my my, didn’t she deliver.
Van der Breggen’s aggression was such that she split the group, time and time again, finishing with a leadout for her teammate and eventual winner, Femke Gerritse, that was so strong a group of seven went clear of the rest of the reduced bunch. Kool managed to win the bunch kick to the line for eighth place. Not the top result she wanted.
However there was time to make amends, with Kool lining up a few days later for Le Samyn (122 km). Again, a bunch sprint was expected with Kool being joined by Ally Wollaston (FDJ-Suez), Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) and the Liv AlUla Jayco duo of Letizia Paternoster and Georgia Baker. Once again, however, Kool didn’t have it all her own way with the race splitting through a flurry of attacks mostly instigated by Liv AlUla Jayco and a late attack by Eugenia Bujak (Cofidis). (Wollaston's eventual 103rd place was uncharacteristic, and she must have been caught out by a crash or mechanical.)
The race did indeed finish in a reduced bunch sprint of sixteen riders, with Wiebes taking line honours, but Kool was 12th, subpar to what we have come to expect.
Should we be worried about Kool’s campaign this year? If we look to 2024, it took until Classic Brugge-De Panne for her to really hit her straps with her first season podium. I was no sprinter, but I can relate to taking a while to ‘get my eye in’ for Classics-style racing. Perhaps Kool is building up to bigger results as the season progresses. With how long and hard the racing season is, many riders are being more deliberate with a staged approach to their season. Let’s not judge too quickly. I’m sure Kool will have a cool head come the Classics proper.
Youth and experience shine at Vuelta Extremadura Feminas
A TT in the morning and a road race in the afternoon? Fine by us if we can see Ellen van Dijk (Lidl-Trek) do her thing for her 20th (!!) season in the women’s peloton. The Vuelta Extremadura Feminas is a four-stage race in Spain, with an opening doubleday with a TT and sprint, followed by two days of racing concluding with a mountain day to sort out the GC.
The race was notable for some strong performances from young riders. On stage 1b, British rider Carys Lloyd (Movistar) won the bunch kick behind ahead of Lidl-Trek's Clara Copponi behind a two-rider break led home by Greta Marturano (UAE Team ADQ). There are likely big things to come in the career of 18-year-old Lloyd.
On stage 3, the final climb (12 km at 7%) was taken out and the race shortened due to weather conditions at the summit. After only 69 km of racing, 18-year-old Imogen Wolf from Visma Lease-a-Bike wins a reduced bunch kick ahead of Mie Ottestad (Uno-X Mobility) and Van Dijk.
Fenix-Deceuninck shows its depth in Italy
While the Opening Weekend in Belgium was marked with the Niewsblad/Hageland double, Italian one-days got underway with Strade Bianche Donne and Trofeo Oro in Euro. Notable teams on the Trofeo Oro start list included UAE Team ADQ, Fenix-Deceuinck, Uno-X Mobility and Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto.
A leadout by UAE Team ADQ into the final ascent of the climb before the final saw a group of three go clear: UAE's Karlijn Swinkels and Dominika Wlodarczyk and Fenix-Deceuninck's Puck Pieterse. In a sprint for the line, Swinkels emerged as the winner with Pietrese and Wlodarczyk rounding out the podium. With UAE finishing 1-3, why are we focused on Fenix here?
The team has begun the 2025 season red hot. I have always enjoyed watching their racing style. Fenix's racing style is characterized by opportunism and aggression, with many riders given a free role. Pauliena Rooijakkers (3rd at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2024), Pieterse (4th at Omloop Nieuwsblad) and Yara Kasteijn (6th at Strade Bianche Donne) show they have the firepower to ride for particular leaders, but the depth in their squad is with the likes of Evy Kuijpers, Cristina Schweinberger and Julie De Wilde all of whom can be aggressive and take opportunities when they present. Watch this space.
Racing Continues ... at Trofeo Alfredo Binda
The Italian classics continue with the Women’s WorldTour race, fondly known as Binda. The race has been in a stranglehold by Lidl-Trek since 2021. Elisa Longo Borghini kicked off that legacy, winning the 2021 edition. Now that she’s on UAE Team ADQ, will we see a new jersey on top of the dias?
After a poor showing at Strade Bianche Donne, Longo Borghini will no doubt be keen to make amends.
