Daily Cycling Facts 05.01.2014

Georgia Gould

Georgia Gould
(image credit: Thomas Fanghaenel
CC BY-SA 3.0)

Georgia Gould, born in Baltimore on this day in 1980, is one of the most successful mountain bike and cyclo cross riders in the history of either sport. Over her career to date, she has won 24 major victories and with Juli Furtado is one of only two women to have won all rounds of a NORBA (now NIMBS) series.

Her first big win was the 2005 Verge Mid-Atlantic Cyclocross Series, which she followed up one year later by winning the National Mountain Bike Cross Country Championship. In 2007 she joined the Luna MTB team, of which she is still a part by 2013. That year she added the PanAmerican Cross Country title, then finished the 2008 Olympic MTB race in 8th place. She became National Short Track MTB Champion in 2009, then Cross Country Champion for a second time in 2010. Along the way, she won the majority of the most prestigious US cyclo cross races and achieved podium places in numerous others, also winning the US GP of Cyclo Cross in 2007, 2008 and 2010. In 2012, she became National MTB Cross Country Champion and was third in the cross country events at the Olympics and World MTB Championships.

Gould is a highly vocal supporter of the fight to introduce equal pay and prize money for professional female cyclists who, even in 2013, could expect to receive prizes and salaries many times lower than their male counterparts (and, more frequently than many people realise, no salary at all) - as Lyne Bessette pointed out in 2007, "At a UCI race, the guys will win, like, a thousand bucks and we get $175." In 2008, she started a campaign since named the Gould Formula with the aim of introducing new measures to redress the balance, centred around a petition delivered to cycling's governing body the UCI. The petition read:

“We, the undersigned, find it regrettable that there is a considerable disparity between the UCI minimum prize money for men and women. We understand that because competition in the men’s field is deeper, more places receive prize money. We do not understand why the women who are receiving prize money receive less than their male counterparts. Therefore we propose that the UCI show leadership and mandate equal prize money for the top five men and women. Article 3 of the UCI Constitution states: "The UCI will carry out its activities in compliance with the principles of: a) equality between all the members and all the athletes, license-holders and officials, without racial, political, religious or other discrimination.." We ask the UCI to honor its commitment to equality."

Henri Desgrange

On this day in 1895, Alfred Dreyfus was stripped of his Army rank and sentenced to life imprisonment after being falsely convicted of treason in France - thus beginning the Dreyfus Affair that, by causing Jules Albert De Dion to join forces with other anti-Drefusards and establish the L'Auto newspaper as opposition to the pro-Dreyfus Le Velo newspaper, would also indirectly lead to the inauguration of the Tour de France, originally organised by editor Henri Desgrange in an attempt to increase sales.

Megan Hughes was born on this day in 1977. She was National Road Champion in 1998, then Welsh Road Champion the following year. In 2001 she was offered a place with British Cycling's World Performance development plan but retired shortly afterwards, preferring to settle into her new life at home in Wales with her husband, 2004 Paris-Roubaix winner Magnus Bäckstedt - who says he prefers it to their previous home in Belgium. They still live in Wales and have two daughters.

FDJ rider Benoît Vaugrenard was born in Vannes, France on this day in 1982. He won the National Time Trial Championship in 2007, then in 2008 took second place on Stage 1 at the Critérium International, eighth place on Stage 11 at the Tour de France, won Stage 4 at the Tour du Limousin and was overall winner at the Tour du Poitou-Charentes et de la Vienne. The following year saw him win only once, at the GP d'Isbergues, but he performed well at the Brabantse Pijl, Amstel Gold Race, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Critérium du Dauphiné. 2010 started well with a Stage 1 victory at the Volta ao Algarve in February followed by good stage finishes at Tirreno-Adriatico and a stage win at the Four Days of Dunkirk in May; however, the latter would be his last win that season and he did not enjoy any more success in 2011 or 2012.

David Kopp

David Kopp

Born in Bonn on this day in 1979, David Kopp never reached the heights he'd have doubtless liked to have reached but made a name for himself as a useful rider in the cobbled classics. His career was somewhat checquered - having turned professional with Telekom and doing well in 2001, he failed to impress through the subsequent two years and was dropped when the team became T-Mobile before the 2004 season. He then moved to third-category team Lamonta and apparently found the reduced level of competition more to his liking, winning nine times that year, then went to ProContinental Wiesenhof for 2005 and won four times.

Having now built up an impressive palmares, Kopp made his return to the top ranks when he was offered a place with ProTour Gerolsteiner for 2006 and 2007. His first season with the team went well with second place at Gent-Wevelgem, four top ten stage finishes at the Tour de France, first place at the Trofeo Calvia and a stage win at the Benelux Tour, yet for some reason Gerolsteiner managers decided to keep him away from the big races in 2007 (the team they sent to the Tour that year was led by Markus Fothen and Stefan Schumacher who, though both young and relatively inexperienced, had done unexpectedly well at the Grand Tours in 2006) - perhaps feeling disheartened by this, he won just a derny race and a stage at the Tour of Poland that year and, when his contract was not renewed at the close of the season, was forced to drop a rank back to the ProContinental teams.

Riding for Collstrop in 2008 he was second at the E3 Harelbeke but performed badly for most of the rest of the season; he was unable to secure a contract for 2009. That year, in March, news emerged that he had tested positive for cocaine at a Belgian race the previous September, but he was able to return with Kuota-Indeland in 2010 and won Köln-Schuld-Frechen before placing well at the Ronde van Drenthe and Dwars door Drenthe. He remained with the team when it became Eddy Merckx-Indeland in 2011 and won the Rund am Rhede, then came ninth at the Dwars door Drenthe before announcing his retirement at the end of the year.

Juan Fernández Martín, born in Alhama de Granada on this day in 1957, won Stage 8 and the Mountains Classification of the Giro d'Italia and the Spanish Road Race Championship in 1980, then won a second National Championship in 1988. After retiring from competition at the end of the 1988 season, he went on to become a directeur sportif, serving at CLAS, Mapei, Festina, Coast and Phonak at various times between 1989 and 2006.

Azizulhasni Awang, Malaysian track cyclist and silver medalist at the 2009 Worlds (the first Malaysian to win a World Track medal), was born in 1988.

Barry Mason, 1950-2011

Barry Mason, a cycling activist, was born on this day in 1950. Barry was co-ordinator of the Southwark Cyclists in London for several years and, under his leadership, it became the most active of the London Cycling Campaign groups, taking part in a range of efforts aimed at improving cycling infrastructure and promoting bike use in the city, which led to him being given the London Cycling Personality of the Year award in 2006. He died on the 2nd of June 2011 whilst swimming in Spain and his humanist funeral was attended by many hundreds of cyclists.

Henrik Morén, born in Sweden on this day in 1877, broke British rider Freddie Grubb's 24 Hour Track Time Trial record in 1912 when he covered 375.6 miles (604.47km). (Much more about Grubb on the 6th of March, which will be the anniversary of his death.)


Ronald van Avermaet, who was born in Hamm in East Flanders on this day in 1959, enjoyed considerable success during the early 1980s. He is the father of Greg van Avermaet, the winner of the 2011 Tour de Wallonie; the son of Aimé van Avermaet who won a bronze medal in the 1955 National Amateur Road Race Championship; the son-in-law of 1959 Ronde van België stage winner Kamiel Buysse; father-in-law to Tour of Austria stage winner Glenn D'Hollander (who is a cousin of Preben van Hecke); great-uncle to Belgian professional Anja Buysse and uncle to Thomas and Matthias Ongena who have won numerous races in Belgium. Cycling, it seems, runs in the family.

Bryan Steel, who rode for Great Britain in the Olympics of 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004, was born in Nottingham on this day in 1969.

Other cyclists born on this day: Harry Genders (Great Britain, 1890, died 1971); Jean Van Buggenhout (Belgium, 1905, died 1974); Solo Razafinarivo (Madagascar, 1938); Henrik Morén (Sweden, 1877, died 1956); Ingvar Ericsson (Sweden, 1914, died 1995); Khosro Haghgosha (Iran, 1948); Arnold Lundgren (Denmark, 1899, died 1979); Guido Messina (Italy, 1931); Petrov Minchev (Bulgaria, 1950); Karl Wölfl (Austria, 1914); Ivar Jakobsen (Denmark, 1954); Abbas Saeidi Tanha (Iran, 1981); Igor Pugaci (Moldova, 1975); Knud Andersen (Denmark, 1922, died 1997); Xavier Mirander (Jamaica, 1951); Her Jong-Chau (Taipei, 1946); Heriberto Díaz (Mexico, 1942); Denis Smyslov (USSR, 1979).

Daily Cycling Facts 09.12.2013

Ashleigh Moolman

Moolman at the 2012 Olympics

Born in Pretoria, South Africa on this day in 1985, Ashleigh Moolman was inspired to begin her professional athletic career competing in triathlon by Carl Pasio, who is now her husband, after she'd earned her degree in chemical engineering. Running-induced injuries combined with the discovery that she performed much better in the cycling sections of her races persuaded her to concentrate on cycling and she rapidly came to the attention of the professional Lotto Ladies' team, which she joined in 2010. Within a year she'd won a silver medal at the National Individual Time Trial Championship and finished sixth at the testing Emakumeen Bira race in the Basque Country; then she impressed with four top five stage finishes and second place overall at the Tour de l'Aude before winning the Road Race at the African Championships.

2012 proved to be an even better year. She started by taking second place in the Time Trial and first in the Road Race at the National Championships, came fifth at La Flèche Wallonne, won Stage 4 and was third overall at the Tour de Free State, finished in the top ten on three stages and was tenth overall at the Giro Donne, was 16th in the Road Race at the Olympic Games, won Stage 2 and was second overall at the Tour de l'Ardèche and won the Individual Time Trial and the Road Race at the African Championships. In 2013, she retained the National Road Race title and also won the Time Trial, came third overall at the Flèche Wallonne, was second on Stage 1 at the GP Elsy Jacobs, finished the Tour Languedoc Roussillon in fourth place overall, finished the Emakumeen Saria in fifth place, finished four stages in the top ten (best: third, Stage 4) and eighth place overall at the Giro Rosa and was second overall at the Tour de l'Ardeche.

