women's tour of the pyrenees

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‘Not the Tour de France’: women’s race director’s safety remarks spark anger

• Tour Féminin des Pyrénées cancelled over safety concerns
• Race director: ‘The girls have demands not in line with level’

A race director in France has provoked anger among cycling fans and media after accusing professional female riders and teams of having safety expectations “not in line with their level”.

The third and final stage of the Tour Féminin International des Pyrénées was cancelled on Sunday morning following a vote, conducted by the women’s arm of the Cyclistes Professionnels Associés (CPA), in which 17 of 23 competing teams said the race was too dangerous to continue.

The first two stages were marred by numerous near-misses as the peloton raced on roads that were open to other traffic. Video from the first stage, between Argelés-Gazost and Lourdes in south-west France, showed vehicles including a coach travelling in the opposite direction to the speeding peloton on narrow roads. Cars nearly pulled out into the path of the riders, with motorbikes, pedestrians and other road users also coming dangerously close to the competitors.

The first 25km of Saturday’s second stage was neutralised as a result after discussions between the Cyclistes Professionnels Associés (CPA), the UCI and the riders and teams. But the safety measures were not enough to save the race. “To maintain the safety of the riders, the UCI has taken the decision to stop #TourPyrenees,” the sport’s governing body, the UCI, said on Sunday morning . “After consulting with key stakeholders of the event, including @women_cpa, @cpacycling @HansenAdam, teams, commissaires, and the organising committee, today’s stage will not go ahead.”

The race director, Pascal Baudron, sparked anger among the cycling community by seeming to suggest – before the decision to abandon the race – that the riders and teams did not have the right to expect a completely safe race.

“The girls have demands that are not in line with their level,” Baudron said. “They imagine that they are on the Tour de France and that all the roads must be closed, that everything must be locked down. But in France, we can’t do that.”

Following the news that the third stage would not go ahead, Baudron was quoted as saying : “Quite honestly, I tell myself it is not worth organising a race to see all those months of effort ruined for the whims of spoiled children.”

Speaking on Monday, the head of the CPA, Adam Hansen, told the Guardian: “His [the race director’s] rolling closure was not up to standard, that’s the main problem ... The UCI regulations on rolling closure are that they must take all the cars off the route ... so that means any moving car has to be taken off.”

Asked if Baudron’s words risked sending the wrong message in relation to equality for women in cycling, Hansen said: “For sure, and that’s why the CPA made sure women’s races must be on the same level as the men’s. A lot of the women’s races are at the same level as the men … This is the first race I’ve had to do anything regarding safety for the riders.”

Professional cycling has been troubled occasionally by safety concerns this season. Disaster was narrowly averted at the men’s Paris-Nice in March, when a car suddenly appeared travelling in the opposite direction to the riders on a descent.

Meanwhile the reigning Tour de France champion, Jonas Vingegaard of Jumbo-Visma, wrapped up victory in the week-long Critérium du Dauphiné on Saturday, a key warm-up race for the the three-week men’s Tour de France, that begins on 1 July. The eight-stage women’s race starts on 23 July.

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New elite women's stage race launched in Pyrenees

The Tour Féminin International des Pyrénées is scheduled for this August

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A new elite women's race in France, the Tour Féminin International des Pyrénées, will take place for the first time this summer.

The three-day stage race will take place from the 5th-7th August, and has been awarded 2.1 status by the UCI. It was launched this week. The category puts it on the same level as more established races such as the Lotto Belgium Tour and the Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l'Ardèche.

Coming days after the first edition of the Tour de France Femmes, the race will pose a further mountainous test for the women's peloton, with the climb of the Col du Soulor included in the parcours.

"This first edition of the Tour Féminin International des Pyrénées marks a decisive turning point for female cyclists," Marion Clignet and Elisabeth Chevanne-Brachet said, co-presidents of the French Association of Female Cyclists (AFCC). 

"They now have the same status as male cyclists and are recognized fully by the world of professional cycling. The stages that make up this tour will give them a beautiful opportunity to show the public that there is no longer any question of amateurism in their discipline."

The AFCC has been one of the major backers of the new event. It is a national women's association founded in 2019 to campaign for the professional recognition of female cyclists.

There will be two stages on the race's opening day, a team time trial from Artiguelouve to Lacq and a circuit race around Pau, which is one of the iconic towns of the Tour de France.

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The second day will see riders race from Pierrefitte-Nestalas to Col du Soulor, a climb which has featured in the men's Tour de France six times, first in 1912 and last in 2019. It ramps up to 10 per cent over 20km.

Lourdes will host both the start and the finish of the final stage; the Tour de France has not visited there since 2011.

CIC, a major French bank, has stepped on board as title sponsor. 

Patrice Cauvet, the managing director of CIC Sud Ouest, said: "This tour of the Pyrénées is a beautiful advert for a territory that we support locally."

"This commitment is in line with our partnership with the French Cycling Federation. We are proud to support this highly symbolic event. As a company with a mission, CIC works in particular for inclusion and parity, and it is essential that women's professional cycling has all the recognition it deserves."

It comes in the same week that it was announced Zwift is to sponsor Paris-Roubaix Femmes from this year.

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Adam is Cycling Weekly ’s news editor – his greatest love is road racing but as long as he is cycling on tarmac, he's happy. Before joining Cycling Weekly he spent two years writing for Procycling, where he interviewed riders and wrote about racing, speaking to people as varied as Demi Vollering to Philippe Gilbert. Before cycling took over his professional life, he covered ecclesiastical matters at the world’s largest Anglican newspaper and politics at Business Insider. Don't ask how that is related to cycling.

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CIC-Tour Féminin International des Pyrénées

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Sprint (22.7 km)

Sprint (54.5 km), points at finish, qom sprint | labatmale (26.8 km), qom sprint | hautacam (70.6 km), youth day classification, team day classification, race information.

• Date: 10 June 2023
• Start time: 13:00
• Avg. speed winner: 31.777 km/h
• Race category: WE - Women Elite
• Distance: 70.8 km
• Points scale: F-2.1.Stage
• UCI scale: UCI.WE.1.Stage
• Parcours type:
• ProfileScore: 233
• Vert. meters: 1888
• Departure: Pierrefitte-Nestalas
• Arrival: Hautacam
• Race ranking: 31
• Startlist quality score: 579
• Won how: 0.175 km solo
• Avg. temperature: 25 °C

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CIC-Tour Féminin Pyrénées 2023 Race Preview

Mathew Mitchell

• Published on June 6, 2023
• in Women's Cycling

CIC-Tour Féminin Pyrénées History

The CIC-Tour Féminin Pyrénées has a limited history with just the one edition in 2022. Krista Doebel-Hickok was the strongest rider over the 4 stages, taking the GC by 1’07” from Eri Yonamine and Ricarda Bauernfeind back at 1’38” behind the American. The opening team time trial did a lot of the GC damage with EF Education-TIBCO-SVB able to take a lead of at least 56″ over the entire field into the rest of the race.

