Good news, bad news and interesting commentary on women's cycling....
by Sarah Connolly on Oct 25, 2011 12:45 PM EDT
in Women's Cycling
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PrintContinuing my weekly-ish transfer-and-other-news from the women's peloton..... Do you want the good news or the bad news first? If I start with the bad, we'll know it can only get better - and I promise, it DOES get better...
The women's transfer news has generally, in the last couple of years, been full of really great teams disappearing - and sadly this year is no exception, as this week we've heard that American-Italian team Colavita-Forno d'Asolo is folding.
The team came about for 2011 as a merger between teams with long histories in the sport - American team Colavita and Italian team Chirio-Forno d'Asolo. The team was ambitious, signing up World Road Champion Giorgia Bronzini, and running simultaneous programmes in the European and USA circuits, and they had probably the biggest roster of any women's teams (I especially liked the fact they got around the UCI rules on maximum numbers in a team by listing Bronzini as a "track specialist").
They were successful, too - 41 victories and more than 100 podium performances in 2011 - and in the USA their riders Janel Holcomb won the National Racing Calendar series (winning the Joe Martin Stage Race & the Sunny King Crit in the process), Leah Kirchmann came in second place (having won a stage and the overall at the Air Force Cycling Classic) and Theresa Cliff-Ryan came in third (winning three races at the USA Crits Speed Week and 2 stages at the Redlands Bicycle Classic) - and Colavita unsurprisingly won the team competition.
These weren't the only great results the USA side of the team had: Catherine Cheatley won another of the Redlands stages and a stage and 2nd overall at the Tour of New Zealand; Rushlee Buchanan won the other Speed Week Crit; Heather Logan-Sprenger won stages at the Tour of the Gila and the San Dimas Stage Race (where she came 3rd overall); and Andrea Dvorak got top 5s in the GC of big American stage races and came 2nd in the USA National Road Race Championships.
From their European side, their star rider, Bronzini, had a season similar to last year's - podium places in the huge sprints - at the Giro Donne, Profile Ladies Tour, Giro Toscana, EnergieWacht Tour etc, and 3rd at the World cup Ronde van Drenthe - and with some key wins at the GP Liberazione and in the USA's Liberty Classic... and, of course, winning the World Road Race Championships for a second year in a row.
So it's been a successful team, which makes it doubly sad that it can't continue. According to this Cyclingnews article, the team is folding because of "a lack of sufficient support from companies within the cycling industry" - which sounds like bike and equipment companies pulling out, rather than issues with the "name" sponsors.
It's not all bad news, though. That same CN article says that
A handful of the team’s riders and staff, who had already signed contracts for next season, are expected to be taken in by Circuit Global Sports Management’s, owners and operators of the UCI Continental Kelly Benefit Strategies-OptumHealth, new domestic women’s program in 2012.
and
The team is expected to hire 12 riders and focus its budget on NRC criteriums and stage races along with Liberty Classic and US and Canadian national championships.
Apparently Colavita will continue to sponsor this new team, so at least one sponsor is staying around (phew!) - but it's not at all clear what will happen to the Italian side - if Forno d'Asolo will set up a new team, or if we lose an Italian team from the roster. Potentially this could end up as good news, with two teams instead of one - but in the absence of good news, here's hoping all the best for the riders and staff of Colavita-Forno d'Asolo - they've proved they deserve nothing but good fortune.
Diadora-Pasta Zara sign Callovi, d'Ettorre & Borgato
Another team we're worried about is Diadora-Pasta Zara, as although I've heard some vague "they should be alright" murmurings, it's still not clear whether the parent company of Diadora, Geox, pulling out of men's cycling will affect the women's team.
I've been choosing to be hopeful about this - because there has been a clear separation between the men's and women's teams in name and structure - and the issues that seem to have lead to the disagreement between the sponsors and the men's team don't apply to the women's.
The other reason I'm hopeful are their latest signings. Just before the Geox news came out, the team had announced that they were moving back to their Italian roots, signing Giorgia Bronzini - and this week they've announced 3 more names. Bronzini is a rider who likes to pick her own support, so it wasn't too much of a surprise when Alessandra d'Ettorre and Giada Borgato followed her from Colavita-Forno d'Asolo. D'Ettorre is a formidable lead-out rider with a lot of experience, and Borgato is just 20, and this will be the 3rd team where she's ridden in support of Bronzini, while developing as a rider in her own right.
The third rider they've signed is possibly the most exciting - 2009 Junior Road World Champion, Rossella Callovi. Callovi rode for MCipollini-Giambenini this year, but had to cut her season short due to health problems - but if she can sort those out, it will be great to see how she develops. Her best 2011 result was 2nd place at the World Cup GP Valladolid, and she came 6th in the hilly Giro del Trentino stage race.