Moolman is known as an all-rounder who performs best on mountain stages; she has become a worthy opponent to Emma Pooley and Marianne Vos and it seems likely that she will win some of the most prestigious races on the women's calendar, with many who have followed her career so far - including me - predicting future gold at the World Championships. Her excellent race reports, published on her website, are some of the most articulate and intelligently-written around; hopefully she'll find time to continue writing them when she's at the very top level of her sport. She also has a Flickr account on which she publishes photos of support staff and race activities that fans rarely get to see.

Kateřina Nash

Kateřina Nash
Kateřina Hanušová - now Kateřina Nash - was born on this day in Prachatice, Czechoslovakia in 1977 and has enjoyed two successful athletic careers, in skiing from 1994 to 2003 (when she competed in two Winter Olympics) and since then in mountain biking and, primarily, cyclo cross. She first became famous for her cycling in 2010 when she won the Czech National Cyclo Cross Championship and a round of the UCI Cyclo Cross World Cup in Roubaix, beating Marianne Vos, then took 4th in the World Cyclo Cross Championship; however, she had been making a name for herself on the 'cross scene for some years by this point, having ridden for the Luna team since 2002 and won the the Portland 'cross race in 2006. She also became National MTB Cross Country Champion in 2007.

Nash took thirdrd in the 2011 World Championships where she was beaten by Katie Compton for the silver medal and Vos for the gold. In 2012 she won six races and in 2013, when she was 35, she won eight - and shows no sign of stopping now she's 36.

Ryder Hesjedal
(image credit: Glawster CC BY-SA 2.0) 

Ryder Hesjedal
Born in Victoria, British Columbia on this day in 1980, Ryder Hesjedal was a silver medalist in the 2001 Under-23 World Mountain Bike Cross Country Championship and again at the Elite Championship in 2003; then, with an apparently glittering career as a mountain biker ahead of him, he gave up the sport in favour of road cycling. It turned out to be a wise move because, having spent a few years with Rabobank, he went to US Postal and finished the Prologue at the Giro d'Italia in 18th place, then came third at the National Individual Time Trial Championship.

In 2006, riding with Phonak, Hesjedal was second at the National ITT Championship and impressed at the Vuelta a Espana with three top twenty stage finishes before abandoning the race in favour of the World Championships where he didn't perform well. Phonak closed down at the end of the year and Hesjedal had difficulties securing a new contract with another ProTour team, going instead to ProContinental HealthNet for 2007, the year he became Canadian Time Trial Champion. A year later he was riding with ProContinental Garmin-Chipotle, winners of Stage 1 at the Giro d'Italia - his first taste of Grand Tour glory and something that he apparently enjoyed because in 2009, by which time Garmin had become a ProTour team, he won Stage 12 at the Vuelta.

Still relatively inexperienced in the Grand Tours, Hesjedal surprised many with seventh place at the 2010 Tour de France; he had also become the subject of numerous newspaper articles when he was fourth over the finish line of Stage 17 at the summit of the Col du Tourmalet, revealing himself to have serious Grand Tour victory potential. That victory - the first ever by a Canadian rider - came in 2012 when, having performed well in the early-season stage races and at the Classics, he rode consistently well and took first place in the General Classification at the Giro d'Italia: after a good start, he was widely expected to lose significant time in the mountains; however, when he did not many began to predict that he would take the race leadership on the final day's time trial, his strongest discipline - among those to have their predictions proved correct was Joaquim Rodríguez, who had led the race up until Hesjedal took over.

Valentyna Karpenko, born in Mykolaiv, USSR on this day in 1972, won the Eko Tour Dookola Polski in 2002, the Krasna Lipa Tour Féminine in 2003 and became Ukrainian Road Race Champion in 2005.

Arie Hassink had many victories as an amateur and was just about to turn professional when he was diagnosed with a lung disease. On the advice of doctors, he remained an amateur for his entire career. However, he continued getting good results right up to retirement in 1983, including 2nd overall in the 1970 Tour of Britain. His son and daughter are both cyclists.

Ondřej Sosenka
Ondřej Sosenka, who was born in Prague on this day in 1975, was a rider who didn't need to stand on the top step of the podium to be head and shoulders above his rivals - at 200cm (6'6"), he's taller than Magnus Bäckstedt and "Big" Piet Moeskops. His track bike was fitted with custom 190mm cranks.

That didn't stop him aiming for the podium, however. He won the Tour of Slovakia in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2006; National Time Trial Championships in 2001 and 2002; the National Road Race Championship and the Tour of Poland in 2004 and, on the 19th of July 2005, set a new Hour Record at  49.700km.

Ondřej Sosenka - note that he isn't standing on a podium!
(image credit: Bartosz Senderek CC BY-SA 2.5)

In 2001, he was disqualified from the Peace Race after he failed a haematocrit test - a now-redundant anti-doping test that took account of an athlete's red blood cell population; a figure of 50% or greater being considered likely evidence the rider had been using EPO or had received a blood transfusion (also known a blood doping), either their own stored blood or someone else's - though he later swore to journalist Daniel Friebe that the postive result had been caused by dehydration. Then in 2008, a test at the National Championships revealed traces and metabolites of methamphetamine. His B-sample subsequently also tested positive for the banned stimulant and the rider was suspended, thus ending his professional career.

Italian Alberto Volpi, born in Saronno on this day in 1962, won the Young Rider Classification at the 1985 Giro d'Italia and formed part of the winning Team Time Trial at the 1995 Tour de France. He has been shown to have been a client of the notorious Dr. Francesco Conconi who used his expertise in developing new anti-doping tests to find performance-enhancing drugs that could not be detected.


Trent Klasna was born on this day in 1962 in Lantana, Florida. During his ten-year career, he won two Sea Otter Classics (1998, 2001), the Redlands Bicycle Classic (2001) and the Nature Valley Grand Prix (2003). He was also National Time Trial Champion in 2001.

Happy to Tamilla Abassova, the winner of silver medals at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and the 2005 Track World Championships, in both cases for the Sprint. She was born in Moscow in 1982.

It's also the birthday of Chinese track cyclist Li Na, born in 1982, winner of the keirin event at the 2002 Track Worlds and the Sprint at the Asian Games in the same year.

Oscar Álvarez, 2009 National Road Race Champion of Columbia, was born on this day in 1977.

Erik Harry Stenqvist, born on the 25th of December in 1893, was a Swedish cyclist who represented his country at the 1920 Olympics and won a gold medal in the Individual Road Race and a silver in the Team Road Race. He died on this day in 1968.

Christian Pfannberger

Christian Pfannberger
(image credit:  Viribus unitis CC BY-SA 2.0)

Christian Pfannberger, born in Judenberg, Austria on this day in 1979, became Under-23 National Champion in 2001 and then Elite Champion in 2007. His career was punctuated by doping allegations - first in 2004 when a sample showed unusually high levels of testosterone, for which he received a two-year ban, and then again in 2009 when an out-of-season test revealed traces of EPO. The second test was originally declared non-negative, meaning the his B-sample had failed to confirm the positive result of his A-sample; which led to suspension from Team Katusha while the matter was investigated in May 2009.

In June, the B-sample was also shown to be positive and he was informed that a court hearing would be held within eight weeks and that, as a second offence, he would be likely to receive a ban from eight years to life - the Austrian National Anti-Doping Agency sought and won the stricter punishment. The rider appealed the ban but was unsuccessful, largely as a result of a new charge brought in April 2010 that he had sold doping products to other cyclists. He maintains that he has never used nor sold performance-enhancing drugs of any kind.

Other cyclists born on this day: Jan Chtiej (Poland, 1937); Fabio Acevedo (Colombia, 1949); José Mazzini (Peru, 1909); Humberto Solano (Costa Rica, 1944); William Logan (USA, 1914); Héctor Acosta (Argentina, 1933); Christian Pfannberger (Austria, 1979); Max Wirth (Switzerland, 1930); Kurt Ott (Switzerland, 1912, died 2001).

Daily Cycling Facts 05.01.2013

Georgia Gould

Georgia Gould
(image credit: Thomas Fanghaenel
CC BY-SA 3.0)

Georgia Gould, born in Baltimore on this day in 1980, is one of the most successful mountain bike and cyclo cross riders in the history of either sport. Over her career to date, she has won 24 major victories and with Juli Furtado is one of only two women to have won all rounds of a NORBA (now NIMBS) series.

Her first big win was the 2005 Verge Mid-Atlantic Cyclocross Series, which she followed up one year later by winning the National Mountain Bike Cross Country Championship. In 2007, she added the PanAmerican Cross Country title, then finished the 2008 Olympic MTB race in 8th place. She became National Short Track MTB Champion in 2009, then Cross Country Champion for a second time in 2010. Along the way, she won the majority of the most prestigious US cyclo cross races and achieved podium places in numerous others, also winning the US GP of Cyclo Cross in 2007, 2008 and 2010.

Gould is a highly vocal supporter of the fight to introduce equal pay and prize money for professional female cyclists who, even in 2012, can expect to receive prizes and salaries many times lower than their male counterparts (and, more frequently than many people realise, no salary at all) - as Lyne Bessette pointed out in 2007, "At a UCI race, the guys will win, like, a thousand bucks and we get $175." In 2008, she started a campaign since named the Gould Formula with the aim of introducing new measures to redress the balance, centred around a petition delivered to cycling's governing body the UCI. The petition read:

“We, the undersigned, find it regrettable that there is a considerable disparity between the UCI minimum prize money for men and women. We understand that because competition in the men’s field is deeper, more places receive prize money. We do not understand why the women who are receiving prize money receive less than their male counterparts. Therefore we propose that the UCI show leadership and mandate equal prize money for the top five men and women. Article 3 of the UCI Constitution states: "The UCI will carry out its activities in compliance with the principles of: a) equality between all the members and all the athletes, license-holders and officials, without racial, political, religious or other discrimination.." We ask the UCI to honor its commitment to equality."

Henri Desgrange

On this day in 1895, Alfred Dreyfus was stripped of his Army rank and sentenced to life imprisonment after being falsely convicted of treason in France - thus beginning the Dreyfus Affair that, by causing Jules Albert De Dion to join forces with other anti-Drefusards and establish the L'Auto newspaper as opposition to the pro-Dreyfus Le Velo newspaper, would also indirectly lead to the inauguration of the Tour de France, originally organised by editor Henri Desgrange in an attempt to increase sales.

