Although there was no UCI Women’s WorldTour race this past week, there were plenty of options for teams, nations and riders looking to secure points in the final few weeks of the Olympic qualification period, which ends on May 31. Teams had the opportunity to line up for UCI races across three continents with the Tour of Zhoushan Island in China, four one-day races in Venezuela and 4.NEA, a three-day, four stage tour in Finland.
Riding for the Russian National Team Elena Kuchinskaya won the Tour of Zhoushan Island overall by virtue of her stage win on stage two of the three-day race. Arianna Fidanza (Astana Women’s Team) and Roxane Fournier (Poitou-Charentes. Futuroscope.86) were the other stage winners in China.
Norway’s Vita Heine (Hitec Products) won two stages at 4.NEA, a new addition the UCI Women’s Calendar, to secure the overall win at the Finnish tour. Sari Saarelainen (S.C. Michela Fanini Rox) and Pia Pensaari (Velo Cycling) also took wins at their home race.
In Venezuela, all four one-day races had a record-breaking number of participants from foreign teams. Chile’s Paola Munoz (Xirayas de San Luis – OPW) won Saturday’s Gran Premio de Venezuela. Venezuela’s own Danielys Del Valle Garcia won Thursday’s Clasico FVCiclismo Corre Por la VIDA. Meanwhile Silva Janildes Fernandes (Brazilian National Team) clocked up two victories: in the Copa Federacion Venezolanda de Ciclismo on Wednesday and the Grand Prix de Venezuela on Sunday.
The Amgen Tour of California has hosted different formats of a women’s race since 2009: a one-day criterium (2008-2010), a one-day circuit race (2014) and an invite-only time trial (2011-2015). Last year was the first time a women’s stage race was held alongside the men’s event. The three-day event in 2015 was won Trixi Worrack (CANYON//SRAM Racing) while Evelyn Stevens (Boels-Dolmans Cycling Team) won the invite-only standalone time trial.
This year’s action starts on May 19 with a road stage in South Lake Tahoe, followed by a team time trial in Folsom, then two road stages in Santa Rosa (Saturday) and Sacramento (Sunday). In total, the women will cover 314.3 kilometres.
American Katie Hall (29) scored her first general classification win in January at the Tour Femenino de San Luis in Argentina. She represents UnitedHealthcare’s best option for the overall at the Amgen Tour of California Women’s race.
Hall only started cycling in 2011, while studying at UC Berkeley, and her first race was a mountain bike race with the collegiate team.
1st – Tour de Femenino de San Luis (2016) 1st – Tour de Femenino de San Luis – stage 5 (2016) 1st – Tour de Femenino de San Luis – stage 5 (2015) 1st – Amgen Tour of California Women’s Race – stage 1 (2015) 1st – Thüringen Rundfahrt – stage 6 (2015) 2nd – Tour of the Gila (2015) 4th – Amgen Tour of California Women’s Race (2015)
On the 17th of May we are 81 days from the Olympic Games in Rio.
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