It may be overly optimistic, but these signings make me hope the team's future will be secure. They have a long history as a team, have former World Champion Diana Ziliute as their DS, and Bronzini on board.... if they can't survive, there's probably no hope for Italian women's cycling...
But what about Manel Lacambra and the other Diadora riders?
So the confirmed Diadora-Pasta Zara riders for 2012 (we hope) are Alona Andruk, Giada Borgato, Giorgia Bronzini, Rossella Callovi, Inga Cilvinaite, Alessandra d'Ettorre, Giulia Donato, Amber Pierce and Francesca Stefani.
This leaves 2011 co-DS Manel Lacambra and riders Mara Abbott, Claudia Häusler, Oxana Kozonchuk, Sinead Miller, Rachel Neylan, Shelley Olds, Eleonora Patuzzo, Jessica Uebelhart and Olga Zabelinskaya without teams for 2012. Cunning-minded Podium Café readers have suggested that that's a damn nice team in its own right. I am really, really hoping that we hear that either there'll be a brand-new team popping up, or a small team bolstered by that line-up ..... If you find out any information at all, stick it into the comments!
GSD-Gestion and Vaiano Solaristech confirmed for 2012 - and new signings
You know it's the women's peloton when "good news" includes teams just continuing, but with all the uncertainty, we should celebrate where we can!
Monty told us that Vaiano Solaristech are continuing on, with Lithuanian sprinter Rasa Leleivyte leading the team
and the big new signing so far is another Lithuanian, Aleksandra Sosenko, double national champ.... Confirmed as staying are Valentina Bastianelli, Alessia Martini, Eleonora Spaliviero, Urte Juodvalkyte, Katazina Sosna, Francesca Anichini and Silvia Moroni, while Irene Falorni, Simona Martini and Chiara Vanni are moving elsewhere. And they’ve still got a couple of announcements about new signings and sponsorship up their sleeves. Not a star-studded roster, but they are a Bweeg-like team who work hard to stay in the game just for love of the sport.
GSD-Gestion are also staying - and they're taking on some interesting riders. Luxembourg Champion Christine Majerus, Irish champion Siobhan Horgan, Mélanie Bravard, Charlotte Bravard, Eugénie Mermillod, and Lina-Kristin Schink will be joined by the two Swiss riders from Nederland Bloeit, Patricia Schwager and Emilie Aubry, Brit Catherine Williamson (Team Bizhub), Luxembourgeoise Anne-Marie Schmitt (Lointek) and two young French riders Lucie Pader and Oriane Chaumet. There's more about the renewals - including the fact Specialized have renewed support - from Cyclingnews.
Bridie O'Donnell gives a GREAT interview!
Moving on from transfers, one thing you really should look at is this fantastic video interview with Bridie O'Donnell on Cycling Central, where Bridie discusses her career, the women's World Road Race Championships and her ideas on how to improve women's cycling - especially what the UCI could/should be doing. I am a huge fan of Bridie, because she's so articulate and thoughtful - and her ideas make perfect sense! It's a nice meaty interview, 14 minutes long, and you really should play it - you won't regret it! Here's to the UCI listening and taking action!
Fun from the Twittersphere
And finally.... some fun and some weirdness from the world of Twitter.
Happy transfer news from Aussie cyclist Belinda Goss:
Off to Germany next year! Excited to have signed pro contract with Abus NUTRIXXION for 2012!
The makers of The Sufferfest discover what we've known about women's cycling all along:
And Ina-Yoko Teutenberg has her own Stand By Me moment:
Anything you see that you think is fun, or news-worthy.... add it to the comments!
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A small correction, Colavita has been sponsoring women's cycling for many years
The team was quite successful in the US too for many years – including the TIna Pic years when she and the team won almost every crit & USA National Crit Championships
Oh, fabulous, thankyou
I saw somewhere that they’d been in since 2002 – I’ll edit!
Many thanks!
Aka Pigeons!
by Sarah Connolly on Oct 25, 2011 1:12 PM EDT up reply actions
no worries
I too was surprised by the comment that said that it was the bike industry that removed its support. While at the same time, many of the bike industry are adding women specific products to their lines. Why this disconnect?
Good question, for sure.
Compared to say, ten years ago, the industry is doing considerably more on the women’s side than they were. Still some distance to go, obvy.
