Pro Women's Cycling

If last week was the treble, with three big races, this week it was octuplets!

Dan has been in Tokyo for the last week, and missed out on all the racing, so I catch him up on the action from the USA Crits Speed Week, the Festival Elsy Jacobs in Luxembourg, the Tour de Yorkshire in the UK, and over in France, the first round of the 2017 Downhill MTB World Cup in Lourdes. Along the way we talk mindgames in racing, the implications of having eight different women's cycling livestreams over three days, and a lot more. And I told him about my adventures on BBC Woman's Hour, and recording with the Wheelsuckers Podcast.

Lots of videos and links to things we talked about, and even more things we didn't get time for, including some interesting articles and gorgeous films, over on our website:

https://prowomenscycling.com/2017/05/05/podcast-2017-episode-15/

This week's episode covers a lot of historic moments in the midst of a very dynamic 2017 season. There's Tour of the Gila in the US and Omloop van Borsele to cover off, along with the first ever women's edition of Liege-Bastogne-Liege in all it's conTEXT and glory. There's some interesting articles from during the week including the latest edition of Ella's SHE-cret Pro which seems to have stirred up a bit of controversy. In addition to which we take the time to appropriately thank the UCI for their help with making La Course more La Course-y than ever before.

Click through to our website for all the videos and links that go with this podcast:

https://prowomenscycling.com/2017/04/24/podcast-2017-episode-14-the-treble/

We're in the middle of the Ardennes week which means there's heaps of racing and heaps of climbs around. This week Sarah and Dan talk through how Amstel Gold and Fleche Wallonne both unfolded (they were amazing!), and what this might mean for Liege-Bastogne-Liege on Sunday. There's also time to catch up on some of the main results from the recent Track World Championships, and to find out a bit more about Lizzie Deignan's new book "Steadfast" which is out now. Of course there's plenty more in the podcast and even more in the post!

This week Sarah and Dan talk through all of the racing for the junior women and the elite women at the Healthy Ageing Tour in the Netherlands. A fantastic set of races that are run entirely by volunteers that include live coverage for the elite women and comprehensive video highlights for both, proving that there really are no excuses for big race organisers (*cough* ASO *cough). There's also a bit of time to discuss what the race organisation looks like and involves along with a look ahead to the beginning of the Ardennes week of hilly classics, beginning with Amstel Gold on Sunday. And most importantly, Sarah teaches us the Buffalo Bill joke.

So this week Sarah was not only AT the Ronde van Vlaanderen but was doing the live English commentary for the race along with Rochelle Gilmore. We talk about what it was like roadside at the race and in the commentary booth before diving into all of the attacks and moves that made up the race. It was an amazing race and there are so many highlights to appreciate.

We're fully into the cobbled classics section of the season and we're a little bit excited. We recap the races of the last week, in particular Dwars door Vlaanderen and Gent-Wevelgem which were great and had captivating finishes. Then we take a look ahead at what to expect on this holiest of cycling Sundays, when the women hit the cobbles for Ronde van Vlaanderen. We also talk about the first round of the Enduro MTB racing in Rotorua, New Zealand. There's the ABSA Cape Epic to catch up on and we also follow the India Pacific Wheel Race (even covering some of it live - sort of) where Sarah Hammond is third overall, and the riders have already covered 4,500km but still have about 1,000km to go. It's an epic podcast for a week of epic racing!

Isla Rowntree is best know for her company Islabikes, which transformed children's cycling - but before that she was integral to the fight for women's cyclocross, in the UK and internationally. Now her next challenge is the Imagine Project, creating sustainable bikes and cycling models for a world of scarce resources. We talk all this and more - and you can read the interview too, on my website, https://prowomenscycling.com/2017/03/26/sarah-interviews-isla-rowntree/

This week we catch up on all the attacks (so many attacks!) from Trofeo Moreno and Trofeo Binda last weekend. You know racing is intense when top riders are gunning it on the front just to settle down the sheer number of attacks! The Dwars Door Vlaanderen started while we were recording, so we give that a moment's consideration and also take a look ahead at Gent-Wevelgem on this weekend. There's a heap of cool media and some epic races including the ABSA Cape Epic and the Indian-Pacific Wheel Race; and of course heaps more!

Catherine Marsal is a legend of women's cycling and French cycling in general. Racing her first Olympic Games at 17, becoming the first ever Junior Road World Champion, and then the first woman to ever be Junior and Elite Road World Champion; winning World Championships golds as a Junior on the track in the Individual Pursuit and in the Team Time Trial; winning the Giro d'Italia, and another of the (now lost) Grand Tours, the Tour de l'Aude twice; and becoming the World Hour Record champion... and much more.

After she finished racing, she was a Directeur Sportif for Team SATS, and then after a break from cycling to do a degree and work in business, three years ago she took the job of women's coach/manager for the Danish National Team - which has, of course, included being team coach when Amalie Dideriksen became the 2016 Road World Champion.

We talked about her amazing life in cycling, the ups and downs, racing with/against Jeannie Longo, and of course, the incredible results of the Danish women, and a lot more. Marsal is fantastic to talk to, and was super-patient despite technical issues in the call, and if you're at all interested in how cycling's change since the 1990s, the experience of young riders who become World Champions, or Danish cycling, please do listen!

This week we revisit all of the excitement from the Women's World Tour at the Ronde van Drenthe. There's more great racing from Drentse 8 and Setmarna Ciclista Valenciana. On top of this we have several really good articles about ways to improve women's cycling to discuss and there's been some interesting news in regards to British Cycling, and Jeannie Longo's husband Patrice Ciprelli. Of course we can't finish on a downer so we also take note of some of the fun stuff we've seen around the web this week. As always, heaps of links and videos in the post on the website!