Megan Hughes was born on this day in 1977. She was National Road Champion in 1998, then Welsh Road Champion the following year. In 2001 she was offered a place with British Cycling's World Performance development plan but retired shortly afterwards, preferring to settle into her new life at home in Wales with her husband, 2004 Paris-Roubaix winner Magnus Bäckstedt - who says he prefers it to their previous home in Belgium. They still live in Wales and have two daughters.

FDJ rider Benoît Vaugrenard was born in Vannes, France on this day in 1982. He won the National Time Trial Championship in 2007, then in 2008 took second place on Stage 1 at the Critérium International, eighth place on Stage 11 at the Tour de France, won Stage 4 at the Tour du Limousin and was overall winner at the Tour du Poitou-Charentes et de la Vienne. The following year saw him win only once, at the GP d'Isbergues, but he performed well at the Brabantse Pijl, Amstel Gold Race, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Critérium du Dauphiné. 2010 started well with a Stage 1 victory at the Volta ao Algarve in February followed by good stage finishes at Tirreno-Adriatico and a stage win at the Four Days of Dunkirk in May; however, the latter would be his last win that season and he did not enjoy any more success in 2011 or 2012.

David Kopp

David Kopp

Born in Bonn on this day in 1979, David Kopp never reached the heights he'd have doubtless liked to have reached but made a name for himself as a useful rider in the cobbled classics. His career was somewhat checquered - having turned professional with Telekom and doing well in 2001, he failed to impress through the subsequent two years and was dropped when the team became T-Mobile before the 2004 season. He then moved to third-category team Lamonta and apparently found the reduced level of competition more to his liking, winning nine times that year, then went to ProContinental Wiesenhof for 2005 and won four times.

Having now built up an impressive palmares, Kopp made his return to the top ranks when he was offered a place with ProTour Gerolsteiner for 2006 and 2007. His first season with the team went well with second place at Gent-Wevelgem, four top ten stage finishes at the Tour de France, first place at the Trofeo Calvia and a stage win at the Benelux Tour, yet for some reason Gerolsteiner managers decided to keep him away from the big races in 2007 (the team they sent to the Tour that year was led by Markus Fothen and Stefan Schumacher who, though both young and relatively inexperienced, had done unexpectedly well at the Grand Tours in 2006) - perhaps feeling disheartened by this, he won just a derny race and a stage at the Tour of Poland that year and, when his contract was not renewed at the close of the season, was forced to drop a rank back to the ProContinental teams.

Riding for Collstrop in 2008 he was second at the E3 Harelbeke but performed badly for most of the rest of the season; he was unable to secure a contract for 2009. That year, in March, news emerged that he had tested positive for cocaine at a Belgian race the previous September, but he was able to return with Kuota-Indeland in 2010 and won Köln-Schuld-Frechen before placing well at the Ronde van Drenthe and Dwars door Drenthe. He remained with the team when it became Eddy Merckx-Indeland in 2011 and won the Rund am Rhede, then came ninth at the Dwars door Drenthe before announcing his retirement at the end of the year.

Juan Fernández Martín, born in Alhama de Granada on this day in 1957, won Stage 8 and the Mountains Classification of the Giro d'Italia and the Spanish Road Race Championship in 1980, then won a second National Championship in 1988. After retiring from competition at the end of the 1988 season, he went on to become a directeur sportif, serving at CLAS, Mapei, Festina, Coast and Phonak at various times between 1989 and 2006.

Azizulhasni Awang, Malaysian track cyclist and silver medalist at the 2009 Worlds (the first Malaysian to win a World Track medal), was born in 1988.

Barry Mason, 1950-2011

Barry Mason, a cycling activist, was born on this day in 1950. Barry was co-ordinator of the Southwark Cyclists in London for several years and, under his leadership, it became the most active of the London Cycling Campaign groups, taking part in a range of efforts aimed at improving cycling infrastructure and promoting bike use in the city, which led to him being given the London Cycling Personality of the Year award in 2006. He died on the 2nd of June 2011 whilst swimming in Spain and his humanist funeral was attended by many hundreds of cyclists.

Henrik Morén, born in Sweden on this day in 1877, broke British rider Freddie Grubb's 24 Hour Track Time Trial record in 1912 when he covered 375.6 miles (604.47km). (Much more about Grubb on the 6th of March, which will be the anniversary of his death.)


Ronald van Avermaet, who was born in Hamm in East Flanders on this day in 1959, enjoyed considerable success during the early 1980s. He is the father of Greg van Avermaet, the winner of the 2011 Tour de Wallonie; the son of Aimé van Avermaet who won a bronze medal in the 1955 National Amateur Road Race Championship; the son-in-law of 1959 Ronde van België stage winner Kamiel Buysse; father-in-law to Tour of Austria stage winner Glenn D'Hollander (who is a cousin of Preben van Hecke); great-uncle to Belgian professional Anja Buysse and uncle to Thomas and Matthias Ongena who have won numerous races in Belgium. Cycling, it seems, runs in the family.

Bryan Steel, who rode for Great Britain in the Olympics of 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004, was born in Nottingham on this day in 1969.

Other cyclists born on this day: Harry Genders (Great Britain, 1890, died 1971); Jean Van Buggenhout (Belgium, 1905, died 1974); Solo Razafinarivo (Madagascar, 1938); Henrik Morén (Sweden, 1877, died 1956); Ingvar Ericsson (Sweden, 1914, died 1995); Khosro Haghgosha (Iran, 1948); Arnold Lundgren (Denmark, 1899, died 1979); Guido Messina (Italy, 1931); Petrov Minchev (Bulgaria, 1950); Karl Wölfl (Austria, 1914); Ivar Jakobsen (Denmark, 1954); Abbas Saeidi Tanha (Iran, 1981); Igor Pugaci (Moldova, 1975); Knud Andersen (Denmark, 1922, died 1997); Xavier Mirander (Jamaica, 1951); Her Jong-Chau (Taipei, 1946); Heriberto Díaz (Mexico, 1942); Denis Smyslov (USSR, 1979).

Daily Cycling Facts 09.12.2012

Ashleigh Moolman

Moolman at the 2012 Olympics

Born in Pretoria, South Africa on this day in 1985, Ashleigh Moolman was inspired to begin her professional athletic career competing in triathlon by Carl Pasio, who is now her husband, after she'd earned her degree in chemical engineering. Running-induced injuries combined with the discovery that she performed much better in the cycling sections of her races persuaded her to concentrate on cycling and she rapidly came to the attention of the professional Lotto Ladies' team, which she joined in 2010. Within a year she'd won a silver medal at the National Individual Time Trial Championship and finished sixth at the testing Emakumeen Bira race in the Basque Country; then she impressed with four top five stage finishes and second place overall at the Tour de l'Aude before winning the Road Race at the African Championships.

2012 proved to be an even better year with plenty of evidence to suggest that Moolman will take her place among the greatest names in cycling. She started by taking second place in the Time Trial and first in the Road Race at the National Championships, came fifth at La Flèche Wallonne, won Stage 4 and was third overall at the Tour de Free State, finished in the top ten on three stages and was tenth overall at the Giro Donne, was 16th in the Road Race at the Olympic Games, won Stage 2 and was second overall at the Tour de l'Ardèche and won the Individual Time Trial and the Road Race at the African Championships.

Moolman is known as an all-rounder who performs best on mountain stages; she has become a worthy opponent to Emma Pooley and Marianne Vos and it seems likely that she will - either in 2013 or very soon afterwards - win some of the most prestigious races on the women's calendar. Her excellent race reports, published on her website, are some of the most articulate and intelligently-written around; hopefully she'll find time to continue writing them when she's at the very top level of her sport. She also has a Flickr account on which she publishes photos of support staff and race activities that fans rarely get to see.

Ryder Hesjedal
(image credit: Glawster CC BY-SA 2.0) 

Ryder Hesjedal
Born in Victoria, British Columbia on this day in 1980, Ryder Hesjedal was a silver medalist in the 2001 Under-23 World Mountain Bike Cross Country Championship and again at the Elite Championship in 2003; then, with an apparently glittering career as a mountain biker ahead of him, he gave up the sport in favour of road cycling. It turned out to be a wise move because, having spent a few years with Rabobank, he went to US Postal and finished the Prologue at the Giro d'Italia in 18th place, then came third at the National Individual Time Trial Championship.

In 2006, riding with Phonak, Hesjedal was second at the National ITT Championship and impressed at the Vuelta a Espana with three top twenty stage finishes before abandoning the race in favour of the World Championships where he didn't perform well. Phonak closed down at the end of the year and Hesjedal had difficulties securing a new contract with another ProTour team, going instead to ProContinental HealthNet for 2007, the year he became Canadian Time Trial Champion. A year later he was riding with ProContinental Garmin-Chipotle, winners of Stage 1 at the Giro d'Italia - his first taste of Grand Tour glory and something that he apparently enjoyed because in 2009, by which time Garmin had become a ProTour team, he won Stage 12 at the Vuelta.

Still relatively inexperienced in the Grand Tours, Hesjedal surprised many with seventh place at the 2010 Tour de France; he had also become the subject of numerous newspaper articles when he was fourth over the finish line of Stage 17 at the summit of the Col du Tourmalet, revealing himself to have serious Grand Tour victory potential. That victory - the first ever by a Canadian rider - came in 2012 when, having performed well in the early-season stage races and at the Classics, he rode consistently well and took first place in the General Classification at the Giro d'Italia: after a good start, he was widely expected to lose significant time in the mountains; however, when he did not many began to predict that he would take the race leadership on the final day's time trial, his strongest discipline - among those to have their predictions proved correct was Joaquim Rodríguez, who had led the race up until Hesjedal took over.

Valentyna Karpenko, born in Mykolaiv, USSR on this day in 1972, won the Eko Tour Dookola Polski in 2002, the Krasna Lipa Tour Féminine in 2003 and became Ukrainian Road Race Champion in 2005.

