Marianne Vos |

Jul 21

why is there no women’s tour de france?

The Tour de France is a sprawling pandemonium of bike racing, product launches, and roadside parties. But the sport’s biggest event, the Tour itself, has largely left women riders out of the festivities. This year, they’ll participate for just two days, in a race called La Course, which runs ahead of the men’s race.

Why is there no Tour de France for women? Ask 12-time World Champion Marianne Vos, and she’ll laugh and say in her distinctive, Dutch-inflected English, “Well, that’s going to be a very long answer.” — Read the story A Chronicle of Persistance over at Bicycling.

Jun 5

Interview with Marianne

I went to Holland and I interviewed Olympic and World Champion Marianne Vos. Her mom cooked me dinner. Also, there was a cat. All the best stories have cats.

I was going to write something more here, but there’s already an official introduction that went through more revisions than I’m about to admit. So I’ll just send you on over to Bicycling and you can read the whole thing if you like .

Apr 1

Marianne Vos and the Ronde

I couldn’t believe that Vos had not yet won this race. But it’s true! Sunday was her first time.

Marianne Vos and the Ronde

Mar 20

firenze

Marianne Vos talks Firenze world championship courses. “It’s a really hard road race.”

(Source: http://www.youtube.com/)

Apr 18

Video: Evie Stevens Wins Flèche Wallonne, Podium and Finish Replay

Thanks @ednl for the video. Super impressive win from Evie Stevens of Specialized lululemon on the Mur de Huy. She followed the wheel of four-time winner Marianne Vos, then with picture perfect timing, came around to win by a bike-length and then some. Linda Villumsen of GreenEdge finished third, well back from the leading pair.

At the beginning of the year, Stevens said that Flèche Wallonne was among the races she would most like to win. She believed the final climb suited her, but she had struggled in the past with the narrow, technical roads that lead to the final climb. Earlier this season, Stevens crashed trying to follow an attack from Marianne Vos at the Trofeo Alfredo Binda. This time, Stevens kept the bike upright.

From the start, her coaches have raved about her power and her physiology – that Stevens has that perfect balance of strength, weight, and speed to win the big races. Now, we finally start to see what the fuss has been all about.

Also notable, Megan Guarnier of Team Tibco finished seventh on the Mur de Huy. Guarnier is a rider on the move – she won her first international race last year at the Giro di Toscana. She is more in the mold of a sprinter than Stevens, but seventh in this World Cup is a big step forward for Guarnier, an ex-swimmer turned bike racer.

For the U.S., the results from Guarnier and Stevens are good news. The U.S. started the season on the knife edge of the Olympic selection game. Would the U.S. get two starts or three starts in London? Much depended on how the U.S. riders finished in these early season races. I haven’t done the math just yet, but today’s race should help that cause significantly.

At the beginning of the season, Tibco team owner Linda Jackson said she was committed to helping the women chase the UCI points necessary to make it to the Olympics and she arranged for the team – including Guarnier – to travel to Europe to race. It takes a village.

For Stevens personally, this result should also help her cause in the selection game. And if the U.S. does in fact get those three starts? Guarnier looks better and better as a possible pick for London.

Certainly, the list is shrinking: Stevens, Kristin Armstrong, Amber Neben, and Megan Guarnier have the most recent top level results of the American women.

Video: Evie Stevens Wins Flèche Wallonne, Podium and Finish Replay