Thirteen women rode the Tour route to campaign for a women’s race. How realistic is their goal?
Twenty-four hours before Geraint Thomas pulled on the yellow jersey and set off on a stage across three Alpine climbs before his thrilling victory on Alpe d’Huez, Anna Barrero was enjoying one of the toughest days she’s had on the bike over those same mountains.
“The hardest stage I would say is the one finishing in Alpe d’Huez and the stage with the Tourmalet. But if you ask the riders you’d get a different answer; some days you have a good legs others not so much,” she says. Barrero is one of 13 women, Donnons des elles au Vélo J-1, who have been riding the route of the 2018 Tour de France as a campaign to try and get Tour organiser ASO to revive a full women’s edition.
The Tour used to have a women’s race between 1984 and 1989 and the Grande Boucle Féminine Internationale (run by a separate organisation) ran between 1992 and 2009.
“The message that we want to spread is that women are capable of riding the Tour. We want to ask for the same conditions, exactly the same as the men have right now,” says Berrero. And spread it they have. The group was joined by Paralympic gold medal winner Dame Sarah Storey for some of the early stages, and has gained write-ups in national newspapers and captured imaginations on social media. She adds: “On the Tourmalet stage when we finished the 205km and 5,000m of ascent we arrived at night and there were 200 people waiting for us. We were crying at seeing lots of women out. It’s difficult to describe the sensation.”
Denne historien er fra August 2, 2018-utgaven av CYCLING WEEKLY.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra August 2, 2018-utgaven av CYCLING WEEKLY.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
CLASSIC BIKE COLNAGO SUPER
A trailblazing bike immortalised by Merckx and Saronni
"Strava activities are the only way I know some of my friends are still alive"
...or that Bernard is doing his weekly shop
AN EXPERT'S TAKE ON... SADDLE SELECTION
Crucial advice to guide your next purchase
JUST A NUMB#R?
Approaching a landmark birthday, Charlie Graham-Dixon explores how ageing affects cycling performance and what can be done to stay ahead of the curve
RURAL PERIL
More UK cyclists are killed on rural lanes than on busy city streets. Rob Kemp investigates why and what can be done to keep us safe while riding in the countryside
A BLESSED RIDE THROUGH THE FOREST OF BOWLAND
Forgoing cloak, cassock and cross, Trevor Ward goes in search of the holy roads that helped make a Tour winner
Dame Sarah Storey claims road and 19th gold double
More success for Team GB's Paralympians in Paris, but Storey slams women's time trial course
Roglič matches Vuelta win record
Slovenian takes fourth Tour of Spain title after hunting down O'Connor's lead, writes Adam Becket
Williams crowned Tour of Britain champion
Welshman leads home resurgence at the stage race to crown an Israel-Premier Tech clean sweep, reports Tom Davidson in Felixstowe
CLASSIC BIKE CLAUD BUTLER OLYMPIC ROAD
Iconic British brand's Holdsworth-era road bike