Table of Contents

Stage 2 proved to be selective, with Doebel-Hickok winning by a handful of sections from Ricarda Bauernfeind but behind the front group of 5 riders (also including Coralie Demay, Greta Marturano and Eri Yonamine ), it was 4 minutes back to the rest of the field. Stage 3 saw a similar result, with Doebel-Hickok winning again and almost the same front 5 clear of the rest – this time Yulia Biriukova replaced Coralie Demay – as the race finished on the Col du Soulor.

The final day saw an attack over the climbs from Silvia Zanardi, Coralie Demay and Morgane Coston. The trio stayed clear of the bunch, with the Italian taking the victory into Lourdes. 

The 2023 edition of CIC-Tour Féminin Pyrénées removes the team time trial and just heads straight into 3 tough stages instead. The queen stage will see the CIC-Tour Féminin Pyrénées finish on the Hautacam . The legendary climb has seen men’s winners at the Tour de France like Jonas Vingegaard, Vincenzo Nibali, Bjarne Riis and Luc Leblanc over the years. I’m struggling to find an example of the women’s peloton racing up it but that doesn’t necessarily mean it hasn’t happened as detailed historical records are minimal for some races.

Previous Winners

2022 Krista Doebel-Hickok 2021 Not held 2020 Not held

CIC-Tour Féminin Pyrénées 2023 Profiles

Stage 1 profile.

Stage 2 Profile

Stage 3 Profile

TV Coverage

Tuesday 9th June 2023 to Thursday 11th June 2023

Live on Eurosport/GCN, SportenFrance & l’Equipe

Stage 1: 11:00-15:00 Stage 2: 12:00-16:00 Stage 3: 10:00-14:30

All times in BST

Twitter:  #TourPyrénées

Startlist: FirstCycling

CIC-Tour Féminin Pyrénées 2023 Contenders

The chance to race up Hautacam before the Tour de France Femmes ‘ major climbs has seen the likes of Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio sign up to race here. The South African has a couple of wins to her name this season and was consistent enough at Vuelta a Burgos to finish 3rd overall there. One of the strongest names here, she will be a threat, especially if she can recreate the Tour de Romandie climbing form from the end of 2022. Gaia Masetti will be a wildcard, with the La Classique Morbihan winner able to get herself up the road and put pressure on other teams. There’s also a chance Lotta Henttala might be able to sprint on one of the stages here, Stage 1 probably the most likely. She’s still coming back into form after almost 2 months out due to illness but 4th at the Ladies Tour of Estonia recently will have been a confidence booster.

FDJ-Suez has brought the full works here in what might be a clue to their Tour de France Femmes team. The leader will probably be Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig , with the Dane doing a solid job this season and finishing 6th on Lagunas de Neila at Vuelta a Burgos. The long road back to her 2022 form is still on for Marta Cavalli but there have been glimpses, including 10th on Lagos de Covadonga at the Vuelta Feminina . At her best, she would be a serious contender for the win here. Grace Brown had a confidence-building week in Brittany recently with a solo win at GP Morbihan and then the GC win at the Bretagne Ladies Tour . Combined with the Tour Down Under wins earlier in the year that makes the Aussie one of the winningest riders in 2023. She should provide support at this race. We could see Evita Muzic become the GC leader as well. The winner this weekend at Alpes Gresivaudan Classic , Muzic has put together a pair of 6th places at both Itzulia Women and La Vuelta Femenina. Whilst more eyes look at the bigger names, Muzic might get the results.

Olivia Baril managed to retain her GP Ciudad de Eibar title a week or so ago, a strong finish to Spain a month after 4th in GC at Itzulia Women as the Canadian always seems to do well in her adopted home of the Basque Country. She wasn’t as strong in the pure climb up to Lagos de Covadonga at the end of the Vuelta Femenina though so a top-10 GC is possible but might be tough. Teammate Yulia Biriukova is in great form as well, supporting Baril at Eibar and finishing 3rd before finishing 6th in GC at the Vuelta a Andalucia. Technically on the UAE Development team, Birukova has shown enough to be promoted to the main UAE Team ADQ team wherever possible under the temporary team switching rules.

Silvia Zanardi was strong here, winning a stage on her way to 21st in GC. The lumpy Stages 1 and 3 will give her a chance for a victory, maybe her first since the GP della Liberazione PINK back at the end of April. She took a pair of top-10s at Vuelta a Burgos and this race will surely prove to be a decent warm-up for the Giro Donne at the end of the month.

It’s been a bit of a quiet year so far for Pauliena Rooijakkers , who I half expected to have a great month in Spain as she did in 2022. There was 10th in GC at Itzulia Women, so not all doom and gloom but it’s hard to know for sure what level she’s at currently. At her best, she’s a contender on Hautacam. Young teammate Neve Bradbury had a good week at the  Thüringen Ladies Tour finishing 7th overall and thereby one of the best non-SD Worx riders. We’ve seen the Aussie do well on long climbs in the past, including 10th on Norefjell last year in the Tour of Scandinavia. Soraya Paladin I expect will get shots at Stages 1 and 3 as a hilly race sprinter type. She was 9th in GC at RideLondon Classique, with a 3rd place on Stage 2 leading out Chloe Dygert for the win . Stage 3 here is especially tough in a rolling way and could be a great shot for a first win since 2019.

Cédrine Kerbaol and Arianna Fidanza are the in-form riders for Ceratizit WNT at the moment. Kerbaol took 6th in GC at RIdeLondon with a pair of top-10s along the way. Very impressive at the WWT level but no shock as it came off the back of 7th at the Bretagne Ladies Tour and 2nd at GP Morbihan as well. Kerbaol was also the winner of the Tour de Normandie earlier in the year, which has now received more attention . Arianna Fidanza suffered in the crashes at RideLondon Classique but before then did everything but quite take a win at the Bretagne Ladies Tour with a pair of 2nd places and a 5th across the week. The Italian has had a strong season at Ceratizit WNT and when the course suits, is more than capable of a strong result.

Dilyxine Miermont was probably the breakout star at the Alpes Gresivaudan Classic , climbing with some strong names on her way to 4th there. It was the best result of her career and adds some hype to what she might achieve on the Hautcam stage. Supported by Simone Boilard and Coralie Demay , all 3 St Michel-Mavic-Auber93 riders will be in the hunt on each stage here. Boilard and Demay might decide to focus on Stages 1 and 3 and then support Miermont again, as they did huge turns at the weekend before dropping back.

Lotte Claes has had a great last few weeks. 7th at Durango Durango, 6th at Navarra Elite Classics and then 4th in GC at the Vuelta a Andalucia . The Belgian has shown herself to be a very solid climber in certain company. Whilst never likely to beat the best of the WWT, Claes will do very nicely here and maybe get back into the top-10. Teammate Maeva Squiban had a good first and last day in Andalucia, finishing 5th on both of those stages. She’s worth keeping an eye out for on Stage 1, in particular, to see if she can recreate those finishes.