Arie Hassink had many victories as an amateur and was just about to turn professional when he was diagnosed with a lung disease. On the advice of doctors, he remained an amateur for his entire career. However, he continued getting good results right up to retirement in 1983, including 2nd overall in the 1970 Tour of Britain. His son and daughter are both cyclists.

Ondřej Sosenka
Ondřej Sosenka, who was born in Prague on this day in 1975, was a rider who didn't need to stand on the top step of the podium to be head and shoulders above his rivals - at 200cm (6'6"), he's taller than Magnus Bäckstedt and "Big" Piet Moeskops. His track bike was fitted with custom 190mm cranks.

That didn't stop him aiming for the podium, however. He won the Tour of Slovakia in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2006; National Time Trial Championships in 2001 and 2002; the National Road Race Championship and the Tour of Poland in 2004 and, on the 19th of July 2005, set a new Hour Record at  49.700km.

Ondřej Sosenka - note that he isn't standing on a podium!
(image credit: Bartosz Senderek CC BY-SA 2.5)

In 2001, he was disqualified from the Peace Race after he failed a haematocrit test - a now-redundant anti-doping test that took account of an athlete's red blood cell population; a figure of 50% or greater being considered likely evidence the rider had been using EPO or had received a blood transfusion (also known a blood doping), either their own stored blood or someone else's - though he later swore to journalist Daniel Friebe that the postive result had been caused by dehydration. Then in 2008, a test at the National Championships revealed traces and metabolites of methamphetamine. His B-sample subsequently also tested positive for the banned stimulant and the rider was suspended, thus ending his professional career.

Italian Alberto Volpi, born in Saronno on this day in 1962, won the Young Rider Classification at the 1985 Giro d'Italia and formed part of the winning Team Time Trial at the 1995 Tour de France. He has been shown to have been a client of the notorious Dr. Francesco Conconi who used his expertise in developing new anti-doping tests to find performance-enhancing drugs that could not be detected.

Kateřina Hanušová - now Kateřina Nash - was born on this day in Prachatice, Czechoslovakia in 1977 and has enjoyed two successful athletic careers, in skiing from 1994 to 2003 (when she competed in two Winter Olympics) and since then in mountain biking and, primarily, cyclo cross. In 2010, she won a round of the UCI Cyclo Cross World Cup in Roubaix - beating Marianne Vos - and came 4th in the World Cyclo Cross Championship. She then improved to 3rd in the 2011 Championships where she was beaten by Katie Compton for the silver medal and Vos for the gold.

Trent Klasna was born on this day in 1962 in Lantana, Florida. During his ten-year career, he won two Sea Otter Classics (1998, 2001), the Redlands Bicycle Classic (2001) and the Nature Valley Grand Prix (2003). He was also National Time Trial Champion in 2001.

Happy to Tamilla Abassova, the winner of silver medals at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and the 2005 Track World Championships, in both cases for the Sprint. She was born in Moscow in 1982.

It's also the birthday of Chinese track cyclist Li Na, born in 1982, winner of the keirin event at the 2002 Track Worlds and the Sprint at the Asian Games in the same year.

Oscar Álvarez, 2009 National Road Race Champion of Columbia, was born on this day in 1977.

Erik Harry Stenqvist, born on the 25th of December in 1893, was a Swedish cyclist who represented his country at the 1920 Olympics and won a gold medal in the Individual Road Race and a silver in the Team Road Race. He died on this day in 1968.

Christian Pfannberger

Christian Pfannberger
(image credit:  Viribus unitis CC BY-SA 2.0)

Christian Pfannberger, born in Judenberg, Austria on this day in 1979, became Under-23 National Champion in 2001 and then Elite Champion in 2007. His career was punctuated by doping allegations - first in 2004 when a sample showed unusually high levels of testosterone, for which he received a two-year ban, and then again in 2009 when an out-of-season test revealed traces of EPO. The second test was originally declared non-negative, meaning the his B-sample had failed to confirm the positive result of his A-sample; which led to suspension from Team Katusha while the matter was investigated in May 2009.

In June, the B-sample was also shown to be positive and he was informed that a court hearing would be held within eight weeks and that, as a second offence, he would be likely to receive a ban from eight years to life - the Austrian National Anti-Doping Agency sought and won the stricter punishment. The rider appealed the ban but was unsuccessful, largely as a result of a new charge brought in April 2010 that he had sold doping products to other cyclists. He maintains that he has never used nor sold performance-enhancing drugs of any kind.

Other cyclists born on this day: Jan Chtiej (Poland, 1937); Fabio Acevedo (Colombia, 1949); José Mazzini (Peru, 1909); Humberto Solano (Costa Rica, 1944); William Logan (USA, 1914); Héctor Acosta (Argentina, 1933); Christian Pfannberger (Austria, 1979); Max Wirth (Switzerland, 1930); Kurt Ott (Switzerland, 1912, died 2001).

The State of Women's Cycling 2012

Amber Neben

It's the end of another year in women's cycling. What a year it's been - the racing, as ever, has been first rate, just as you'd expect in a sport full of highly professional, competitive athletes spurred on by their own love for what they do rather than by their love of fat bank balances (and, if any women out there are thinking of taking up cycling as a way of becoming rich, think again. The salaries - if you're fortunate enough to get one, many "professional" female riders don't - remain a joke, as are the prize funds at most races. As an example, the winner of the men's Chrono des Nations received €5,785, the winner of the women's race at the same event received €379. The women's race was shorter at 20.87km, 43% of the 48.5km men's race; but Amber Neben's prize was equal to only 6.55% of that received by Tony Martin).

What's different now compared to where we were at this point last year? Not much, at first glance. The season got under way with the usual bad news that races were being cancelled due to organisers being unable to secure the sponsorship they needed in order to keep them going: the Tour de Languedoc Roussillon and GP Ciudad de Valladolid are two examples of races that are no longer with us (but, with luck, may reappear in future years), the Giro del Trentino Femminile was cut to two days from its usual three and even the famous Holland Ladies' Tour got into trouble with organisers announcing it might have to be cancelled until a new sponsor - the hairdressing chain with a long-standing connection to cycling, Brainwash - came onboard and saved the day. The UCI still says it's fully committed to women's cycling, but still seems unwilling to do very much: women's cycling, it claims, is insufficiently developed at present to justify greater financial input; however, it has apparently decided that rather than putting in the cash required to develop it, it will instead wait for a magical fairy to come along and start the process.

Emma Pooley

Perhaps the two biggest and most depressing stories of the year were Emma Pooley's announcement that she was considering leaving cycling, either temporarily or forever, and Rabobank's decision to pull out of the sport. Pooley, who has for some years now been one of the most prominent voices in the sport, indicated that she'd had enough of her well-thought-out and reasoned campaigns for the women to get a fair deal resulting in nothing of any consequence being done by the UCI and needed time away to concentrate on completing her PhD. Rabobank, which has enjoyed enormous public exposure from the highly successful teams it sponsors (especially the women's team, home to world number one Marianne Vos), announced it would be ending its long connection with cycling because it was no longer confident in the wake of the US Postal/Lance Armstrong investigation that the UCI was able to bring doping to an end. It would, therefore, be ending its sponsorship of both the men's and women's teams, in spite of the fact that doping is virtually non-existent in women's cycling when compared to men's cycling (it said it would, however, continue sponsoring Vos who, as the 21st Century's Eddy Merckx, is every sponsor's dream come true; Vos, being the star that she is, replied that it doesn't work like that and that she and the team come as a package).

Earlier in the year, British Cycling failed to notice that female cyclists competing at the top level of their sport are rock hard, stupendously fit athletes and, in a peculiarly Victorian way, mistook them for weak-willed delicate creatures unable to race on two consecutive days, so it tried to persuade the organisers of the Smithfield Nocturne to drop the women's criterium in order that riders wouldn't be too tired at a (British Cycling) event the following day. The thing is, the Smithfield Nocturne is massively popular event that draws thousands of fans (and generates new ones) in addition to - crucially - getting TV coverage, whereas the British Cycling race isn't. It is, therefore, simply too important to be allowed not to go ahead. Team Mule Bar Girls were first on the case and got a promise from the organisers that, provided a sufficient number of riders signed up, they'd go ahead and run the race anyway. Then, realising that they too could help, fans joined in by Tweeting, Facebooking, blogging and doing all manner of things that have required new words to be added to the English language over the last few years. The race was saved, and it didn't take very long to save it.

The Olympic Women's Road Race was watched by millions

This may yet prove to be the biggest thing that has happened in women's cycling in 2012: the rapid emergence of a new "activism meme" among fans, fueled at least in part by the unexpected success of the Women's Road Race at the Olympics which generated viewing figures far higher than anyone had hoped. We have realised that we do not have to be - and should not be - the silent partner in the riders/organisers and federations/audience triumvirate and that, as the majority of riders, directeur sportifs and race organisers are already doing all that they can, it's down to us to use collective effort to pressure federations, raise funds and get more people to races - by doing so we can help make the changes that the UCI won't, even though the millions of people that watched the Women's Road Race at the Olympics proves a potential audience exists.

Indicative that this is the case is the success of two new projects - namely the Women's Cycling Social Media Jersey and the Fan-Backed Women's Team. When the Media Jersey project began, organisers Sarah and Dan hoped to raise a few hundred dollars to award a t-shirt and a small cash sum as a prize to the rider decided by a poll (which ultimately received 4,605 votes, a fantastic response) to have done most to raise the sport's profile - within only days, it became apparent that they were going to raise enough to much more: the overall winner would receive a t-shirt and $500 and the riders decided to have done most at the Giro Toscana and the Tour de l’Ardèche and Brainwash Ladies Tour would receive $250, while the two runners-up would receive $100. Perhaps the first person to spot the emergence of this trend was Stef Wyman. Wyman is a man with a dream - he wants to see women's cycling become everything it can and should be and he wants professional female cyclists to be on equal footing, both in terms of recognition and salaries, with professional male cyclists - but he is not a dreamer: in fact, as the manager of Matrix-Prendas, the team he has built up through hard times into one of the most successful in cycling, he's about as much a realist as anyone could be. Back in September, Wyman wrote an article for Cyclismas in which he posited the idea that a fan-backed team, in which development would be driven by fans' passion for the sport rather than by sponsors' wallets, might be one way in which women's cycling could be taken forward. It was an idea that proved to have legs as strong as those on the riders in his team and he immediately began getting emails from people who were willing to get involved and provide funds; already the Fan-Backed Women's Team has grown to become more than just one team and is becoming involved with race promotion.

