The Women’s Cycling 2020 season was all nicely planned out with races spread over many months. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and all the races after Le Samyn des Dames on 3rd March were cancelled. To fill the void there’s been some virtual racing instead. We’ve recently seen a race or two in Slovenia but the big events start happening again from August 2020.
Virtual Racing
V-Women’s Tour
With the full cancellation of the Women’s Tour for 2020, they ran a 3-day stage race that took in some virtual versions of former Women’s Tour stages. A flatter stage saw the riders take to East Anglia and race a stage into Bury St Edmunds that Marianne Vos won in real life. They then took on last year’s Burton Dassett stage, with the hills creating time gaps. Finally they raced around Canary Wharf in a crit style race.
Team TIBCO dominated proceedings. Their Welsh rider Leah Dixon took the overall victory. Apart from Dixon’s own victory on Stage 2, Lotto-Soudal’s Dani Christmas won Stage 1 and NXTG Racing’s Cathalijne Hoolwerf won Stage 3.
Virtual Tour de France
A Virtual Tour de France is scheduled to take place on Zwift from 4th July 2020 with riders taking on 6 stages over 3 weeks. 23 Men’s teams and 16 Women’s teams have been confirmed
Riders include
- Egan Bernal
- Geraint Thomas
- Christopher Froome
- Julian Alaphilippe
- Richie Porte
- Greg Van Avermaet
- Mathieu Van der Poel
- Nairo Quintana
- Mads Pedersen
- Warren Barguil
- Romain Bardet
- Chloé Dygert-Owen
- Anna van der Breggen
- Chantal Van den Broek-Blaak
- Marianne Vos
- Coryn Rivera
- Marta Bastianelli
- Lisa Brennauer
- Kirsten Wild
- Elisa Balsamo
- Tiffany Cromwell
- Audrey Cordon Ragot
- Elizabeth Deignan
The first two stages take place on the hilly and mountain courses so time gaps will be opened up quickly. A new French map will throw a challenge at the riders in the second week. Stage 3 should suit sprinters whereas Stage 4 has a long power climb to negogiate.
Stage 5 sees riders take on a shortened version of Mount Ventoux and Stage 6 will see a virtual version of the Champs Elysees raced for the first time. All in all it’s a race the climbers should win overall, just like the real thing.
You can watch the Zwift Virtual Tour de France live here from July 4th.
Joe Martin Stage Race
The Joe Martin Stage Race is one of the biggest women’s stage races held in North America, particularly now the Tour of California has ceased to exist. The Joe Martin Stage Race was won by Chloe Dygert-Owen in 2019, ahead of Shannon Malseed and Sara Bergen. The Virtual version was held between 19-21st June 2020. Predictably, the entrants had a North American flavour with professional riders from Team TIBCO, Agolico and Sho-Air Twenty20 represented.
Team TIBCO also dominated this race with Lauren Stephens winning the overall victory. She beat Agolico’s Andrea Ramirez and her own teammate, Kristen Faulkner. TIBCO’s Sarah Gigante won Stage 1, Vision’s Jacquie Godbe won Stage 2 before Lauren Stephens won Stage 3. Chloe Dygert-Owen was also racing but didn’t trouble the standings, showing how tough it is to transition from outdoor to indoor racing.
Cancelled 2020 Races
Some races haven’t been able to reschedule into the new calendar. Constrictions on budget, time and scheduling have meant that they will be back in the 2021 season instead. Races suffering that fate include:
- The Women’s Tour (who ran a virtual version instead)
- The Vårgårda races
- Ladies Tour of Norway
- Trofeo Alfredo Binda
- Ronde van Drenthe / Drentse Acht
- Nokere Koerse
- Dwars door Vlaanderen
- Joe Martin Stage Race
- Healthy Ageing Tour
- Omloop van Borsele
- Tour de Yorkshire
- Festival Elsy Jacobs
- Vuelta a Burgos
- GP de Plumelec
- La Classique Morbihan
- Thüringen Ladies Tour
- BeNe Ladies Tour
- San Sebastian Emakumeen Klasikoa
- RideLondon Classique
- Tour of Scotland
- GP Bruno Beghelli
A fairly extensive list of races, some of whom have said they may struggle to hold 2021 races as a result of missing out this season. As a result there may be ongoing knock-on effects to women’s cycling.