Team Jumbo-Visma has a good number of options at this year’s  CIC-Tour Féminin Pyrénées , but are probably more suited to stages than the GC hunt but Eva van Agt has been climbing well recently. 9th at Itzulia Women, she’s not quite there with the best climbers yet but has the potential to make the top-10 here as well. Then for stages, there’s Linda Riedmann , who took 4 top-10s in a row at the Thüringen Ladies Tour and Anna Henderson with top-10s of her own at RideLondon Classique and the Vuelta Femenina recently. Noemi Rüegg also had a good long weekend at RideLondon Classique with 8th on the opening stage and 8th in GC as well. Jumbo-Visma could use any of these 3 on Stages 1 and 3 to get a solid result.

Claire Steels is back in action for Israel-Premier Tech Roland and should be a contender. She’s done better recently at one-day races rather than the stage races, including a win at reVolta and 3rd at Durango Durango. She’s someone who should be in the top-10 in GC against this field though. Teammate Anna Kiesenhofer is also in some solid form at 11th at Alpes Gresivaudan Classic and 13th at Durango Durango. We always expect the long-range break but if she can support Steels, that might see two strong finishes for the team that needs UCI points. Maggie Coles-Lyster also has a shot after 6th place on Stage 4 of the Vuelta Andalucia. There aren’t many sprinters here so she will be one of the fastest finishers.

Laboral-Kutxa hopes at  CIC-Tour Féminin Pyrénées  are probably on Debora Silvestri after a great 5th place in GC at the Vuelta Andalucia last week . She didn’t finish lower than 9th on any of the 5 stages and gave a good account of herself after 7th at GP Ciudad de Eibar leading into the race. There will be some good support from in-form riders like Ariana Gilabert and Yurani Blanco but Silvestri feels like the main shout here.

The climb to Hautacam feels perfect for Clara Koppenburg . The Cofidis rider’s best result in 2023 is the 2nd place at reVolta where the descent after the final climb took the race away from her. She was 8th on the climb to Lagunas de Neila in Vuelta a Burgos but a climb like this, just 2 days into a race should suit one of the purest climbers in the women’s peloton.

CIC-Tour Féminin Pyrénées 2023 Outsiders

There have certainly been glimpses from Adèle Normand this season, where 7th in GC at Vuelta Extremadura has been backed up with some good results at Navarra Elite Classics and in the Spanish calendar. The Canadian is probably a better shout for Stage 3 here than the major climbing, she seems to excel most in that sort of attritional climbing day rather than the major climbs.

Jessenia Meneses had a standout ride at the Vuelta a Andalucia and GP Ciudad de Eibar combination. The Colombian has certainly gathered some attention in the European peloton as a result. She took the QoM jersey in Andalucia, regularly topping up the points total on her way to 11th in GC and a pair of top-10 finishes. The Hautacam may or may not be too much but we’re certainly seeing a rider in good form.

Leonie Laubig of Team Groupe Abadie has been nicely solid for a rider from a smaller Continental team over the past 6 weeks. A best result of 13th at reVolta showed that she can climb well and she’s been flirting with the top 20 in other races since too. She’s another for whom the Hautacam is probably too tough for a strong result but the following day will suit instead.

If Meneses was the standout at Andalucia, then the South African rider Maude Le Roux was the standout at Alpes Gresivaudan Classic . Racing for the WCC Team, the former triathlete was in the heavily reduced front group of the bunch and only lose contact once Evita Muzic pushed on and the group fully split. She was 9th there ahead of riders like Anna Kiesenhofer and Eglantine Rayer and it’ll be interesting to see if she backs that result up in the  CIC-Tour Féminin Pyrénées.

Top 3 Prediction

• Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio
• Cecille Uttrup Ludwig
• Clara Koppenburg

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The 2024 Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes Will Be Legendary. Here’s Our Hot Take on the Routes.

The Alps! Gravel! A trip over the highest paved road in France! The Alps! Two stages in one day! Did we mention the Alps?!

The routes of the 2024 Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift were unveiled in Paris early this morning, and we’ve since spent the day pouring over both routes. Here’s some of our early takeaways:

Foreign Starts for Both Men and Women

The Summer Olympics are taking place in Paris next summer, which presents a major logistical problem for the Tour de France for two main reasons: the men’s race usually finishes in Paris and the women’s race usually starts on the day the men’s race ends, which means the women’s race would reach its exciting climax just as the games are getting underway.

To avoid this, the organizers have planned foreign starts for both events, with the men starting in Italy (which sounds weird–but also awesome) and the women starting in the Netherlands (which has already hosted the starts of all three men’s grand tours). And these stages will be nothing to sneeze at, with profiles and formats that will shape the battle to win each Tour, so the race to win the yellow jersey will be well underway by the time each peloton gets back into France. And to prevent their thunder from being stolen, the women’s race will begin on Monday, August 12th, 2024–after the conclusion of the Olympic games.

An Early Trip Through the Alps for the Men

To get the race back into France, the organizers are sending the men right into the Alps, with a stage that will ignite the GC battle (if it hasn’t started already). Beginning in Pinerolo, the stage covers four categorized climbs, including one of the toughest climbs in the French Alps: the hors categorie (“beyond category”) Col du Galibier, a 2,600-meter summit that the riders usually don’t have to worry about until the second or third week of the Tour. The stage ends with a hair-raising descent down the mountain and into Valloire, where a yellow jersey could be waiting for the winner.

The women were the first to race on gravel when they tackled the Champagne region’s gravel roads in 2022. Now the men get a turn on Stage 9, where a circuit beginning and ending in Troyes will send them over 32km of white gravel roads divided into 14 sectors–6 of which come in the finale of the stage.

For fans, this will be a fantastic way to end the first week, but for the riders, it should be one of the most stressful and anticipated days of the Tour–and it comes just two days after the Tour’s first individual time trial, so at least a few riders will come into the stage already licking their wounds and desperate to gain back some time.

Back-to-Back Summit Finishes in the Pyrenees

A trip over the highest paved road in france.

The third week brings the men’s Tour across the south of France, which means there’s time for another–more significant–foray into the Alps. Stage 19 is the centerpiece here, with three 2000+m ascents including a summit finish at the Isola 2000 mountain resort. But the day’s second climb is the one that stands out to us: it’s called the Cime de la Bonette, and at 2,802m it’s the highest paved road in France (and the second-highest in the Alps). The panoramic views from the top are breathtaking–not that the riders will have time to stop and appreciate them.

A Riviera Wrap-Up for the Men

For the first time in history the Tour can’t finish in Paris–so it’s finishing in Nice. But the final weekend won’t be so nice (pun intended) for the riders with one last summit finish and a long individual time trial to decide the Tour once and for all. The final weekend begins with Stage 20, a trip through the Maritime Alps with four categorized climbs including a summit finish on the Col de la Couille. If you’ve ever watched March’s Paris-Nice week-long stage race, you might recognize the terrain.

The Tour ends Sunday with Stage 21, a 34km individual time trial from Monaco to Nice’s Place Masséna (just off the Promenade des Anglais) that will pass through some of the French Riviera’s most luxurious terrain. If the race is still close, this race against the clock will determine the winner of the 111th Tour de France.

