2016 is a breakthrough year for women’s professional cycling with the launch of the UCI Women’s WorldTour. Throughout the season, we will get updates from two members of the peloton as they live the highs and lows, the excitement and the challenges of cycling as a pro. On the eve of the first event of the UCI Women’s WorldTour, the Strade Bianche, they talk about their preparation, their goals and ambitions.
One of the most experienced riders in the women’s professional peloton, Annemiek van Vleuten has an enviable list of achievements including overall winner of the 2011 UCI Women Road World Cup, three stages of the Giro d’Italia Internazionale Femminile (in 2014 and 2015), Classics victories in the 2011 Tour of Flanders, GP de Plouay-Bretagne and Open de Suède Vargarda. A full time cyclist since 2011 Annemiek is particularly talented in the time trial and Classics races. Bronze medallist in the time trial at the 2015 European Games, she joins Orica-AIS in 2016.
“This is the first winter when I haven’t been recovering from injury, a bad crash or an operation. It feels so different from other years. I have had two training camps at Gran Canaria and three weeks with my new team, Orica-AIS. After the Tour of Qatar, I had three weeks altitude training in Tenerife… well that is until the snow came! That was a unique moment and not what I expected but it came in the last few days of my camp. So no problem!
This year I am looking forward in particular to the Spring Classics. I like bad weather, cobble stones and I want to be ready for this.
I think the UCI Women’s WorldTour is a very good step for women’s cycling, because it includes some of the biggest races. It is a small but good step towards making women’s cycling more professional. It will help us go onto better things.
I’ve seen a big difference in women’s cycling since I first started. There is a higher level and very strong women from a lot more different countries. I am still getting better, but with the increased competition, my job is not getting any easier. It makes things a lot more interesting. When I started there were basically three strong teams and people looked at us and waited for us to make a move. Now there are more teams and more women taking responsibility for moves in a race.
My advice to anyone who still isn’t convinced about women’s cycling is to watch it! Or follow us on Strava: when they see that we can average 47km/h in the time trial, that shuts them up.
I am looking forward to racing with my new team. I am in the pre-selection for the Olympics and the final selection will be made after the Spring Classics, which makes them even more important.
But first, the Strade Bianche. Races like that and the Tour of Flanders are so cool. I like heroic races, races that have history… epic races.”
At just 21 years old, Kasia Niewiadoma enters her third year as a professional in 2016. Last year she showed older, more experienced riders what she’s about, finishing 6th in the Strade Bianche and 5th in the UCI Women Road World Cup race La Flèche Wallonne Féminine. She was a regular winner of the “best young rider” classifications, won gold in the European Under-23 road race and sprinted to 7th in the UCI Road World Championships Elite Women road race just days after claiming bronze in the team time trial with her team Rabo-Liv Women Cycling Team.
“I know that my shape is better than last year! The question is whether everybody feels like this. The first races will be hard and painful for sure but I am happy that the racing period is back! After a while, training for kilometres starts to be boring.
Every year I start my preparation for the next season on November 1st. It’s a sign that the holidays are finished and it’s time to be serious again! This winter I spent two months in my family house in Poland cycling as much as I could (I live in the mountains so usually at that time there is already a lot of snow). At the beginning of January I came to Spain for the longest training camp in my life: 6.5weeks away from home was spent in Calpe and Guardamar with my team and the Polish Federation. Great weather, perfect areas, no health problems and great people.
I don’t feel any pressure for the Strade Bianche. Of course I want a better result this year but I have to remember that it’s just a race and anything can happen, especially on that course. One puncture and you can forget about the podium. I try to stay positive in my head and avoid all the nerves and stress.
I am proud that I can be part of the UCI Women’s WorldTour for the first year ever. I am excited and happy and looking forward to the 2016 season,
What else am I looking forward to this year? My sister is going to have a child in June. It’s the first one in family! I CANNOT WAIT!”