~ Gavia ~
I know, I was wondering what the story is behind that
Wondering if it’s their bike supplier? The quotes in the story raised more questions than they answered. But as they say in the story, it’s completely strange in the context of the team doing so damn well
Aka Pigeons!
by Sarah Connolly on Oct 25, 2011 1:39 PM EDT up reply actions
Colavita Women's Team Started in 2003
I was the first general manager and started the Colavita women’s team nine years ago. Greg Wheeler was our DS. Here is a link to the Daily Peloton first-year retrospective with Greg published as that season was concluding. http://www.dailypeloton.com/displayarticle.asp?pk=5018. For a first-year team we were remarkably successful, thanks to the dedication of our fantastic riders, including Shannon Hutchison, Brooke O’Connor, Ashley Kimmet and many others. We concluded the first season by signing Joanne Kiesanowski who proceeded to go out and win the New Zealand National Championship. The following year we signed Tina Pic, Dotsie Bausch and were on our way to the top tier of women’s cycling. Being associated with that team and those women was one of my proudest achievements in cycling. John Profaci and I have had enormous angst over the termination of what we consider the most successful women’s cycling program in the country. Kudos go to John for making sure that all contracted cyclists and staff had their contracts honored by Circuit Global Sports Management’s, owners and operators of the UCI Continental Kelly Benefit Strategies-OptimumHealth, a new domestic women’s program starting in 2012. Colavita will continue its support of women’s cycling through a secondary sponsorship with the Kelly Benefits/Optimum Health team. Additionally, Colavita’s commitment to amateur cycling continues with its 14 regional teams throughout the country. Moreover, John Profaci and I are already in the initial planning stages to come back into women’s side of the sport with a smaller, elite women’s amateur program which we hope to start up for the 2012 season. More details will be following. For any women cyclists interested in applying for the team roster, I can be reached at rbauchlaw@yahoo.com.
thanks for the info/work you do
and welcome.
"Ants don’t worry, they operate like a fantastic team, they accept obstacles and deal with them in a positive manner, they don’t complain and remain positive. An ant doesn’t work on emotion, is proactive and always chooses the ant role."
Thankyou so much!
The team was so great, I’m really sad to see it go – but I’m glad that the riders & staff are ok
Good luck with everything for the future!
Aka Pigeons!
by Sarah Connolly on Oct 26, 2011 1:04 PM EDT up reply actions
Tiff Cromwell started her international career there with a 6 week guest ride in 2007
I think New Zealander Track Worrld Champion Sarah Ulmer also had a guest rider spot earlier than that.
by AdelaideFatboy on Oct 25, 2011 2:34 PM EDT up reply actions
Speaking of whom
we’ve heard about the new flat and the new furniture, so what’s happening with the team?
Give me a break Monty
I rely on you guys for any news of her. I only know her history not her future. I’m usually the last to know anything ;-D
by AdelaideFatboy on Oct 26, 2011 4:13 AM EDT up reply actions
Janel Holcomb
confirmed that she has a contract for next year. I’ll have s’more details in a few days.
~ Gavia ~
good for her.
"Ants don’t worry, they operate like a fantastic team, they accept obstacles and deal with them in a positive manner, they don’t complain and remain positive. An ant doesn’t work on emotion, is proactive and always chooses the ant role."
ES Gervais-Lilas, or ESGL93
the other half of that bitter split last winter have come forward with their plans for 2012, the ones that they stepped back for a year to work on, and it all looks a bit last minute panicky. Trouble with finding sponsorship has led them to team up with men’s team BigMat-Auber 93. It will allow them to keep their star riders Mélodie Lesueur and Elodie Hegoburu, and they’ve signed up two more riders so far: Alessia Bugeia and Steffi Jamoneau, but they will be just a French national team. And that budget that they couldn’t raise? The whole team runs for a year on 60,000-70,000 Euros.
Le Parisien via Gwena
Do you have info on budgets from toher women teams?
Such an article could be interesting. Whenever I read this things, I come to think of how easy it would be for those top-budget teams to fund a womens’ project and help develop this the sport. Certainly it would take more to run a team like Garmin-Cervelo, but it would still be peanuts in a 6-15 million euros budget. Well, but that’s what it has come to in Men’s racing. The competitivness makes every penny count.
It's always tough to get any reliable-ish numbers
from the teams themselves rather than via a friend of a friend. I try to highlight anything I come across, but that’s the first time I’ve read a team manager stating firm numbers rather than just saying between x and 3×. I reckon that that has to be the bare minimum you could run a team for, just paying for a lock-up to store the bikes, a couple of cars and lots of hotels and petrol (and there was one team that pulled out of the Tour of Charente Maritime this year because they couldn’t afford the petrol to get there).
What looks like Vaiano's last signing
2010 European Junior Champion Anna Trevisi
inrng has a good article up about women's racing & tv
http://inrng.com/2011/10/womens-racing-tv-coverage/
Go and read it (& laugh at some of the “women hate sport” comments!)
Aka Pigeons!
Apparently this is what the Hitec team will be riding next year
According to Karl Lima’s twitter:
http://www.scott-sports.com/gb_en/product/11270/64449/221861
Aka Pigeons!
sweet bike.