A Tough Course for Cav

After crashing out of this year’s Tour and failing to break the record for the most stage wins in Tour de France history, Great Britain’s Mark Cavendish has postponed his retirement in the hopes of winning one more stage. Unfortunately, this year’s course will do him even fewer favors than last year’s with lots of mountains and fewer chances for sprinters. (Cav himself called it one of the hardest routes he’s ever seen.) That said, we never count out the Manx Missile, and his Astana squad has signed Denmark’s Michael Mørkøv–one of the best lead-out men Cavendish has ever raced with–away from Soudal-Quick Step to help him break the record.

Two Stages in One Day for the Women

Once upon a time, Tour de France riders often raced two stages in one day, usually a short road stage in the morning followed by a time trial in the afternoon. But the Tour hasn’t done that since 1991 as they were felt to be too taxing on the riders (which–during an era in which Tour stages were much, much longer than they are today–they were).

But after starting the Tour on a Monday instead of a Sunday, the women will race both Stages 2 and 3 on Tuesday, August 13th. Stage 2 is a short, morning road stage from Dodrecht to Rotterdam that’s expected to end in a field sprint; and Stage 3 is a 6.3km, individual time trial in downtown Rotterdam that could be messy if it rains.

Two Classics in One Stage for the Women

Stage 4 is one of the most interesting–and potentially explosive–of this year’s Tour de France Femmes with a route that combines the best and most challenging features of two of spring Classics: the Amstel Gold Race and Liege-Bastogne-Liege. The day begins in Valkenburg, home to the finish of the Amstel Gold Race, and heads south–but not before taking the riders around a loop containing four of the climbs that form the finale of the Dutch Classic. The stage then heads into Belgium, where the riders will tackle four climbs in the Belgian Ardennes, including three of the hardest climbs from the final half of Liège–Bastogne–Liège. This will be an explosive stage from start to finish, and one that could shape the outcome of the Tour.

A Spectacular Alpine Finish for the Women

The Tour de France Femmes concludes with back-to-back Alpine summit finishes. Saturday’s Stage 7 is the longest of the Tour at 167km and covers five categorized climbs including a summit finish on Le Grand Bornand. And that’s the easiest stage of the weekend, as Sunday’s Stage 8 takes the riders over the hardest side of the Col du Glandon followed by a summit finish on one of the most famous ascents in cycling: Alpe d’Huez, a climb known for its 21 hairpin bends, each of which is named in honor of a rider who has won the race to the summit. Mark your calendars now for Sunday, August 18th–you won’t want to miss it!

Since getting hooked on pro cycling while watching Lance Armstrong win the 1993 U.S. Pro Championship in Philadelphia, longtime Bicycling contributor Whit Yost has raced on Belgian cobbles, helped build a European pro team, and piloted that team from Malaysia to Mont Ventoux as an assistant director sportif. These days, he lives with his wife and son in Pennsylvania, spending his days serving as an assistant middle school principal and his nights playing Dungeons & Dragons.

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Tour Feminin des Pyrenees abandoned after excessive presence of cars prompts multiple teams to pull out

Published 11/06/2023 at 17:02 GMT

The Tour Feminin des Pyrenees will not complete its third and final day of racing after multiple teams pulled out, citing safety concerns. Just the second edition of the race, the 2023 edition has ended in chaos. Teams and riders complained of roads failing to be closed and a lack of marshals controlling the traffic with whom the cyclists were forced to share the road.

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Women's Tour of Pyrenees | Stage 1

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Tour Féminin des Pyrénées stopped amidst rider safety issues

After two days of safety concerns for the peloton due to oncoming traffic, parked cars and trucks blocking roads, hazardous motorbikes, and spectators wandering on the roads, rider protests calling for better measures have resulted in the UCI calling off the CIC-Tour Féminin International des Pyrénées in its final stage.

After overnight negotiations with the UCI led by Adam Hansen, president of the Cyclistes Professionnels Associés (CPA), the cycling governing body has announced that the race in the Iberian mountains won't continue.

The UCI's official communications account tweeted this morning: "To maintain the safety of the riders, the UCI has taken the decision to stop #TourPyrenees. After consulting with key stakeholders of the event, including CPA Women, CPA, Adam Hansen, teams, commissaires, and the organising committee, today’s stage will not go ahead."

> "What a mess": Chaos as live traffic passes metres from racing peloton at Tour Féminin des Pyrénées

To maintain the safety of the riders, the UCI has taken the decision to stop #TourPyrenees After consulting with key stakeholders of the event, including @women_cpa , @cpacycling @HansenAdam , teams, commissaires, and the organising committee, today’s stage will not go ahead. — UCI_media (@UCI_media) June 11, 2023

The CPA has also released a statement, written by Adam Hansen: "During the first stage of the CIC-Tour Féminin International des Pyrénées, the safety conditions were deemed highly dangerous due to the excessive presence of cars on the road, some even driving towards the riders. This created a significant panic among the women cyclists and caused a media storm, which has had a negative impact on the image of women's racing.

"Assurances were given that stage two would be managed more effectively to ensure the safety of the women cyclists. We informed the women that, after the initial 24km neutral zone, they had the authority to collectively decide whether to proceed with the race based on their assessment of safety. This decision was left in their hands."

> "Disgrace": Pro riders rip into UCI over "unacceptable" speed bump sprint crash

When the decision went to a vote to the teams, Hansen revealed that 17 teams expressed their concern about the race being too dangerous to continue, while seven teams were in favour of continuing.

The team managers also voted on the matter, with nine managers deeming it too dangerous to race and nine in favour of continuing.

About CIC - Tour Féminin International des Pyrénées. #Cpa #WeAreTheRiders #StrongerTogether #Cycling #WomenCycling #SafetyFirst #CpaWomen pic.twitter.com/awHhqcK5zG — CPA Women (@women_cpa) June 11, 2023

Hansen also said that he spoke to one of the team managers who had spoken to the organisers, who confirmed that the race would continue 100%, even if only three teams decided to participate.

He said: "I engaged in a discussion with the organiser in an effort to reach a conclusion that would ensure a safe race. I was insisted that stage two was executed like any other normal race and that all my thinking was incorrect and also the riders of the race."

"Considering the safety risks involved, we firmly believe that a bike race is not worth endangering the lives of the female cyclists. Therefore, we stand in support of the decision made by the women to discontinue the race, and we believe the race results should remain as they are, including UCI points, ensuring that the women are duly recognised and rewarded for their efforts."

> UCI pledges to improve rider safety after high-profile crashes

The race began on Friday and the opening stage was tainted by a plethora of dangerous incidents. In the final 3km in Lourdes, Cecilie Uttrup-Ludwig had a near miss as she was attacking as a driver managed to get onto the course. Parked cars and trucks, narrow roads, and meandering spectators peppered the last kilometre before the sprint opened up.

On Saturday, the peloton staged a protest, with at least three neutralisations of the race that effectively reduced stage 2 to a hill climb up Hautacam. After riding the first 25km as neutralised, the riders cycled for 28km before coming to a stop again.

After a discussion with officials, Cordon-Ragot (Human Powered Health) addressed the peloton to say riders would proceed in another neutral procession to the foot of the finish climb and race from there. The race commissioners were noted as saying: "Safety was met throughout the route" and "It was decided to resume noting that if they did not continue it would count as abandonment".