The general feeling is that we don't need to rely on the reluctant UCI - they're not going to help and we don't need them to do so; in the very near future, as a direct result, we might look back on 2012 as the year when women's cycling turned the corner and entered the final sprint into its glorious future. Despite the many problems still facing the sport, I'm more optimistic about the future of women's cycling than I have been at any time since I began following it, and I'm not the only one.

Idiocy at the Olympics does women's cycling no favours

So here we are, a week after a British rider won the world's greatest race and with cycling enjoying more popularity than ever before in Britain - and there's a major, international race going on courtesy of the Olympics. Great. Loads of people will be watching.

Which means loads of people will have just heard Chris Boardman's idiotic and destructive suggestion that the reason Jeannie Longo is still taking part in - and winning - races at the age of 54 must mean that women's cycling isn't as competitive as the men's.

Anyone who has ever watched a women's bike race will know that this is about as wrong as it's possible to be - so it's a pity that absolute morons come out with such utter tripe and discourage people who haven't seen a women's race before from doing so. It's precisely because of the smaller audiences, caused by this sort of thing, that women's cycling has difficulties in attracting sponsors and teams exist of annual budgets that wouldn't even cover the cost of the mood lighting on Sky's team buses.

Rabo Women Number 1 in the world

Vos has had a perfect CX season - and now her team is
ranked the best in the world as the start of the road season
draws nearer
(image credit: Rabosport)

Hot on the heels of the Vos to race men story is news that the new Stichting-Rabobank Women team, which was constructed around her, is at the top of the UCI rankings in the run-up to the start of the 2012 season and with the Tour of Qatar, which will be the team's first race, beginning on the 1st of February and the Ronde van Drenthe - the first round of the Women's World Cup - less than two months away.

Specialized-Lululemon are in second place, followed by AA Drink-Leontien.nl in third - but with AA Drink recently confirming it has signed Emma Pooley and other riders from the ill-fated Garmin-Cervelo, there's every likelihood that the team will move up and possibly even challenge the mighty Rabobank.

The UCI say that the 35 women's teams signed up to race internationally in the coming year is a record - by our calculations, there were 37 in 2008 but the number then decreased over the coming years to 2010 when there were 27, then a slight increase to 28 in 2011. Seven extra teams is fantastic news, hopefully an indication that women's cycling is not in straits quite as dire as we had feared, and a sure sign that 2012 is going to be a vintage year for fans of the sport.

Marianne Vos to race men?

Marianne Vos has been winning so
many races she's getting bored
(© Eddy Fever CC2.0)

As we all know, Marianne Vos won just about everything she entered in 2011; which is the sort of year that any cyclist dreams of having even though the Worlds slipped out of her grasp once more. The trouble is, 2010 was much the same. So was 2009, as were several years before that - and Marianne, while doubtless loving the victories, isn't only in racing for the glory: she loves the competition, as is made plainly obvious by the grin plastered across her face in all the races she enters.

Thus, she's getting bored. "It will not be a problem for Marianne to motivate for the 2012 Olympic Games and World Championships in Limburg, but I am worried about the subsequent period," says Rabobank manager Jeroen Blijlevens, winner of eleven Grand Tour stages during the 1990s. "It's not like Marianne, after the national cyclocross championships, to say that she was having no fun, so we have to be careful that she doesn’t lose her motivation."

But Marianne's at the top of her game - she's arguably already the most successful female cyclist of all time as she approaches her 25th birthday, indisputably the strongest and most successful of the current generation, so where does she go from here? She's standing on the highest rung of the ladder, wanting to go higher... but the ladder ends here. Actually, there is one place she could go; a place where the competition is stiffer and where her opponents would be stronger. Men's races.

"Riding in some smaller men’s races could make her stay motivated on the one hand," Blijlevens adds, "but could also make her continue to make progress, because I think she can get much better - the men could ride her to the next level."

Vos' progress aside, what would be the likely outcome, other than quite a few of the boys revealing how they react when they get whupped by a girl? One initial opinion among Twitterers is it'd be disastrous for women's cycling, the fear being that the top 10% of the women's peloton could be creamed off to ride in some future mixed racing series and thus leave the women's sport without its greatest - headline grabbing - stars. That would not be a good thing. But, what are the chances of that happening? Not much, it seems. For a start, there's the simple fact that apart from Vos, who is an exceptionally talented rider, very few women would want to race against the men for the simple reason that, while Pat McQuaid was entirely wrong when he said women's racing isn't as developed as men's, the vast majority wouldn't remain competitive. Secondly, how likely is it that the UCI would permit mixed competition in anything other than one or two races?

Vos is very good, but she's not unbeatable. That's the best
argument against anyone who would claim the prospect of
her competing against men is indication that women's
cycling
(image credit: Mogens Engelund CC BY-SA 3.0)

What we're talking about is primarily a stunt and it's one that will get noticed, especially if Vos wins a men's race (and there's every indication that she would). A high percentage of the cycling press ignores women's cycling entirely, or at the very least relegates it to page-filler, but which of them could resist a headline like  "Marianne Vos victorious against male rivals!" That'll apply to readers too; perhaps even make those who fall for attitudes like those of McQuaid, those who heard the (male) commentators at the Worlds describing the Elite Women's road race as boring and haven't ever bothered to take a look for themselves, start thinking to themselves that if Vos is so good she can ride against the men then women's cycling must be pretty good after all. Then, perhaps, they might make the time to have a look and new fans is precisely what the sport needs if it's going to bring in new sponsors and new revenue, the first step to getting the athletes the equal pay and prize money that they deserve.

There will of course be those who say that if a cyclist such as Vos needs to look elsewhere, women's cycling can't be very good. The best comeback to that is her failure to win the World Championships over the last five years, and that - if it happens - she won't be leaving women's cycling entirely and only racing men. This is proof that there are other female cyclists who can beat her, that there are other female cyclists who are as good as her.

There's a risk, just as there is with everything, but the potential benefits are vast.

IG Markets to sponsor domestic team in 2012

(image credit: Sigma Sport)

IG Markets has confirmed that it will sponsor Team Sigma Sport starting in 2012, with the team changing its name to IG-Sigma Sport. The deal will last for an initial period of two years.

IG, a British company in the financial services sector, is listed on the London Stock Exchange and FTSE-250 indices. The organisation began sponsoring Team Sky at the start of 2011 and has increased its support for cycling over the course of the year, expressing a wish to become "much more than just a logo on the Team Sky kit." To date, they have sponsored the leader's jersey at the Tour of Britain, the Rapha Cycle Club (a mobile cafe, display area and retail space that has proved very successful in bringing people with little previous interest in cycling to races) and three stages at the Tour Down Under. In addition, they worked with Opta to create the IG Markets Pro-Cycling Index, an online service considered by many to be a more accurate representation of rider ability than the UCO rankings system and provided assistance to the Smithfield Nocturne, an event that brings competitive cycling to inner city communities and is highly likely to produce the British champions of the future.

This is undoubtedly fantastic news after a year that has seen so many teams either folding completely or battling against crippling financial difficulties as sponsors have left the sport. Sigma Sport has not yet announced whether it plans to expand its programme with help from its new partner, but failing to move into women's racing after securing backing from an organisation that so obviously wishes to help develop British cycling would seem a missed opportunity - and with women's cycling suffering even more than men's in the current climate, the news will be even more welcome if they choose to go in that direction.

Pooley to ride with AA Drink?

Emma Pooley
(image credit: Fanny Schertzer CC BY-SA 3.0)

The Dutch cycling website Wielerland.nl certainly thinks so, reporting this morning that the British star may be considering signing up with the AA Drink-Leontien team as the legendary Garmin-Cervélo women's team falls apart in the wake of sponsor BigMat's withdrawal of funding.

The situation is complicated somewhat by the fact that Pooley already has a full contract with Garmin-Cervélo, meaning that AA Drink could be asked to pay her old team in order to be able to take her.

Other reports this morning reveal that Dutch time trial specialist Iris Slappendel was spotted out on a training ride with Marianne Vos, Annemiek van Vleuten and others from the new Rabobank women's team. Slappendel admitted that she had been there but said she could not confirm or deny rumours until the Cervélo team receives further information from manager Jonathon Vaughters.

Pooley is one of the most successful British riders of all time and has twice been National Time Trial Champion. Unusually for a rider who excels in time trials, she is also a very strong climber with few rivals in the hills; winning the Mountains Classification at this year's Thüringen Rundfahrt der Frauen.

Garmin-Cervélo Pro Women budget slashed

Emma Pooley is rated among the top
cyclists in the world

Garmin-Cervélo's women's team, one of the best-known and most successful in the sport, is facing financial difficulties with the departure of sponsor BigMat. Rumours suggest that it's just had its budget cut by as much as 50%, causing some members to start looking elsewhere.

This is dire news for women's cycling which has seen several teams and races vanish due to lack of funding over the last few years. The team - home to some of the best riders in the world such as Emma Pooley, Lizzie Armitstead, Sharon Laws and Lucy Martin - is one of the few that has always placed its female members on an equal footing with its male members, guaranteeing them a minimum wage when some teams don't pay any salary at all to female riders; though in the opinion of many, team manager Jonathan Vaughters has not shown anything like the enthusiasm for the women's team that Cervélo founder Gerard Vroomen demonstrated with the women's TestTeam.

Vaughters, meanwhile, stated his case on Twitter, pointing out that he can't take money from the men's team to finance the women (which is fair enough, just as it would be were he to refuse to take money from the women to bolster up the men's team should they lose a sponsor) and suggests that if fan are angry they should take it up with the company and ask why they'll be continuing to sponsor FDJ - who don't have a women's team - in 2012. He also insists that he is "trying to get the best solution possible for the women." That BigMat is still sponsoring FDJ seems to suggest that Garmin-Cervélo is another victim of women's cycling's biggest problem - it doesn't get the exposure it deserves and, as a result, sponsors decide they're not getting value for money and withdraw support. Cycling News reported in October that the team would be able to take BigMat to court to seek compensation, saying that its lawyers would decide on whether or not this course of action would be taken "in the near future."