"Ants don’t worry, they operate like a fantastic team, they accept obstacles and deal with them in a positive manner, they don’t complain and remain positive. An ant doesn’t work on emotion, is proactive and always chooses the ant role."
Apparently they have signed up Mazda to provide the team cars
I don’t know if the Swedes are in revenge planning an invasion. Though I’m not sure what that bunch of Norma Desmonds could do “I used to be a jet, don’t you know.”
Damn
I was sure that Dutch dude Victor Muller wanted to give the team a couple of Saabs, he’s totally honest.
Badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, badger...
by TheFigurehead on Oct 26, 2011 3:12 PM EDT up reply actions
Diadora's roster updated
The team Diadora-Pasta Zara-Manhattan address the 2012 season with these athletes: Giorgia Bronzini (28 years), Rossella Callovi (20), Alessandra D’Ettorre (32), Giulia Donato (19), Giada Borgato (22), Francesca Stefani (20), Inga Cilvinaite (25), Edita Janeliunaite (22), Agne Silinyte (20), Alona Andruk (24), Polona Batagelj (22) and Amber Pierce (30).
Aka Pigeons!
I'm glad to see Polona get a ride with a bigger team next year
The other two new names, Edita Janeliunaite and Agne Silinyte, are young Lithuanians. Janeliunaite rode with Colavita-Forno d’Asolo this year and did pretty well in a few US races including winning the Tour de Grove (and that’s what it’s really called – suck it, Trebek, as they say), while even the team management struggle to find something to say about Silinyte. “Interesting”, and “promising” look very much like they come from the PR’s big book of WTF.
Another Aussie going to Nutrixxion
Emma Mackie (formerly Tibco) tweets that she’s signed there
Aka Pigeons!
And Gerard Vroomen is blogging on women's cycling again
Replying to people who criticised his ideas on including having a women’s team as a pre-requisite for UCI World Tour licenses.
I liked this:
"Morally reprehensible", "morally repugnant", "Do not use the UCI license to force teams and organizers to do something". Just some of the responses to my suggestion that WorldTour teams and races should be required to have a women’s team resp. race as well.
and this:
I didn’t hear anybody complain about some Iranian dude making a salary that could support an entire women’s team, just because he scored a bunch of points on the AsianTour and those points help Lotto to get a WorldTour license. It has nothing to do with the real sporting level of that team for next year, it’s a complete distortion of the ranking, but it’s in the rules to help develop the sport in regions outside of Europe (a crude method in my view, but that’s another story).
Aka Pigeons!
I love the idea (from that Inner Ring article)
(am I the only one who types that out in full before goimg to check which letters I need to delete) of giving credit to teams that have an associated U23 squad too. It really sucked this year that the number 1 team on UCI rankings in January had never raced together as a team, and the fact that their sugar daddy got a bit bored and took away his ball makes the whole system look even more ridiculous.
And that quote should be able to answer the "how much does it cost to run a women's team"? Q!
If we can work out the salary for the dude-whose-name-I’ve-teomporarily-forgotten-(-and-am-to-lazy-to-google-)
Aka Pigeons!
by Sarah Connolly on Oct 26, 2011 2:04 PM EDT up reply actions
Why don't we have more people within the sport...
Discussing: 1) the need for a Pro-Tour; 2) the way the licenses are given.
It can be a great way to expand cycling beyond it’s european borders and an opportunity to develop the women’s side of the sport (right now it is only that, an opportunity). But at what cost?
I’m worried teams will go from one budget increase to another, so they can pay inflatuating salaries to riders with WT points. I’m worried about the fact these teams have to compete with Super Budget Projects. (Nothing wrong with a sponsor wanting to put money into the sport. But this system plays in their favor, allows them to grow in numbers and creates a clear unbalance).
How can a system that allows you to buy your way into to top of the rankings be fair? How can you call it a sporting ranking, when it doesn’t relate to the sporting performance of the team from last season?
To sum it up and this is the real question for me: is this system sustainable?
A few retirements
Samantha Galassi, a climbing domestique with MCipollini this season, and with most small Italian teams before that has decided to stop, happy that her last season went well and that she enjoyed it.
And from GSD Gestion, Nathalie Cadol is leaving because she has two small kids and life I guess got a bit busier, and Monique Ludovicy because she doesn’t “want to spent all my weekends in the car, at the hotel and at races without getting a positive outcome.” And ever wondered what riding the Belgian cobbles does to you?
apparently Colavita has new sponsors lined up and looks to be better than ever next year
According to VN anyways, yay!
Focus on easy first. If that's all you get, that ain't half bad - Caballo Blanco
Is that the Kelly Benefit stuff from the article?
Hope it’s all good for them!
Aka Pigeons!
by Sarah Connolly on Oct 27, 2011 4:58 AM EDT up reply actions
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