> Pro cyclist calls for better race direction after 90% of the peloton crashed at Tour de Bretagne

However, Eurosport/GCN cameras caught sight of a rider signalling a stray car parked on the course as the peloton sped through a populated area with 21.2km to go. 

Team Jumbo-Visma was one of the teams which voted against the race from going ahead. The Belgian team released a statement:  "The situation on day two was significantly better than during the first stage, but safety is a condition within [the team] to be able to practice the sport in a responsible way.  The riders do not consider it responsible to ride the third stage."

People on social media have expressed their disbelief at the situation. A former Australian road race champion and Olympian said: "This is an insane situation at the #TourPyrenees - it’s reassuring that the riders are able to have their voice represented enough that the craziness doesn’t continue - but it’s a sad situation for a race that all teams wanted to be successful."

Confirmation that today's stage is cancelled, with a decision finally made by the UCI at the eleventh hour It's the right call after 2 days of near misses and fairplay on the riders for standing up strongly for their interests #CICTourFeminin #TourPyrenees https://t.co/Su90V7KzZb — Mathew Mitchell (@MatMitchell30) June 11, 2023

It is good to see the UCI taking a stance like this. Perhaps it could take a bit more action on dangerous races and organisers may finally get the message. https://t.co/zGTX6fYijv — Sadhbh O'Shea (@SadhbhOS) June 11, 2023

This marks another incident in a growing series of concerning events of riders facing serious danger when racing in the peloton at the highest level. Last month road.cc  reported that a pro cyclist criticised the race direction for not caring about riders as 90 per cent of the peloton crashed out on a muddy road, with the race director claiming after the crash that he didn't "regret" not neutralising the race as they approached the muddy section at 60km/hr.

> “I just didn't feel safe in cycling anymore” – Tony Martin opens up on why he’s retired

Earlier this year, organisers at both  Paris-Nice  and  Milan-Sanremo  were once again piled on by riders, fans and pundits, for not having proper signage to caution cyclists at high-speed, leading to crashes at both events.

And again at the final stage of Paris-Nice, as cyclists were making their way down a descent, a car suddenly appeared out of a corner from the opposite direction, with riders being forced to somehow evade it. Eurosport commentator Rob Hatch called on race organisers to do more to stop these mishaps from happening.

"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear,” said Hatch. “Now how on earth has that happened? I’m angry seeing things like that in a pro race."

"That is dangerous. That could have been an absolute nightmare. Organisers really need to get a grip. Seen that a few times in the last few weeks, cars on the road. Disastrous.”

🗣️ “Oh dear. Oh dear. Oh dear. Now, how on earth does that happen?” 😱 😳 Cars on the road during the final stage of Paris-Nice. #ParisNice pic.twitter.com/reRrVXw6aO — Eurosport (@eurosport) March 12, 2023

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Adwitiya joined road.cc in 2023 as a news writer after graduating with a masters in journalism from Cardiff University. His dissertation focused on active travel, which soon threw him into the deep end of covering everything related to the two-wheeled tool, and now cycling is as big a part of his life as guitars and football. He has previously covered local and national politics for Voice Wales, and also likes to writes about science, tech and the environment, if he can find the time. Living right next to the Taff trail in the Welsh capital, you can find him trying to tackle the brutal climbs in the valleys.

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17 comments.

Quite a statement from the race director, Pascal Boudrain, in La Nouvelle Republique des Pyrenees:

Quote:  "Ce qui se passe, c’est que les filles ont des exigences qui ne sont pas en adéquation avec leur niveau. Elles s’imaginent qu’elles sont sur le Tour de France et que toutes les routes doivent être fermées, que tout doit être verrouillé."

Which, roughly translated (forgive errors), means: "What's happened is that these girls want a level of organisation that is way above their status. They think they're in the Tour de France and that all the roads should be closed, that everything should be locked down for them."

If I were one of the "girls" I don't think I'd be too happy about my safety being entrusted to somebody with that sort of attitude.

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on the "girls" aspect, and there were alot of young riders in this race, I think thats just a lost in French translation thing, listen here to specifically how Audrey Cordon Ragot addressed the assembled riders at the stage 2 stoppage https://twitter.com/EsenciaCiclista/status/1667509165856632834

that doesnt let him, or the other two race directors, off the hook for what he's then saying about the level of road closures required to run the race, I doubt they expected or wanted TdF levels of lockdown, but they are pro riders who do expect to race on roads and not have to dodge buses, trucks, tractors and cars moving towards them.

coincidentally they was a cycling sportive held around Lourdes yesterday that used the same finishing circuit as stage 1 of the race, the road was closed to all traffic, all parked vehicles were removed from the route,or simply stopped from parking there in the first place, and there were marshalls and police on every junction.

and you literally cant make this up, the ad strap line for the sportive was "Be a Pro for a day"

No.  I'm a native FR speaker.  The reference to 'les filles' is disparaging.  Literally it means 'the girls' and I'm sure that post factum he's able to clobber together an 'innocent' explanation but the underlying meaning is 'those female nitwits'.  

I'm in Belgium and during the summer many local cycling events are orgnised, with volunteers blocking traffic at every junction on approach/passing of the peloton.  That's not on pro level, btw.  If they're serious about female cycling, they should get their act together.  But being the UCI and considering that there's not a lot of money to be made out of this, it's clear where the priorities lie.

so was Audrey equally being disparaging then to the group ? as I dont get how we can say no doubt ah but its the context of how its said not what is said, when weve not got the context of how it was said, its just some print in a local paper article, translated by google.

I dont dispute he clearly thinks the riders were being childish & immature, as its the reported way he then describes them, and in that context calling them mere "girls" its clearly more consistent line of he hasnt got much respect for them, but in a gender reversed similar situation, would he use "garcons" instead of "hommes", we dont know.

so heres an interview with Audrey Cordon Ragot in Ouest France, a daily french regional newspaper, and I specifically draw your attention to this particular quote from the interview "Les filles ont voulu s’arrêter", the "girls" wanted to stop.

https://www.ouest-france.fr/sport/cyclisme/cyclisme-audrey-cordon-ragot-...

Must be an interesting discussion going on in the 2 teams who didn't wish to continue despite their team managers voting in favour of completing the race.

there were 24 teams in total, so 6  team managers actually had no opinion or abstained. I dont know that discussion would be that complicated, and Id take an educated guess on at least identifying one of teams.

But the team managers want to race to get points, which for the lower ranked WTW or conti teams trying to get to WTW is very important for their survival, the riders probably recognise that, but werent comfortable with the risks being presented, so voted the other way, but I suspect would have still raced had the UCI not canned it for them.