Cyclopunk asked Vaughters if he'd be willing to confirm the cut is 50% as rumoured, but received no reply. However, when we expressed hope that he'd find a new backer, he replied "Me too."

As such, it has led the way towards the ultimate goal of increasing the profile of women's cycling to a state at which it is taken as seriously and receives the same exposure as men's cycling; enjoying a great deal of success along the way and  picking up a string of race victories. To lose a team such Garmin-Cervélo, perhaps the organisation best placed to lead women's cycling forward, would thus be a disaster, in addition to being evidence that the sport is in a worse state than previously though.

More: Sarah Connolly "suggestions that Garmin spend more on the hospitality budget for their men’s team than their entire women’s team budget added together…."

Janneke Kanis will ride with Skil-1t4i in 2012

Janneke Kanis, formerly a team-mate of Marianne Vos at Nederland Bloeit, has announced that she will ride with the new Skil-1t4i outfit in the 2012 season.

Janneke, who came 7th in the Omloop het Nieuwsblad this year and is a previous winner of the Dutch Student Games, explained on her website:

"I would like to announce that I will be riding with the new Skil-1t41 team for 2012! After three years with Nederland Bloeit, I look forward to a new environment offering new opportunities. The new team's vision and approach is very appealing to me, and I am feeling confident - this makes me happy and I'm looking forward to my first races with them. Here is the press release as published on http://1t4i.com/nieuws:

"Project 1t4i will be introducing a Women's Team and running it alongside the existing men's team in 2012, a UCI team operating as an integral part of Project 1t4i. The team will be based around Regina Bruins, Amy Pieters, Esra Tromp, Suzanne de Goede, Anne de Wildt and Linda van Rijen. Supporting them, and strengthening the team further, will be Adrie Visser (ex-HTC-Highroad) who has won five UCI events, Monique van de Ree (ex-AA-Drink) and Janneke Kanis (ex-Nederland Bloeit). Kelly Markus has also earned a contract after a strong second half to the previous season and a 9th placing in the Junior Women event at this year's World Championships in Copenhagen.

The Women's Team will be run with the same vision and share the same philosophy as the men's team. Our sponsor Skil, who last year began a two-year sponsorship deal with the Olympic Women's Team, have entered into a one year contract providing sponsorship for the new team which, as a result, will be named Skil-1t4i and which will become operative in the Spring. For 2013, a new sponsor will be found and the team will adopt a new name accordingly. The leader of the new Women's Team has been named as Sharon van Essen."

In these times when many world class female cyclists are paid less than their male counterparts - or, in some cases - not at all, television companies ignore the sport entirely causing potential sponsors to back away and commentators at the World Championships feel it's acceptable to spend the entirety of the Elite Women's Road Race complaining they're bored and generally acting like schoolboys, it's fantastic to see a strong new team being assembled (especially when the announcement is worded in such a way as to suggest the team will be around for the foreseeable future rather than merely constituting an experiment) and a sponsor already connected to the sport willing to extend their support. We wish Janneke and Skil-1t4i a successful 2012.

She Pedals no more

Lack of support forces unique women's cycling magazine to close

Having noticed a lack of cycling magazines aimed at women, track cyclist Dena Eaton took matters into her own hands and launched one. She Pedals seemed destined to become a hit - with more and more women taking up the sport every year, either competitively or as part of a fitness program - anyone would have thought that the title would soon build up a considerable and loyal following around the world. Sadly, it was not to be so; after two years in which the magazine made its way into a handful of Barnes&Noble bookshops and independents, even the subscriptions that made up the vast bulk of readership proved insufficient and the title has closed.

"I've used up most of my savings trying to do this and it’s time to go on to other pursuits," Eaton told the publication's 1500 Facebook fans, citing continued lack of support as the reason.

In the early days, She Pedals was entirely devoted to cycling with a range of articles on bikes, nutrition, fitness, rides and female riders/industry figures. However, that lack of support forced Eaton to rebrand the California-based magazine as Endure and include articles on swimming and running in an attempt to appeal to the triathlete market.

Could She Pedals have been viable? Probably. Even the upper echelons of the professional women's cycling world are virtually ignored by the established cycling press, yet more fans than ever before follow the sport and more women than ever before are riding bikes. It's still at grassroots level, but there's a definite sense of change in the air with new women's teams coming together; a feeling that maybe next year, perhaps the year after that, it's going to explode and finally receive the recognition, sponsorship and respect it's deserved for so long. At present the magazine trade is unaware of how large the market has the potential to become - had it have been otherwise, She Pedals would have been out there in more shops and more copies would have sold.

There'll be plenty of women's cycling magazines on the shelves in two years' time. She Pedals was just too ahead of its time.

What's with... Marianne Vos?

Marianne Vos: what's not to like? Unless you
want to beat her in a race, that is.
(© Eddy Fever CC2.0)

"Marianne Vos vs. The World. More evenly matched than one would think." (Jens, Podium Cafe)

"Loes Gunnewijk, Ellen van Dijk and I are world class. But Marianne Vos is still a step above. She is truly the crème de la crème." (Annemiek van Vleuten)

She's affable, intelligent, articulate, attractive, polite and funny - you'd have thought that it would be impossible to not like Marianne Vos, but chances are there are one or two women on the professional cycling circuit who would much rather she wasn't around. That's because she also loves to win bike races and, as one of the most talented riders cycling has ever seen, she often seems unbeatable.

The thing is, she's really far too nice to be disliked: her dismay at taking second place for the fifth time in as many years (itself a record and notable achievement - only four other women have won the Worlds silver more than once: Rosa Sels in 1960/63, Baybe Tsaune in 1968/74, Morena Tartagni in 1970/71 and Jeannie Longo in 1981/93) after winning in 2006 was obvious, but moments later she was gracious in defeat and content to watch rival Giorgia Bronzini take the top step of the podium. That's Marianne: like Jens Voigt, the rider and the person are entirely different characters - on the bike, she's pure aggression, using every available gram of strength to attack, attack some more and then attack again. Off the bike, she's the perfect ambassador for the sport - and it often seems that serving the sport she so obviously adores means a great deal more to her than her personal results.

Early Life and Promising Results

Marianne's dismay at
taking silver for the
fifth consecutive year
at the 2011 Worlds was
obvious
(public domain)

Born in 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands in 1987, Vos began her illustrious career at the age of six after developing an interest through watching her older brother Anton, training with his team though she was too young to enter official races (in 2008, when she was listed 39th among the 100th Olympic Athletes to Watch, Time  magazine reported that as a child she would ride 48km to and from school each day). She also took up inline speed skating; a sport that, when she was 14, she gave up in favour of mountain biking - using the skills she had already learned in cyclocross to become National Junior XC Mountain Biking Champion the next year. And Dutch Junior Women Road Race Champion. Oh, and she won silver in the National Time Trial championships, too. Her results remained every bit as promising the next season, 2003, when she retained her mountain bike title and once again came second in the Junior TT, beating the previous year's champion. Immediately, her name began to appear in cycling journals around the world - there was something that looked as though it might turn out to be rather special in this young Dutch girl.

Something Special
Vos' unassuming nature is well-known - noting that she was then still studying for a qualification in bio-medicine, that same Time article goes on to say that she referred to her sporting success as nothing more than "a big hobby." We all know that arrogance is among the ugliest of all human traits, but it can be fatal to downplay one's own achievements and that's a mistake to which someone with as unpretentious and humble a nature as Marianne may well have fallen victim were it not for the fact that she followed up those successes of the first couple of years by becoming nothing less than a phenomenon, winning events in a range of disciplines and rapidly building up the sort of palmares (which you can at the bottom of this page) that entire teams dream about.

Vos had been riding cyclo-cross events since her childhood, but it wasn't until 2004 that she wrote her name in unmissable muddy letters across the scene, winning a major international race at Gieten in which she beat the far more experienced riders Arenda Grimberg and Birgit Hollman; going on in the same year to defeat three-time World Cyclocross Champion Hanka Kupfernagel and nine-time Dutch champ Daphny van den Brand in a sprint finish. Then she won the National Junior MTB title for a third consecutive year, mounting a solo breakaway on a climb with five laps still to go and retaining her advantage all the way to the finish. The next season she made her mark on road racing too, crossing the line in first place in the Dutch Junior Road championshipsand adding a National Individual Time Trial bronze medal to her increasingly weighty trophy cabinet. To make sure the off-road world didn't forget who she was, she won the National Junior MTB title for an amazing fourth time too.

Vos leading Daphny van den Brand in the 2009/10 Cyclo-cross World Cup
(© Rolf van der Zwart/Blackpit Shooting CC2.0)

World Domination!
Off the bike Marianne is about the most personable, likable and charming individual anyone could ever wish to meet (she's an official ambassador for a charity that provides services to disadvantaged young people in Sri Lanka). In the saddle, she is a warrior - albeit an unusually humble and merciful one, frequently working for her team mates, assisting them to victory and always, always gracious in (rare) defeat. A rider with that attitude and, crucially, Marianne's talent to back it up, is always heading in one direction - towards becoming World Champion. That happened in 2006, the year in which nobody was left in any doubt that here was a rider of the type that comes along only once every other generation, one destined to dominate the sport. Having become Dutch National Road Champion she also won the European Road Championships, the Cyclo-cross World Championships, the Road World Championships and, in case that wasn't enough, a host of stages in various race including the Tour Féminin en Limousin in which she also took overall General Classification victory. From this point onwards, she added triumph after triumph - in 2007, the Women's Road World Cup, La Flèche Wallonne Féminine, three stages at the Giro di San Marino, two at the Emakumeen Bira (she would win the event outright the following year) and one at the Giro d'Italia Femminile; in 2008, a gold at both the Track World Championships and the Olympics, first place wins at La Flèche Wallonne Féminine and the Dutch Road Nationals; repeating the last two for 2009 and adding World Cyclo-cross gold for good measure; Dutch National TT and World Cyclo-cross gold medals again in 2010 and overall first place in the Holland Ladies' Tour and then for 2011 she became Dutch and World Cyclo-cross Champion again, in addition to winning the Ronde van Drenthe, La Flèche Wallonne Féminine, Grand Prix Elsy Jacobs, Giro d'Italia Femminile and the Holland Ladies Tour.