Women’s Cycling Team Changes
The COVID crisis also had an effect on teams. Most notably at Bigla-Katusha. Their sponsors pulled out of the commitments to the team as a result of the global pandemic and its effect on their main companies. Luckily a new sponsor has been found, the Paule Ka fashion company. From 1st July 2020, the team is now known as Equipe Paule Ka.
Women’s WorldTour 2020 Race Calendar
August
- 1st August 2020 – Strade Bianche
- 26th August 2020 – GP de Plouay
- 29th August 2020 – La Course by Le Tour de France
September
- 1st – 6th September 2020 – Boels Ladies Tour
- 11th – 19th September 2020 – Giro d’Italia Internazionale Femminile
- 30th September 2020 – La Flèche Wallonne Féminine
October
- 4th October 2020 – Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes
- 10th October 2020 – Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition
- 11th October 2020 – Gent Wevelgem In Flanders Fields WE
- 18th October 2020 – Tour of Flanders WE
- 20th October 2020 – Driedaagse Brugge-De Panne
- 23rd – 25th October 2020 – Tour of Chongming Island
- 25th October 2020 – Paris Roubaix WE
November
- 6th – 8th November 2020 – Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta
- 10th November 2020 – Tour of Guangxi
Women’s . Pro and .1 2020 Race Calendar
July
- 23rd July 2020 – Emakumeen Nafarroako Klasikoa
- 24th July 2020 – Clasica Femenina Navarra
- 26th July 2020 – Durango-Durango Emakumeen Saria
August
- 18th August 2020 – Giro dell’Emilia Internazionale Donne Elite
- 27th – 30th August 2020 – Colorado Classic
September
- 3rd – 9th September 2020 – Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l’Ardèche
October
- 7th October 2020 – Brabantse Pijl
- 13th – 15th October 2020 – Belgium Tour
- 14th – 16th October 2020 – The Princess Maha Chackri Sirindhorn’s Cup ‘Women’s Tour of Thailand’
- 18th October 2020 – Chrono des Nations WE
- 28th October – 1st November 2020 – Bretagne Ladies Tour
Women’s .2 2020 Race Calendar
July
- 11th July 2020 – Grand Prix Erciyes WE
- 12th July 2020 – Grand Prix Kayseri WE
August
- 8th August 2020 – Grand Prix Develi WE
- 9th August 2020 – Grand Prix Cappadocia WE
- 12th August 2020 – Tour of Taiyuan International Women’s Road Cycling Race
- 15th August 2020 – La Périgord Ladies
- 15th August 2020 – Grand Prix Velo Erciyes WE
- 16th August 2020 – Grand Prix Central Anatolia WE
- 22nd August 2020 – Kyiv Women Race
- 23rd August 2020 – Kyiv Cup WE
- 28th – 30th August 2020 – Premondiale Giro Toscana Int. Femminile – Memorial Michela Fanini
- 31st August 2020 – Grote Prijs Euromat
September
- 5th – 10th September 2020 – Le Tour de Femina Malaysia
- 5th September 2020 – Grand Prix Mount Erciyes 2200 mt WE
- 6th September 2020 – Grand Prix World’s Best High Altitude WE
- 13th September 2020 – La Choralis Fourmies Féminine
- 19th September 2020 – Trophée des Grimpeuses
- 20th September 2020 – Grand Prix International d’Isbergues – Pas de Calais Féminin
October
- 6th – 11th October 2020 – Tour d’Occitanie
- 31st October – 2nd November 2020 – Tour of Zhoushan Island (Shengsi Stage)