I think the fact that this was a race for women is important

not because they are women and need to be protected more

but simply because I doubt that this would ever happen to this extent for a mens pro race

You have to suspect that less  effort (or expense??) was put into it because the women's race series doesn;t matter as much in their eyes???

its difficult to say with certainty IMO, because its not totally clear to me just observing from afar, how these issues manifested the way they did.

the greatest irony being two of the race directors are both former pro women cyclists and currently I believe directors of the AFCC, which is the French women's cycling union, which is part of the Women's Cpa, youd have thought there'd be no question on effort to make it a safe race.

miekwidnes wrote: I think the fact that this was a race for women is important . . . simply because I doubt that this would ever happen to this extent for a mens pro race

That is a very relevant point.

Adam Hansen's statement is bang on the money in terms of putting rider safety over everything else, but I don't understand why it's necessary to keep highlighting the fact that the cyclists in question are women. That makes it feel like the riders were making a bigger deal of safety because they're women. Their gender is immaterial, surely? Having watched Stage 2, which was marred by a number of cars on course, several still moving toward the peloton as it approached them, with un-marshalled slip roads letting onto the parcours, one of which had a car moving up it to within 5m of the peloton, and with umarshalled traffic islands which caused crashes, any cyclist male, female or other would have protested about the safety issues! Gender doesn't come into safety, so why keep referring to it?

he's apologised for way the letter reads like that, he said he was trying to be respectful, and I trust him on that, he's been working hard behind the scenes to get this sorted properly and try and mediate with all the riders, the teams and race organisation all thru the evening/morning,so I can forgive the clunky way its written.

as he's been dealing with a race director who has since the race cancellation labelled the riders spoiled children and as the CPA letter says saw no issues with what was happening, despite the numerous examples that can be shown of vehicles driving & moving towards the peloton without warning, which shows the attitudes towards safety he was having to deal with.

Awavey wrote: he's apologised for way the letter reads like that

Hadn't seen the apology - thanks for the heads up.

It read oddly to me too, but then I thought it might have been translated via a language with a more pervasive grammatical gender. If that's how Adam Hansen speaks/writes in his native language, that's a bit bemusing. 

its something they had to put together quite quickly after alot of time spent in discussions with teams, riders, UCI, union reps, organisers etc etc and when it was clear the organisers werent going to reach an agreement they were happy with, I think we can forgive them for its clunkiness of language and not be the grammar police on it, the overall message its presenting is clear enough.

but there were riders, and spectators, at the signing on point literally unsure of whether they were or were not going racing 30mins before they due to start.

Yeah, I wasn't meaning to be a grammar/prose pedant there. Just that it seems weird and unnatural for a native English speaker writing in English who isn't Andrew Tate to keep saying "female" like that. 

These things happen though, and it's all vastly better than the quote Rendel has posted above which seems to boil down to "stupid little girls, expecting their safety to be as important as the men's! Tsk."

I was thinking just the same. If the same had happened in a men's race, the words "men" and "make" wouldn't have featured.

I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it, but that's almost worse. It shows that the default view is that cyclists are men.

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Apr 27, 2023

Launch of the second edition of the CIC International Women’s Tour of the Pyrenees

The Association Française des Coureures Cyclistes (AFCC) and the Communauté d’Agglomération Pau Béarn Pyrénées are organising the CIC International Women’s Tour of the Pyrenees for the second year running, which highlights women’s professional cycling. This 3-day Tour takes place between 9 and 11 June 2023 and includes 3 stages.

Recognition of women’s cycling

The first edition of the CIC International Women’s Tour of the Pyrenees was a turning point for professional women’s cycling.

Indeed, for many decades, women’s cycling was very poorly represented and women who practised the sport professionally had no official status. Created in 2019, the AFCC has succeeded in bringing women’s cycling to the attention of all and adding a feminine and cultural approach to the sport.

With the support of its partners in the world of cycling and professional sport, the AFCC has succeeded in ensuring that women for whom cycle racing is a profession are now fully recognised and have official status as professional female cyclists.

Programme for the CIC International Women’s Tour of the Pyrenees 2023

● 8 June 2023 at 6 p.m.: presentation of the teams on the square behind the church in Argelès-Gazost

For its 2nd edition, the CIC International Women’s Tour of the Pyrenees will take place in 3 stages over 3 days:

● 9 June 2023: Argelès-Gazost-Lourdes / 125 km ● 10 June 2023: Pierrefitte-Nestalas-Station de Hautacam / 94 km ● 11 June 2023: Nay-Bosdarros /128 km

Teréga is proud to be able to support this race, which puts professional women’s cycling at the forefront of the sporting scene. Our beautiful Pyrenean region will offer the ideal terrain for the cyclists to show their talent.

Inauguration of France’s largest biogas plant in Mourenx (64)

Hydrogen takes its place in the country's future energy mix

Shippers meeting 2023

Women's Tour of Pyrenees | Stage 1

Live coverage of the 2023 women's tour of pyrenees, the second edition that sees the elite female riders cross the famous mountain range, 6/9/2023 12:00:00 am.

Women’s Pyrenees Tour With Eat Sleep Cycle

This is a guest post by Kath, one of our lovely guests on our recent Women’s Pyrenees Tour who has written all about her experience on her blog. Conquering Cols in the Pyrenees with a different edge – we were all women! I had signed up to this holiday several months ago – I knew […]

This is a guest post by Kath, one of our lovely guests on our recent Women’s Pyrenees Tour who has written all about her experience on her blog .

Conquering Cols in the Pyrenees with a different edge – we were all women!

I had signed up to this holiday several months ago – I knew that September would be a bit stressful (moving house!) and a cycle trip to take the edge off would be needed. I’ve done a few cycle trips here and there, either as part of a group or solo, and given the other things going on in my life, a guided trip somewhere exciting was ideal. I’ve wanted to visit the Pyrenees on a bike for a while having spent some previous holidays nearby and looking longingly up at the mountains. But I’ve never ridden a stage of the Tour de France and I really wouldn’t consider myself a mountain climber. I had noticed Eat Sleep Cycle on social media, as they regularly post about their trips and regularly introduce their staff. Their tour of the Pyrenees advertised many of the classic climbs and staying in hotels within beautiful spa towns, but a women-only Tour? What would that be like?

Having cycled many years in various clubs and with friends, cycling with other women has always been important. There’s nothing wrong with cycling with men, but we are from different planets, and if you’re not an advocate of that idea from popular science we are raised differently and influenced by varying praises and expectations. Cycling with only women is unusual – I’ve probably only had 2 rides consisting of only women and both were organized specifically with this in mind. The riding pace is just as strong as with men, as is the distance, but the conversation and support are totally different. Support is there in many different forms, from providing encouragement on your fellow rider’s ability to sharing stories of your experiences, advice on achieving goals and ambitions, and the trials of cycling with MAMILs. There’s definitely less chat about groupsets – but I’m pretty happy about that!

Whilst on the holiday we were guided by Louise – owner of ESC and cycling extraordinaire. Louise had taken several groups on a similar tour before, but this was the maiden Women’s Tour outside of Girona. Louise was excellent at providing all the information required during the trip and politely providing the necessary pacing to prevent a blow-out later on and company when the climbs got harder. A description of a forthcoming climb always came with a grin from a woman that loves the challenge. I really appreciated the advice as I regularly wanted to cycle away at the beginning of a climb out of pure excitement, not acknowledging that I had 12km to go at an average of 7%.

