It has been a big week in cycling news this week. If you thought things were going to ease up a little with racing in France finishing up, you were wrong. We have the Vuelta starting on the 26th of August and before that, the 2023 UCI Road World Championships in Glasgow, Scotland. The world championships will run from the 3 of August, to the 13th and include racing across Mountain Bike, Velodrome and Road and is set to be a massive event leading into the final grand tour of the year in Spain. The UCI has also announced from 2025, a second professional tier for women’s cycling, helping to develop the women’s side of the sport further, and a year earlier than initially expected.
This is not the only big news, Demi Vollering was crowned overall winner of the Tour de France Femme, and we also have a quick update on the Tour de Pologne in Poland. Unfortunately, we also have some sad news, announcing junior US Rider Magnus White, who has passed away after a crash in his home town of Boulder in the US.
US Junior Rider Has Died After Being Struck By Car
I feel like we make these announcements far too often, but unfortunately US Junior rider Magnus White has died after being struck by a car during training for the UCI Road World Championships. USA Cycling release a statement saying the incident had happened on Sunday the 30th of July, near his home in Boulder.
“On Sunday, July 30th, we received the news that National Team athlete Magnus White was struck by a car on a bike ride in his home of Boulder, Colorado. White was focused on his final preparations before leaving for Glasgow, Scotland to compete in the Junior Men’s Mountain Bike Cross-Country World Championships on August 10, 2023.”
Magnus White was a multidiscipline cyclist who had won the 2021 Junior 17-18 Cyclocross National Championships, competed with the USA Cycling national team in a European cyclocross season. I am sure it is a big loss to the US team and hope his family are able to grieve during this time.
[Image of Magnus White Courtesy of Cyclingphotos]
Tour de Pologne Kicks Off In Poland
First run in 1928 the Tour de Pologne has become a regular stage race on the World Tour calendar, and even during the busy period of the year, it still seems to bring a lot of good talent and teams with it. The race runs across Poland, over 7 stages and is placed as a good tune up for the Vuelta, which kicks off later in August. The tour has just finished off stage 5 with Marijn Van Den Berg of EF Education-EasyPost winning the stage, but the main talking point of the stage being a TV motorbike that hit roadside spectators during the stage, which left four members of the public, taken to hospital. The good news is that non of them, including the motorbike rider, suffered significant injuries. Riders briefly slowed the race as the news spread, but allowed a sprint finish for Van Den Berg to take the win. Matej Mohoric of Bahrain - Victorious was second in the stage and also take a 12 second lead in the overall standings as well.
Chloe Dygert’s Comeback Journey
A great article from Cycling Weekly following the past three years for US National Champion’s comeback journey from a career threatening crash, heart surgery and a general hatred for riding. It follows her comeback to being fit and healthy and racing again. Read the whole article from Cycling Weekly here:
The Final Stages Of The Tour de France Femme
[Image of Demi Vollering Courtesy Of Getty Images]
We pick up from stage 5 of the Tour de France Femme, with a 126km ride from Onet le Chateau to Albi, with the stage taking on one or two hill climbs, the course is actually down hill for most of the ride. It would definitely be another day for the sprinters, although one of the top sprinters in the field, Lorena Wiebes of SD Worx having pulled out of the race due to illness, the stage was open for anyone to win. A group of eleven riders made a break at the 50km mark of the stage. With 64km to go Demi Vollering of SD Worx, got a flat tyre and although a quick change seemed to draft off a support car, with her team receiving a warning during the stage. The peloton had reeled the lead group back in with 50km to go, but with a series of climbs leading to the final sprint, it saw the peloton split up a little, including Ricarda Bauernfeind of Canyon//SRAM Racing making a break with 14km to go. She went on to keep this lead of 30 seconds leading into the final kilometre, winning the stage ahead of a disorganised group behind her, with Marlen Reusser of SD Worx second and Liane Lippert of Team Movistar third. Lotte Kopecky held onto the overall leaders jersey, but the big news was a 20 seconds time penalty to Vollering for her drafting off a support car, which moved her down to seventh overall.