Vos leading Kirsten Wild
(© Eddy Fever CC2.0)

The Future
In late September 2011 Rabobank - one of the world's most trusted, successful and ethical banks who have woven professional cycling into their very corporate structure - announced that they would be taking over sponsorship of Vos' team from Nederland Bloeit, providing the financial backing required to build up one of the strongest teams cycling has ever seen around her and propel her onwards towards ever greater success. As a result, it's very, very unlikely that we'll see disappointment either in her expression or anywhere in the Netherlands when she crosses the finish line at the 2012 Worlds in Limburg. At some point during her career, cycling pundits began to compare her to "the most accomplished rider that cycling has ever known" and asked the question is Marianne Vos the female Eddy Merckx? By this time next year, the question may have changed to was Eddy Merckx the male Marianne Vos? 

Between 2009 and 2012, Vos reached the podium in 63% of the races in which she took part; winning 37% of them. In 2011 alone, she stood on the top step 46 times. Merckx managed 56 in 1973 - but Vos is only 25 years old: she has time, and many fans and pundits alike are beginning to suspect that we have not seen a rider quite like her before.

Marianne Vos Palmares (podium finishes only)
2001
1st, Harderwijk, Cyclo-cross
2nd, Erp, Cyclo-cross
2nd, Huijbergen, Cyclo-cross
3rd, Boxtel, Cyclo-cross
3rd, Woerden, Cyclo-cross 
2002
1st, National Championship, Road, Novices, The Netherlands
2nd, Surhuisterveen Centrumcross
1st, Bakel, Cyclo-cross
3rd, Pijnacker-Nootdorp, Cyclo-cross
1st, Harderwijk, Cyclo-cross
1st, Almelo, Cyclo-cross
2nd, Koppenberg, Cyclo-cross
1st, Hilversum, Cyclo-cross
2nd, Gieten, Cyclo-cross
3rd, Kalmthout, Cyclo-cross
1st, Reusel, Cyclo-cross
1st, Zeddam, Cyclo-cross
2003
2nd, Gieten, Cyclo-cross
1st, Surhuisterveen Centrumcross

(public domain image)

1st, Bakel, Cyclo-cross
1st, National Championship, Elite Cyclo-cross, The Netherlands 
1st, Vorden, Cyclo-cross
1st, Heerlen, Cyclo-cross
2nd, Pijnacker-Nootdorp, Cyclo-cross
1st, Harderwijk, Cyclo-cross
2nd, Woerden, Cyclo-cross
3rd, Torino, Cyclo-cross
2nd, Milano, Cyclo-cross
3rd, Koksijde, Cyclo-cross
2nd, Zeddam, Cyclo-cross
2004
1st Gieten, Cyclo-cross
3rd National Championship, Junior Road
1st Surhuisterveen Centrumcross
2nd Hoogerheide, Cyclo-cross
1st Pijnacker-Nootdorp, Cyclo-cross
2nd Oostmalle, Cyclo-cross
3rd National Championship, Junior ITT, The Netherlands
1st World Championship, Junior Road
1st Milano, Cyclo-cross 
3rd Kalmthout, Cyclo-cross
3rd Overijse, Cyclo-cross
2nd Reusel, Cyclo-cross
2005
2nd Oostmalle, Cyclo-cross
1st Omloop van Borsele
1st Berg en Terblijt
1st National Championship, Junior MTB XC
1st National Championship, Junior Road
2nd World Championship, Junior Road
3rd National Championship, Junior ITT
1st Harderwijk, Cyclo-cross
1st Wouden, Cyclo-cross
2nd Kalmthout, Cyclo-cross
2nd Woerden, Cyclo-cross
1st European Championship, Elite Cyclo-cross
2nd Pijnacker-Nootdorp, Cyclo-cross
2nd Frankfurt a/Main, Cyclo-cross 
1st Gieten, Cyclo-cross
2nd Milano, Cyclo-cross
2nd Overijse, Cyclo-cross
1st Loenhout, Cyclo-cross
2006
2nd Stage 3 RaboSter Zeeuwsche Eilanden
1st National Championship, Elite Road
3rd GP Gerrie Knetemann
1st Omloop van Valkenburg
1st European Championship, U-23 Road
1st Stage 1 Tour Féminin en Limousin
1st Stage 3 Tour Féminin en Limousin
1st General Classification Tour Féminin en Limousin
3rd in Acht van Chaam
1st Steenwijk 
1st Draai van de Kaai
1st Oostvoorne
1st Profronde van Pijnacker
2nd Holland Hills Classic
2nd Gouden Pijl Emmen 
2nd Stage 2 Trophée d'Or Féminin
1st Stage 4 Trophée d'Or Féminin
2nd Stage 5 Trophée d'Or Féminin
3rd Stage 6 Trophée d'Or Féminin
3nd Stage 3 Holland Ladies Tour
2nd Prologue Giro della Toscana Int. Femminile
3rd Stage 1 part a Giro della Toscana Int. Femminile
2nd Stage 1 part b Giro della Toscana Int. Femminile
3rd Stage 4 Giro della Toscana Int. Femminile
3rd General Classification Giro della Toscana Int. Femminile
1st World Championship, Elite Road
2nd Kalmthout, Cyclo-cross
1st Fourmies, Cyclo-cross
1st Hénin-Beaumont, Cyclo-cross
1st Koppenberg, Cyclo-cross
1st Treviso, Cyclo-cross
1st Vossem, Cyclo-cross
1st Gieten, Cyclo-cross
3rd European Championship, Elite Cyclo-cross
2nd Frankfurt a/Main, Cyclo-cross
2nd Veghel-Eerde, Cyclo-cross
3rd Loenhout, Cyclo-cross
2007
1st Stage 3 Giro di San Marino
1st General Classification Giro di San Marino
1st Omloop van Borsele
2nd Berner Rundfahrt
1st Stage 1 Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin
1st Stage 3 Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin
1st Stage 4 Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin
1st Stage 7 Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin
2nd Omloop Door Middag-Humsterland WE
1st Stage 2 Emakumeen Bira
1st Stage 3 Emakumeen Bira 
2nd General Classification Emakumeen Bira
1st Stage 1 RaboSter Zeeuwsche Eilanden
1st Stage 2 RaboSter Zeeuwsche Eilanden
1st General Classification RaboSter Zeeuwsche Eilanden
1st Noordwijk Classic
2nd National Championship, Elite Road
1st Stage 2 Giro d'Italia Donne
3rd Stage 5 Giro d'Italia Donne
3rd Stage 7 Giro d'Italia Donne
1st European Championship, U-23 Road 
1st Acht van Chaam 
1st Draai van de Kaai
2nd Maastricht Omnium
1st Oostvoorne
1st Holland Hills Classic
3rd Gouden Pijl Emmen
1st Stage 1 Holland Ladies Tour
1st Stage 4 Holland Ladies Tour
1st Rund um die Nürnberger Altstadt
1st General Classification World Cup, Elite Road
1st Muizen-Mechelen
2nd World Championship, Elite Road
1st Beijing, Scratch
1st Beijing, Points race
1st National Championship, Elite Track, Scratch
2nd National Championship, Elite Track, Pursuit
1st National Championship, Elite Track, Points race
2008
1st Stage 1 Vuelta Ciclista Femenina a el Salvador
1st Stage 2 Vuelta Ciclista Femenina a el Salvador
1st Stage 3 Vuelta Ciclista Femenina a el Salvador
3rd Stage 5 Vuelta Ciclista Femenina a el Salvador
2nd Stage 6 Vuelta Ciclista Femenina a el Salvador
2nd General Classification Vuelta Ciclista Femenina a el Salvador
1st Prologue Vuelta a Occidente
1st Stage 1 Vuelta a Occidente
1st Stage 2 Vuelta a Occidente
1st General Classification Vuelta a Occidente
3rd Dorpenomloop Wijk en Aalburg
1st Parel van de Veluwe
1st Stage 1 Emakumeen Bira
1st Stage 2 Emakumeen Bira 
1st Stage 3 part a Emakumeen Bira
1st Stage 4 Emakumeen Bira
1st General Classification Emakumeen Bira
1st National Championship, Elite Road
1st Stage 2 Krasna Lipa Tour Féminine
3rd Stage 4 Krasna Lipa Tour Féminine
1st Stage 3 Krasna Lipa Tour Féminine
1st Olympic Games, Track, Elite Points race
3rd Stage 1 Holland Ladies Tour
2nd Stage 6 Holland Ladies Tour
3rd General Classification World Cup, Elite Road
1st Stage 2 part a Giro della Toscana Int. Femminile
2nd Stage 4 Giro della Toscana Int. Femminile
3rd in General Classification Giro della Toscana Int. Femminile
2nd World Championship, Elite Road
2nd Frankfurt a/Main, Cyclo-cross
2nd Antwerpen, Cyclo-cross
1st Zolder, Cyclo-cross
3rd Loenhout, Cyclo-cross
2009
2nd Pétange, Cyclo-cross
1st Bakel, Cyclo-cross
2nd National Championship, Elite Cyclo-cross
3rd Heerlen, Cyclo-cross
1st Pétange, Cyclo-cross
2nd Liévin, Cyclo-cross
1st World Championship, Elite Cyclo-cross
2nd Oostmalle, Cyclo-cross
1st Stage 5 Gracia - Orlova 
1st Omloop van Borsele
2nd Flevotour
2nd Lekkerkerk
1st Stage 1 Emakumeen Bira
2nd Stage 2 Emakumeen Bira 
3rd Stage 3 part b Emakumeen Bira
2nd Stage 2 RaboSter Zeeuwsche Eilanden 
2nd Pétange, Cyclo-cross
1st Antwerpen, Cyclo-cross
2nd Hoogerheide, Cyclo-cross
1st Oostmalle, Cyclo-cross
2nd Laarne
3rd Ronde van Vlaanderen
3rd Ronde van Drenthe
2nd Damesronde van Drenthe
1st Ronde van Gelderland
1st Waalse Pijl
1st Dorpenomloop Wijk en Aalburg
1st Stage 1 Giro di San Marino
1st Stage 4 Giro di San Marino
1st Stage 2 Giro di San Marino 
1st Vierdaagse van Rotterdam
2nd World Championship, Elite Cyclo-cross
1st København, Scratch
1st World Championship, Elite Track, Points race
1st Gran Prix International Dottignies
2nd Ronde van Drenthe
1st Waalse Pijl
3rd Omloop van Borsele
1st Stage 1 Gracia - Orlova
1st Stage 2 Gracia - Orlova
3rd Stage 4 Gracia - Orlova
1st Stage 3 Gracia - Orlova
1st General Classification Gracia - Orlova
2nd Omloop der Kempen
1st GP De Santa Ana
2nd Pétange, Cyclo-cross
3rd Vierdaagse van Rotterdam
1st World Championship, Elite Cyclo-cross
1st Oostmalle, Cyclo-cross
3rd GP Costa Etrusca
1st Trofeo Alfredo Binda - Comune di Cittiglio
1st Damesronde van Drenthe 
1st Waalse Pijl
2nd Omloop van Borsele
1st Stage 1 Gracia - Orlova
3rd General Classification Gracia - Orlova
2nd Berner Rundfahrt 
3rd Stage 1 Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin
1st Stage 4 Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin
1st Stage 7 Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin
1st Stage 8 Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin
3rd General Classification Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin
2nd Stage 1 Grande Boucle Féminine Internationale
3rd Stage 2 Grande Boucle Féminine Internationale
1st Stage 4 Grande Boucle Féminine Internationale
3rd General Classification Grande Boucle Féminine Internationale
1st National Championship, Elite Road
3rd European Championship, U-23 ITT
3rd European Championship, U-23 Road
3rd Stage 1 Tour de Bretagne
1st Stage 1 Thüringen-Rundfahrt der Frauen
3rd Stage 2 Thüringen-Rundfahrt der Frauen
3rd Stage 4 Thüringen-Rundfahrt der Frauen
2nd General Classification Thüringen-Rundfahrt der Frauen
1st Open de Suede Vargarda
1st Holland Hills Classic
2nd GP Ouest France
2nd Stage 1 Holland Ladies Tour
3rd Stage 2 Holland Ladies Tour
3rd Stage 3 Holland Ladies Tour
2nd Stage 6 Holland Ladies Tour
1st General Classification Holland Ladies Tour
2nd Stage 3 Giro della Toscana Int. Femminile 
1st Stage 4 Giro della Toscana Int. Femminile
1st Stage 6 Giro della Toscana Int. Femminile
2nd World Championship, Elite Road
1st European Championship, Elite Cyclo-cross
2nd Nommay, Cyclo-cross
1st Koksijde, Cyclo-cross
2nd Gieten, Cyclo-cross
1st Frankfurt a/Main, Cyclo-cross
2nd Kalmthout, Cyclo-cross
1st Zolder, Cyclo-cross
2nd Loenhout, Cyclo-cross 
2010
1st Pétange, Cyclo-cross
2nd National Championship, Elite Cyclo-cross
3rd Roubaix, Cyclo-cross
1st Hoogerheide, Cyclo-cross
1st World Championship, Elite Cyclo-cross
1st General Classification Gracia - Orlova
1st Trofeo Alfredo Binda - Comune di Cittiglio
2nd Ronde van Vlaanderen 
1st Stage 1 Gracia - Orlova
2nd Stage 2 Gracia - Orlova
1st Stage 4 Gracia - Orlova
3rd Stage 3 Gracia - Orlova
1st Stage 5 Gracia - Orlova
1st GP Sankomij
3rd Prologue Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin
1st Stage 8 Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin
2nd Stage 9 Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin
1st Points classification Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin
1st Young rider classification Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin
2nd Teams classification Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Féminin 
1st Emakumen Saria
1st Stage 1 Emakumeen Bira
1st Stage 3 part b Emakumeen Bira
3rd Stage 3 part a Emakumeen Bira
1st National Championship, Elite ITT
2nd National Championship, Elite Road
3rd Stage 2 Giro d'Italia Donne
1st Stage 5 Giro d'Italia Donne
1st Stage 6 Giro d'Italia Donne
2nd Stage 7 Giro d'Italia Donne
1st Draai van de Kaai
1st Stage 2 Route du France Féminine
1st Stage 5 Route du France Féminine
2nd GP Ouest France
2nd Stage 1 Holland Ladies Tour 
1st Stage 3 Holland Ladies Tour
2nd Stage 4 Holland Ladies Tour
2nd Stage 5 Holland Ladies Tour
2nd Stage 6 Holland Ladies Tour
1st Stage 7 Holland Ladies Tour
1st General Classification Holland Ladies Tour
2nd Stage 4 Giro della Toscana Int. Femminile
1st Stage 5 Giro della Toscana Int. Femminile
2nd Stage 6 Giro della Toscana Int. Femminile
2nd World Championship, Road, Elite
1st Melbourne, Elimination race
2nd Antwerpen, Cyclo-cross
2nd Kalmthout, Cyclo-cross
1st Loenhout, Cyclo-cross
2nd Zolder, Cyclo-cross
2011
1st Pétange, Cyclo-cross
3rd Tervuren, Cyclo-cross
1st National Championship, Elite Cyclo-cross
1st Pontchâteau, Cyclo-cross
3rd Hoogerheide, Cyclo-cross
1st World Championship, Elite Cyclo-cross
1st Valkenburg, Cyclo-cross
1st World Championship, Elite Track, Scratch
3rd Ronde van Vlaanderen 
1st Stage 1 Energiewacht Tour
1st Stage 4 Energiewacht Tour
3rd General Classification Energiewacht Tour
1st Drentse 8 van Dwingeloo
1st Ronde van Drenthe
1st Waalse Pijl
3rd Omloop van Borsele
1st GP Elsy Jacobs
1stn GP Nicolas Frantz
1st Dorpenomloop Wijk en Aalburg
1st Gooik
1st GP Ciudad de Valladolid
1st Emakumen Saria
1st Stage 1 Emakumeen Bira
1st Stage 2 Emakumeen Bira
2nd Stage 3 part b Emakumeen Bira
2nd Stage 3 part a Emakumeen Bira
1st Stage 4 Emakumeen Bira
1st General Classification Emakumeen Bira
1st Stage 1 RaboSter Zeeuwsche Eilanden
1st Stage 3 RaboSter Zeeuwsche Eilanden
1st General Classification RaboSter Zeeuwsche Eilanden
1st National Championship, Elite ITT
1st National Championship, Elite Road
1st Stage 1 Giro d'Italia Donne
1st Stage 3 Giro d'Italia Donne
2nd Stage 5 Giro d'Italia Donne
1st Stage 6 Giro d'Italia Donne
1st Stage 7 Giro d'Italia Donne
2nd Stage 8 Giro d'Italia Donne
1st Stage 9 Giro d'Italia Donne
1st General Classification Giro d'Italia Donne
3rd Stage 10 Giro d'Italia Donne
2nd Stage 1 Trophée d'Or Féminin
1st Stage 4 Trophée d'Or Féminin
3rd GP Ouest France
1st Stage 1 Holland Ladies Tour
2nd Stage 2 Holland Ladies Tour
2nd Stage 3 Holland Ladies Tour
1st Stage 5 Holland Ladies Tour
1st Stage 6 Holland Ladies Tour
1st General Classification Holland Ladies Tour
2nd World Championship, Elite Road
2012