The first day was a short ride up to Superbagnères, with a strange and foreboding ski hotel up at the top. It was brilliant to be back on some switchbacks, something I love descending much more than climbing. On the descent I was fortunate to have a wildcat cross my path ahead, even in the Pyrenees these creatures are unusual to see. Day 2 covered Col du Ares and Col du Mente, both beautiful climbs into the mountains. Day 3 was short and sharp, covering col du Peyresourde and Val Louron Azet just 44km; there was an optional extra but the hotel pool was calling… This slightly easier day was in preparation for day 4 – Col du Aspen and the iconic Col du Tourmalet.

Most people who we passed were clearly delighted that a group of only women were cycling the Pyrenees. From the locals we had many waves and grins of joy, and perhaps a bit of bewilderment. Most other cyclists were very pleased to see us, and many would stop to engage with us. Perhaps the questions were different; ‘is that an electric bike?’ ‘Did you cycle up here?’ Sigh. But not always; ‘is that a 35-25 groupset?’ ‘Just stunning isn’t it?’ ‘Where are you from?’ The Col du Tourmalet was a pleasure to ride up, one foot in front of the other and just keeping soaking up the exquisite views. By this point my new friends and I had bonded; ‘has is just kicked up again?’ ‘No whingeing on the yacht, Ladies!’. During our ride there was several groups of other cyclists, including a triathlon competition, I’m just in awe of those cyclists whizzing down the Tourmalet to then start running.

While we were climbing our driver Brooke was putting together a feast for us, often at the top of a Col (we were very lucky with the weather). This was where a guided tour really came into its own; having a spread of salads, cured meats, carbs and juice all ready for you at the top of a mountain you’ve just climbed. We were definitely the envy of everyone else at this point and had several requests to join the table. Brooke also acted as our social media correspondent and gave us all several lessons in the wonderful world of Instagram.

The choice of hotels was perfect, varying from a traditional French lodge serving classic cuisine through to a ski hotel with a pool to relax by (and plunge into) at the end of the day. Our belongings were transported in the van, again the ease of a guided holiday really made the Tour ideal.

So what was a women-only Tour like? I came back from holiday really feeling like I had a holiday. The support for each other was brilliant, and this I have found is sometimes harder to identify within mixed groups. And we had a lot of fun; it was an absolute pleasure to cycle with other like-minded women over the five days of riding. Cycling in the Pyrenees was a wonderful experience and I’m already planning for my next trip there. I’ve returned from holiday with more confidence in myself and ability to climb up anything. After-all, I cycled the Queens Stage of my Tour of the Pyrenees.

Written by admin

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NCAA.com | March 17, 2024

2024 nc women's ice hockey championship: bracket, schedule, results.

The selections for the 2024 NC women's ice hockey championship were announced on March 10 . Eleven teams were selected to the bracket, with Ohio State the No. 1 seed.

Regional competition concluded on March 16 and determined the Women's Frozen Four at Whittemore Center Arena in Durham, New Hampshire. The national semifinals are Friday, March 22, followed by the championship game on Sunday, March 24.

Wisconsin is the defending national champion after defeating Ohio State 1-0 in the 2023 NCAA title game to secure its seventh championship in program history.

2024 NC women's ice hockey championship bracket: 

➡️  Click or tap here to see the interactive bracket

➡️  Rewatch the ESPNews selection show

2024 NC women's ice hockey championship schedule

All times Eastern. Click or tap each game for stats and scores.

• No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 4 Clarkson | 4 p.m. | ESPN+
• No. 2 Wisconsin vs. No. 3 Colgate | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN+
• TBD vs. TBD | 4 p.m. | ESPNU

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Regionals  

• Cornell 7 , Stonehill 1
• Minnesota Duluth 1 , UConn 0 (2OT)
• St. Lawrence 1 , Penn St. 0 (OT)
• No. 4 Clarkson 3 , No. 5 Minnesota 2 (4OT)
• No. 3 Colgate 3 , Cornell 2
• No. 2 Wisconsin 4 , St. Lawrence 0
• No. 1 Ohio State 9 , Minnesota Duluth 0

NC women's ice hockey championship history 

Beginning in 2001, the NC women's ice hockey tournament has been held every year except for 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Defending champion Wisconsin has won a record seven championships, followed by Minnesota with six and Minnesota Duluth with five.

Here's the full history of NC women's hockey champions:

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Tickets for Caitlin Clark and Iowa in women’s NCAA tourney more than twice the top seed for men

• Updated: Mar. 19, 2024, 1:58 p.m. |
• Published: Mar. 19, 2024, 1:57 p.m.

Caitlin Clark and Iowa will play for the Big Ten championship on Sunday after blowing out Michigan in the semifinals. Photo: March 09, 2024 Abbie Parr AP

• Anneice Coady | [email protected]

If you want to see basketball phenom Caitlin Clark and Iowa in first round of women’s tourney, it’s going to cost you.

Tickets for the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Iowa City are already past $630.

By comparison, tickets to see the first round game for UConn, the overall top seed in the men’s bracket, are going for under $280.

Stubhub, Vivid Seats, SeatGeek and Ticketmaster have tickets to the first round games in Iowa starting at $637.

No. 1 seed Iowa will play the winner of the No. 16 play-in game between Holy Cross and UT-Martin. Iowa’s opening game is set for Saturday, March 23, at Carver Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City, IA.

Clark set the NCAA career record for points scored and has declared for the WNBA draft.

If Iowa wins, it will play the winner of no. 8 seed West Virginia and no. 9 seed Princeton.

Both Michigan State and Michigan are also in the women’s tournament but Michigan would not potentially face Iowa until the Final Four while both teams would have to make it to the championship for the Spartans to play the Hawkeyes.

Related: How to get tickets to see Michigan State vs North Carolina in the NCAA women’s tournament and How to get tickets to see Michigan vs. Kansas in the NCAA women’s tournament

Get tickets to the Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City March 23-25 to see the matchups:

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‘Aging So Youthfully’: Black Woman Stuns the Internet with Dazzling 90th Birthday Entrance In Resurfaced Viral Video

No matter their age, Black women can exude grace, elegance, and confidence. In a resurfaced video, an elderly woman named Lorraine effortlessly embodies those characteristics.

A Chicago-area event designer originally posted the clip in December 2022. The high-energy celebration appears to have been held at a local Marriott Hotel. In the video, the birthday girl struts into the room with her cane while the crowd applauds and cheers. She is rocking a platinum gray pixie cut, hoop earrings, kitten heels, and gold bell bottoms.

“When you are 90,….yes I said Nine followed by Zero, THIS is how you walk so your guest can celebrate you!! So much fun putting this event together for my client!” @20pearlsparty wrote on Instagram. 

The party theme was white and gold, and Lorraine wore the perfect outfit to match. Her cake was made of gold-dusted roses with the number “90” on top. The sweet table had a variety of candy for the guests to enjoy. 

The video, which has Deion Sanders’ “Give Me My Theme Music” audio playing in the background, was shared on multiple social media platforms. It received over 22 million views on Instagram alone. It was reposted this week on X.

