/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/14724059/biker-home.0.png)
Live racing this week
This week there is apparently live women's racing on the road and the dirt. I say "apparently", because live women's road racing is never really guaranteed - but there's also delayed tv coverage of races. Here's what's happening this week...
Val di Sole MTB World Cup - 13th-16th June
This is the combined World Cups for Cross Country and Downhill, and it's live streamed. I have to say, I'm pretty obsessed with downhill - it's so simple to understand (fastest down the crazy course wins) - and XCo is fun too (laps of a course, first rider across the line wins) - and the Eliminator is probably the nearest thing to cyclocross we get in the summer (4 riders in each heat riding laps of an obstacle-filled course - winners go on to race each other). And the World Cup sponsor, Red Bull, and the DH teams make it super-easy to follow and love. If you want to watch some, here's the timetable (the races will be archived afterwards via the links)
Thursday 13th June, 17:52 CEST: Women’s & men’s Eliminator
Saturday 15th June, 11:18 CEST: Women’s Cross Country
Saturday 15th June, 13:48 CEST: Men’s XCo
Sunday 16th June, 15:15 CEST: Women’s & men’s Downhill
And if you want to get excited, here's an event trailer, and helmet-cam of the downhill race:
***
Nature Valley GP, 12th-16th June
There are so many fantastic North American races that make me long to visit and make weekends of them - they really push the boat out in terms of giving people lots to see and do, and lots of races - men's, women's, all kinds of bikes. This week, it's Minnesota's turn to show us what they can do - and some of the races will be streamed live.
The Grand Prix has six stages - a Time Trial, three Crits and two Road Races, with a General Classification for the overall winner. It always looks beautiful in photos and videos - here's Stages 1 & 2
They usually have video from each stage on that YT - after the weekend I'll pull a video post together, but look to the comments for more before then!
The brand-new USA ITT Champion, Carmen Small of Specialized-lululemon, won the opening St Paul Time Trial, and Lauren Hall of Optum-Kelly won the Stage 2 St Paul Crit.
Friday's and Saturday's SUNDAY'S (sorry!) races will be shown live on livestream - the Friday women’s race starts at 6:15pm local time, which works out as 00:15 BST, 01:15 CEST, 7:15pm EDT, 4:15pm PDT and 2:46am Monday AEST. Not sure when the stream will start, but watch the race twitter for updates!
Sunday's race starts at 11:45am local time, which works out as 17:45 BST, 18:45 CEST,12:45pm EDT, 9:45am PDT and 9:15am Saturday AEST.
For a look at the race so far, there are photos from Stage 1 on Velonews and Cyclingnews, and Stage 2 on VN and CN - and here's a great statement, on their website, about the race's commitment to women's cycling. Have a look around the website, and follow them on twitter for live action! And if you want more, watch this video of the NVGP Fixed Gear Classic:
2013 Fixed Gear Classic from Rick Fuentes on Vimeo.
***
The Giro del Trentino, 15th-16th June
Like the MTBers, the pro peloton are also in Trentino, for the three-stages-in-two-days Giro Trentino. Now, this isn't the beautifully-crazy mountain race of the past, where the race used to start at the bottom of an Alp and keep going until they reached the top, but it's still hard! Watch out for more of the Emma Johansson/Elisa Longo Borghini/Evelyn Stevens rivalry - it doesn't look like Rabobank are racing, but who knows? There's no startlist yet.
EDIT! Here's the startlist! Thanks Saul! No Rabobank in this race, so no Vos
Here's the race twitter and website - and there are previews on Les Déesses de la Route (narrative), on Velofocus (stats and maps and such)
We sometimes get some post-race video for this one, so if you see any, post away!
***
Evie Stevens is awesome
Speaking of Evie Stevens, did you know she has a website now? Check it out! And if you want proof she's awesome, I love this tweet:
I have no words for @evelyn_stevens . She gave us her trophee as a present. THANK YOU!!! twitter.com/kapelmuur29/st…
— Saul Thonolan (@kapelmuur29) June 9, 2013
Saul is a blogger for the Spanish site, Cobbles & Hills, and he was at the Emakumeen Bira at the weekend. It was non-stop deluge, I'm amazed he didn't drown, but he did a fantastic job of updating us on twitter, posting photos and sharing the atmosphere - and isn't it lovely to see pro riders appreciate that too? It really made me smile!
***
Polemica in London
On Saturday it was the London Nocturne, a day full of city races - one of which featured our very own Albertina! It was the "official UK debut" of Wiggle Honda, and here's a video following them:
And there's another video here, from RoadCycling UK. Now, if you're watching closely, you may wonder why Laura Trott is given as the winner, when it looks like MG Maxifuel's Hannah Barnes crossed the line first. Here's a statement from the Nocturne, issued today, explaining it all. I know, that's a long delay, it's a shame the race didn't announce this earlier.
EDIT! Here's an article about it - with another video - on Total Women's Cycling
If you want to watch this on tv, it'll be shown on Sunday 16th June on the UK's Channel 4 at 07:35 BST, or 08:35 BST on C4+1 - it you don't have access to Channel 4, you might be able to find it on Filmon
***
Hannah Barnes again
Hannah Barnes has been storming through the UK's Johnson Health Tech GP series of women's crits at the Tour Series, winning all but one raced so far. This week in Woking, she took a ridiculous faceplant, that she posted on her instagram, but after a lap out to recover, got back on and won the race, bloody but unbowed. Here's a photo her friend posted of her the day after - definitely banged up, but still smiling - hardcore!
***
JHTGP - Aylsham
It's the final JHTGP round tonight, in Aylsham - and this will be on tv tomorrow, Friday 14th June, on the Tour Series programme - 22:00 BST on ITV4, or 23:00 on ITV4 +1, or on filmon too. If you're in the UK, all the Tour Series rounds should be on the ITV Player.
***
No more Ina-Yoko Teutenberg this season
Sad news for Teute fans - she's still not recovered from the horrible crash at the Drentse 8 in March, and so won't be racing again this season. This is very sad for her, her team, and the whole peloton, as Teute is the non-nonsense patron, highly respected by everyone, as well as being the queen of the sprinters. Here's the team statement, and I especially feel for Teute when I read:
"It’s been pretty hard for her. She’s been racing since she was six years old and she definitely doesn’t like being this sedentary. She also hates letting down her team. But she supports them for the sideline and this will give her a chance to recover fully and then make a decision later in the year if she’ll be back for another year of racing next year."
***
Want more?
In shameless-self-promotion territory, I've put links to fun things from last week's racing in the post that goes with omnevelnihil's and my latest women's cycling podcast - tweets, photos, links, all that jazz. There's some cross-over with this, but that has more - and you can also listen to omne and me bicker, rant and swear about it! And you can read my report from last week's races on Total Women's Cycling.
***
What have you found?
I'm sure I've missed a lot of things, so please please please add anything you see to the comments