1st Pétange, Cyclo-cross 
1st National Championship, Cyclo-cross 
1st Liévin, Cyclo-cross 
1st in Rucphen, Cyclo-cross 
1st in Hoogerheide, Cyclo-cross 
2nd in World Cup, Cyclo-cross 
1st World Championship, Cyclo-cross, Koksijde 
1st Lille -B-, Cyclo-cross 
1st Valkenburg aan de Geul, Cyclo-cross 
2nd Oostmalle, Cyclo-cross 
3rd Drentse 8 van Dwingeloo 
1st Ronde van Drenthe (World Cup 1)
1st Euregio Ladies Tour 
1st Trofeo Binda (World Cup 2)

3º in Stage 1 Energiewacht Tour (F), Appingedam (NED) 
3º in Stage 2 Energiewacht Tour (F), Bad Nieuweschans (NED) 
2º in Stage 3 Energiewacht Tour (F), Midwolda (NED) 
3º in Stage 4 part a Energiewacht Tour (F), Winsum (NED) 
2º in Waalse Pijl (F), Huy (BEL) 
1º in Stage 1 GP Elsy Jacobs (F), Garnich (LUX) 
2º in Stage 2 GP Elsy Jacobs (F), Mamer (LUX) 
1º in General Classification GP Elsy Jacobs (F) (LUX) 
2º in GP Città di Cornaredo (F) (ITA) 
2º in Holland Hills Classic (F), Valkenburg (NED) 
2º in National Championship, Road, Elite, The Netherlands (F), Kerkrade (NED) 
1º in Stage 1 Giro d'Italia Donne (F), Terracina (ITA) 
1º in Stage 2 Giro d'Italia Donne (F), Roma (ITA) 
1º in Stage 4 Giro d'Italia Donne (F), Montecatini Alto (ITA) 
2º in Stage 6 Giro d'Italia Donne (F), Salsomaggiore Terme (ITA) 
1º in Stage 7 Giro d'Italia Donne (F), Castagnola delle Lanze (ITA) 
1º in Stage 8 Giro d'Italia Donne (F), Lonate Pozzolo (ITA) 
2º in Stage 9 Giro d'Italia Donne (F), Bergamo (ITA) 
1º in General Classification Giro d'Italia Donne (F) (ITA) 
1º in Stage 1 Tour Féminin en Limousin (F), Châteauponsac (FRA) 
2º in Stage 2 Tour Féminin en Limousin (F), Bosmoreau-les-Mines (FRA) 
2º in Stage 3 Tour Féminin en Limousin (F), Vallière (FRA) 
1º in Stage 4 Tour Féminin en Limousin (F), Ussel (FRA) 
1º in General Classification Tour Féminin en Limousin (F) (FRA) 
1st, Women's Road Race, Olympic Games