People in the comments championed Lorraine’s self-confidence and attitude, saying she inspires them to continue celebrating themselves as they age. Others sent her well wishes as she entered her new chapter. 

“Beautiful! She looks like a goddess! Happy 90th birthday! I pray God blesses you with great health,” one user wrote.

Another person added: “She’s walking that walk lol. A pure blessing because a lot of people don’t make it to 90 years old.”

“God has truly blessed her. She is aging so youthfully! You look awesome, Queen. May God continue to bless you and your family! Yassss honey walk walk walk!” a user said. 

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Tour Féminin des Pyrénées called off over safety issues

UCI takes decision to scrap final stage after dangerous incidents and rider protests

The CIC-Tour Feminin International des Pyrénées 2023 has been called off after two stages over safety concerns. 

Friday's opening stage was marred by a spate of dangerous incidents, including oncoming traffic on the race route and parked cars blocking roads elsewhere. 

On Saturday, the peloton staged a protest , with repeat neutralisations that effectively reduced stage 2 to a hill climb up Hautacam, where Marta Cavalli (FDJ-Suez) took victory and the leader's jersey . 

However, the final stage of the race will not take place. After multiple teams pulled out and decided not to start, the UCI took the measure of pulling the plug on the whole thing.

"To maintain the safety of the riders, the UCI has taken the decision to stop the Tour des Pyrénées," read a statement from the governing body. 

"After consulting with key stakeholders of the event, including the CPA, teams, commissaires, and the organising committee, today’s stage will not go ahead."

Adam Hansen, president of the CPA, which is the union for pro riders, held talks with riders, teams, and the race organisers after the opening stage, with assurances supposedly given that conditions would be improved for stage 2. However, as the riders protested on Saturday, there was still cause for concern.

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"The situation on day two was significantly better than during the first stage, but safety is a condition within [the team] to be able to practice the sport in a responsible way," said Jumbo-Visma.

"The riders do not consider it responsible to ride the third stage."

According to a letter published by Hansen to the race organisers on Sunday morning, 17 teams expressed their desire to discontinue the race, while seven were in favour of racing the final stage.

As teams announced their decision to step out, it opened a debate over UCI points, with some teams reportedly reluctant to withdraw if valuable points were still to be dished out to their rivals for racing licences in future seasons. 

"Considering the safety risks involved, we firmly believe that a bike race is not worth endangering the lives of the female cyclists," read the letter from Hansen. 

"Therefore, we stand in support of the decision made by the women to discontinue the race, and we believe the race results should remain as they are, including UCI points, ensuring that the women are duly recognized and rewarded for their efforts."

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Patrick is an NCTJ-trained journalist, and former deputy editor of Cyclingnews, who has seven years’ experience covering professional cycling. He has a modern languages degree from Durham University and has been able to put it to some use in what is a multi-lingual sport, with a particular focus on French and Spanish-speaking riders. Away from cycling, Patrick spends most of his time playing or watching other forms of sport - football, tennis, trail running, darts, to name a few, but he draws the line at rugby.

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Women's Tour of Pyrenees | Stage 2

Pierrefitte Nestalas - Hautacam (96km)

3h 34m • 10/06/2023

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Australian women's cricket six-match white-ball tour of Bangladesh will be on YouTube only after failure to seal network TV deal

Sport Australian women's cricket six-match white-ball tour of Bangladesh will be on YouTube only after failure to seal network TV deal

Australia's all-conquering women's cricketers have been left off TV for the first time this decade after networks were unable to secure the broadcast rights to their Bangladesh tour.

Alyssa Healy's side will play Bangladesh in the first of three one-day internationals in Dhaka on Thursday, before three Twenty20s follow in the last scheduled series before this year's World Cup.

The matches will form a key part of preparations for the global tournament, which will be held in Bangladesh in September and October.

Australia's visit to the nation is their first since 2014, with only four members of the current squad having previously played in Bangladesh.

But it won't be traditional viewing in Australia.

Foxtel have not acquired the rights to the tour, meaning it will mark Australia's women's first matches not televised since 2019.

It is understood the pay TV network reached out to the Bangladesh Cricket Board, but were not able to secure the rights.

The situation is similar to when the men's team toured Bangladesh in 2021, with those matches also not televised in Australia.

Instead, matches will be streamed via the Bangladesh Cricket Board's YouTube channel.

Only parts of the commentary were in English in women's matches between Bangladesh and India that were streamed on the channel last year.

Australia coach Shelley Nitschke said last week she was hopeful the situation would be resolved.

"Anytime we can get our games broadcast is a win for us," Nitschke said.

"But also to be able to get those games in particular — it's good for the global game, for people to be able to see that Bangladesh are competing and going really well."

Australia are largely entering the unknown with the series against Bangladesh, given the lack of matches broadcast from the nation.

Coaches have relied on at-times grainy streams of men's matches there, as well as the women's series in which Bangladesh drew with India last year.

Slower wickets are expected, with a fit-again Sophie Molineux among the returnees trying to push their World Cup case.

"We've scraped up a bit of stuff and numbers and things like that around the venue in Dhaka," Nitschke said.

"We don't get there much. There was a possibility we could have gone to the World Cup and that's the first time you were there.

"You wouldn't want that to happen."

Bangladesh will rely heavily on slow bowlers, sending down 44 overs of spin in their last home ODI against Pakistan.

"They play a different style of cricket to us, which probably suits their conditions," Nitshke said.

"They're quite crafty in what they do. They're quite slow through the air and they use the changes of pace really effectively."

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March Madness expert picks: Our bracket predictions for 2024 NCAA men's tournament

Editor's note: Follow all of the men's March Madness action, scores and highlights here with USA TODAY Sports' live coverage.

The experts have dissected the men's NCAA Tournament bracket , providing sleepers, Final Four matchups and upset predictions. Your chances of filling out a perfect bracket are miniscule , but maybe you need a few tips to win your office pool. We've got you covered with a look at how to pick an upset and a look historically at how the seeds have performed in the NCAA Tournament.

Still need help? Here's a closer look at each region: East , West , South , Midwest

Three of our five USA TODAY experts have UConn as their picks to win the national title on April 8. Here are our expert picks:

WOMEN'S PICKS: Our bracket predictions for 2024 NCAA women's tournament

FOLLOW THE MADNESS: NCAA basketball bracket, scores, schedules, teams and more.

Jordan Mendoza

Full bracket

• Final Four : UConn, Arizona, Houston, Creighton
• Final : UConn vs. Houston
• National champion : UConn

Paul Myerberg

• Final Four: Iowa State, North Carolina, Houston, Creighton
• Final: Iowa State vs. Houston
• National champion: Houston

Erick Smith

• Final Four: Iowa State, Baylor, Houston, Purdue
• Final : Iowa State vs. Purdue
• National champion: Iowa State

Eddie Timanus

• Final Four : UConn, North Carolina, Houston, Purdue
• Final: UConn vs. Purdue
• National champion: UConn
• Final Four: UConn, Saint Mary's, Houston, Creighton
• Final: UConn vs. Houston