Stage 6 started off with drama before the stage even started. SD Worx boss, Danny Stan was removed from the Tour de France Femmes due to his part in helping Demi Vollering back to the main bunch after getting a puncture, during the previous days stage. Another flat stage from Albi to Blagnac was again going to finish with the sprinters. A few of the riders attempted to break from the main bunch early on with all breaks being reeled back in. Half way through the stage Lotta Henttalla of AG insurance-Quickstep was disqualified for holding onto a team car, with the driver also expelled from the race. With 60km to go three riders broke away and it looked like that would be caught but a crash between three riders seemed to draw attention away from the break. The break away included Emma Norsgaard of Team Movistar, worked hard to keep a break and with 1 kilometre to go, the only had an 11 seconds lead. A crash again disorganised the peloton and let Norsgaard to push the final 500m and win the stage, just ahead of the peloton. Charlotte Kool of Team DSM-Firmenich finished second from the peloton ahead of Lotte Kopecky of SD Worx third, also allowing her to keep hold of over overall lead for the tour.
Stage 7 was the second last stage of the Tour de France Femme, and with time running out, it was definitely going to be where the overall race would be decided. I relatively shorter stage from Lannemezan to Col du Tourmalet at 89km, the mountain top finish would see a 15km climb to the finish. Breaks formed with 36km left in the stage Annameik van Vleuten of Team Movistar was joined by one or two other riders including Demi Vollering of SD Worx to form a break on one of the major climbs, but van Vleuten was the only one pushing the pace, resulting in the peloton bringing the bunch back, with only Katarzyna Niewiadoma of Canyon/SRAM Racing left alone in front. Finally, with 5.6 kilometres to go, Vollering attacked and it looked like van Vleuten would be able to hold onto her wheel, but she was not able to hold on and with 5km to go, Vollering also overtook Niewaidoma. Vollering seemed to be unstoppable as she extended her lead over the other riders, winner the stage by almost two minutes to her closest rival Niewaidoma, who finished the stage second, and van Vleuten, who was third but a further 30 seconds behind. This gave Vollering the overall lead for the tour, with Kopecky dropping to fourth after stage 7.
The 8th and final stage of the Tour de France Femme for 2023 was a 22km time trial in Pau. This is the first time I’ve watch the Femme tour from start to finish, so was not sure how the final stage would be run. The mens final stage is almost like a lap of honour, but with the women’s tour only being 8 stages, there was still racing to be had. The stage was reletively flat, compared to the previous days climb, but would still be challenging. There was a chance for Demi Vollering to loose her lead, but at the end of the day, she would show her class in the stage, finishing second by 10 seconds behind the stage winner Marlen Reussen of SD Worx. It would be SD Worx across the podium for the stage with Lotte Kopecky taking third. The results would crown Vollering the overall winner for the 2023 tour, with Lotte Kopecky second overall, and Katarzyna Niewiadoma of Canyon/SRAM Racing finishing third overall, and rewarded for her solo efforts in the mountain stages.
It was another great result for SD Worx and Demi Vollering, and an entertaining fight, with the overall winners not decided until close to the end of the tour. With the Giro d’Italia Donne being held so close to the 2023 tour, could this have caused Annemiek van Vleuten and Team Movistar to not be as dominant as what they were in the Giro. I guess we won’t know, but I can say, the Femme’s deserved some more stages in the race as it was a great race for 2023.
Is Motor Doping In Professional Cycling A Real Issue?
I asked this question after we saw the UCI performed 997 checks for motor doping at the 2023 Tour de France with none of the checks coming back as positive. The tests performed on the bikes included a number of basic tests using magnets, grouped together with more thorough tests, like X-ray tests and even having bikes pulled apart. Things have come a long way since 2020 incident where the Bianchi bike Primoz Roglic was using, was actually damaged when the Commisaire wanted the crankset dismantled, so it would be inspected.
Are the tests thorough, or are the teams simply not motor doping?
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The Vespa OFM Podcast
This week Vespa OFM Podcast is interviewing Vespa / OFM Ambassador Bree Lambert Sanders, who is a nutritionist and coach in the San Jose area. Bree who, at 54 years young, still competes at the elite level including winding up with an overall win or a place on the podium.
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I am a DevOps Engineer, Endurance Athlete, Biomechanics Student and Author. We can all achieve amazing things, it's just a matter of trying, I want to change the world, one run at a time.