The 152 km course begins in Luino along the shores of Lake Maggiore before finishing in Cittiglio. Riders get a little more time to warm up into the race with a slight change in course. The start sees a lap around Luino before heading to the real opening climb of the day, Masciago Primo (6.1 km @ 3.9%). Then they’ll descend towards Cittiglio before starting the laps of the town characteristic of the race. Riders will face two climbs in the laps, the Casale climb (0.8 km @ 6.9%) and the Orino climb (2.5 km @ 4.8%).
These climbs have been used as a launchpad in the past for the likes of Longo Borghini winning solo in 2021, similarly with Shirin Van Anrooij in 2023. However the race has also seen reduced bunch sprints won by Marianne Vos (2019) and Elisa Balsamo (2022 and 2024).
The new course design will add some prelude to the action, but no doubt this race will be an exciting one to watch with many teams (did someone say Lidl-Trek?) still hunting for that first season victory.
When: March 16th, 12.45PM CET/7:45AM EDT/9:45PM AEST
How to watch: TNT Sports (UK), Eurosport (Europe), Max (USA), FloBikes (Can), Staylive (Aus)
Riders to watch: A formal startlist has yet to be announced, but alongside Longo Borghini we may see Demi Vollering, Mavi Garcia, Anna van der Breggen and Balsamo tuning up before the first Milan-San Remo Donne.
In other sports
Abby's not the only fan of Nordic skiing around here. Nordic skiers and cyclists are cut from the same cloth. Both enjoy an immeasurable amount of suffering in beautiful scenery. Not to mention the athletic achievements. The Nordic Skiing World Championships were last week, showcasing all of the above and more.
Recent results included the first ever 50 km mass start race for women, with Sweden’s Frida Karlsson taking the win. It seems etiquette is still the name of the game in nordic skiing, with veteran of the sport, Therese Johaug lamenting, “I was pretty fed up with Frida stepping on my poles and skis many times. It's so unnecessary when you're a small group travelling together, when you can show some respect for the person in front."
A rivalry between a veteran of the sport and a new up and comer? I think I’ve seen this storyline before…
This week on the Wheel Talk podcast
The team unpick Strade Bianche and preview the remaining Italian Classics. Tune in to hear the analysis of Van der Breggen racing like she never left, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot’s first showing at the pointy end of the race and FDJ going all-in on Vollering. We will also discuss what a Milano-Sanremo Donne will look like in its first iteration.
Also, we will be joined by Gretchen Powers (photographer) with a special report from Norway while documenting the emotions and achievements of the Nordic Skiing World Championships.
Let's Discuss ...
Leadership comes in all shapes and sizes, in bike racing especially. There are cyclists who are leaders in every sense of the word. They cannot operate as anything but the leader for the race plan; however, they also show leadership qualities off the bike.
Then there are those who can’t imagine anything other than racing to win, so must be the leader in any situation. Let’s just say you wouldn’t want to go get a coffee with them on a whim.
Then there are the rarest breeds. Those cyclists who have the capabilities of being a leader, but they also enjoy contributing to the success of another. It would be fitting and surprise no one that Anna van der Breggen fits into that category. I was discussing Van der Breggen’s racing style with a veteran of the women’s peloton, and the rider was adamant Van der Breggen always does the work for her teammates, pointing to her consistent work for then-teammate Amy Pieters in 2018. “I know if she sees that, 'Okay, [Van der Breggen’s teammates] are not doing the work then she will do it, because she is strong enough to do it, and then she's doing it," the rider said.
Equally, Van der Breggen can take her own opportunity when presented. She races without ego, but with confidence. Her results are outstanding, of course. Olympic gold medalist, multi-time World Champion, four-time Giro d'Italia Femminile winner. And yet, her teammates also enjoyed success when racing with her.
Van der Breggen clearly sees the benefit in fostering a culture of success through a collective push towards a result. Today she might help a teammate get a result (e.g. Vollering at Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2021), but tomorrow she knows it will be her turn to achieve the win.
This confident ‘give and take’ leadership style is the brand of Van der Breggen. It is a joy to see her back in the peloton, barely missing a pedal stroke. Already at the pointy end of bike races, topped recently with her near-win at Strade Bianche Donne. Time will tell if SD Worx-Protime can renew its success of previous years without the likes of Vollering, and there has been discussion about a scuffle for leadership in the Grand Tours with Lotte Kopecky expressing GC ambitions.
However, I struggle to see a world where that is an issue. Van der Breggen is sure that she is possibly one of the best cyclists of all time. It therefore appears she has no ego or pride that hungers for validation by achieving her own results, at the detriment of her teammates.
Rouleur interviewed Van der Breggen in 2022 at the supposed beginning of her career as a Director Sportif, and in response to the question of how her retirement plans came about, Van der Breggen replied, “Sometimes I missed that feeling, where it means everything to you.”
I dare say she has rediscovered that feeling, with the addition of experience from the car. 2025 will see an enhanced brand of leadership from Van der Breggen. I know we can’t wait to watch.
A picture worth a couple of words
Good vibes go fast. Every day of the week. I got a hint that FDJ had something cool brewing from footage and social media posts from various team camps leading into the season. Yes, we can see the joy from Vollering as she crosses the line first, but it is clear that happiness is contagious. The team is intentional about that.
The fourth photo from Juliette Labous' Instagram post above is of her with fellow loyal domestiques Évita Muzic and Marie Le Net embracing at the conclusion of Strade Bianche Donne. Each having their own struggles in recent years but now jubilant in the work done by each of them to attain the overall objective of the day: win.
I would struggle to find such a photo from SD Worx-Protime from time past. The vibes at the French team seem high, and clearly, that makes for fast bike racers. However, it’s easy to be happy when you’re winning. Time will tell if this culture can hack it when the lights are off.
Who runs the world
I know, I know. Taylor isn’t here. I apologise, profusely, to the Swifties who come to this section to get their Taylor fix. I hope this doesn’t turn you Red with anger, or cause you to feel like a Tortured Poet. I would love to use this spot in the newsletter to bring the achievements of our female athletes out of Folklore and increase their Reputation as hustling off the bike, field or stadium. I was up until Midnight writing this, so I hope you enjoy it for more than a Fortnight.
Ok, with the puns out of the way, let’s get into it.
Demi Vollering continues to stamp her name as the most-endorsed athlete in the women’s peloton, announcing last week she has partnered with Swedish electric car brand, Polestar. Once again, the marketing of Vollering’s individual brand continues to pay dividends as businesses realise the ROI for investing in female athletes. It is clear Vollering is able to align with those brands that fit her modus operandi. A vocal supporter of life outdoors and the beauty of the natural world, a partnership with an electric car brand makes sense.
Vollering’s stable of partners will now follow her wherever she goes, adding more value to her name on the roster of a team. Who is next for induction into the stable?
Elsewhere, the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) has just launched a parental protection program, funded largely by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (SPIF). The program will ensure women have allowances for twelve months of paid maternity leave, two months of paid parental leave (for pregnancies through surrogacy, partner pregnancy, adoption) and grants available to contribute to the costs of egg freezing.
This will increase incentive for women to stay in the sport longer, and have greater protections for if and when they decide to start a family. And sure, it is groundbreaking across sport. However questions must be asked as to if the SPIF are continuing the trend of ‘sportswashing’ that we are seeing out of Saudi Arabian-sourced funding. The country’s history of restricting human rights, including those of women and the LGBTIQA+ community may not sit well with all in the sport. However, is sport in a position to turn away such money on moral grounds? A wicked problem, that’s for sure.
Until next time
Lastly, the Italian Classics didn’t allow all to come away unscathed, so I would like to extend healing vibes to those who touched the tarmac (or gravel) during the races.
And special mention to the MVP of Strade Bianche Donne: Juliette Labous. For the amount of work she did for her team leader, Vollering, to then almost race to her own podium result is outstanding. I hope Vollering takes a leaf out of Van der Breggen’s book of leadership and helps Labous to her own victory this season. The two shared words at the conclusion of Saturday’s race, with Vollering saying, “I really hoped for a top spot for you,” and Labous replying, “Don’t worry, it will come.” I sincerely hope it does.
And that concludes the latest edition of the newsletter! If you got this far, thank you for bearing with me! Let me know what works and what doesn’t. I’ll be back next week.
Did we do a good job with this story?
