Women
Latest news, races, and stories from women's professional cycling
50 articles
2026 UCI Road World Championships
'I was actually happy and then I heard Marlen was coming' – Riders react to women's Worlds time trial
Reusser raced without time gaps, Vollering lost focus as the champion approached, and Bäckstedt fought through the final climb for silver on Montréal’s demanding 39.2km course.
Racing
‘This season has not delivered the sporting results’, Blanka Vas joins Lidl-Trek after requesting SD Worx-Protime exit
Vas will switch teams on 1 October with a contract through 2028, seeking a fresh environment and chances to lead after a season that fell short of both sides’ ambitions.
Feature
Introducing Race Atlas, 20 seasons of Grand Tour racing on one interactive map
Find stages near you, revisit a favourite edition or trace a climb’s racing history. Race Atlas brings men’s and women’s Grand Tours together through more than 1,270 mapped routes.
Racing
'Healthier and happier than ever', Fem van Empel reflects on life nine months into career pause
The three-time cyclocross world champion remains unsure whether she will return to cycling, pursue another sport or take her life in a different direction.
Industry
From speed skating to SD Worx, Eline Jansen follows a proven path into the WorldTour
The 24-year-old Dutch rider has signed through 2028 after turning victories in Brittany and Tour de France Femmes top-10 finishes into a move to the Women's WorldTour team.
Lloyds Tour of Britain Women
Lorena Wiebes won four stages, and her Tour of Britain rivals helped make it happen
Sprint teams repeatedly spent their riders closing attacks, only to deliver the fastest finisher in the race to another ideal position. The alternative carried greater risk, but the established formula kept producing the same winner.
Lloyds Tour of Britain Women
'We've got to get there in one piece', Kim Le Court targets Tour of Britain Women GC redemption
Third in Blackpool and 14 seconds off the lead, the Mauritian champion enters two climbing-heavy Welsh stages with a chance to overturn last year's disappointment.
Racing
'The spring was a bit underwhelming', Pfeiffer Georgi embraces freedom to attack at Tour of Britain Women
After serious neck injuries and a difficult start to 2026, Georgi hopes aggressive racing on familiar roads can help her find momentum during the second half of the season.
Lloyds Tour of Britain Women
'Last year we focused a lot on GC and then it didn't happen like that' – Wiebes cautious over Tour of Britain overall bid
The stage one winner will assess her overall prospects day by day, with SD Worx-Protime able to pursue stage wins and protect several potential GC riders.
Lloyds Tour of Britain Women
'I would like to give it a chance' – Zoe Backstedt weighs Tour of Britain Women GC bid
The British road and time-trial champion enters the five-stage race without pressure, giving Canyon//SRAM a second overall option alongside Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig.
Racing
'I hope there's enough wind to pull some echelons' - Lars Boom targets Tour of Britain Women stage 1 splits
FDJ United-Suez has several routes through a demanding five-stage race, but its immediate plan depends on crosswinds disrupting the opening day along Cumbria's exposed coast.
Lloyds Tour of Britain Women
Live rider power comes to women’s Tour of Britain broadcast in WorldTour first
Speed, power and rider positions will feed broadcast graphics, commentary and social coverage across the women’s and men’s races, starting with the five-stage women’s event on August 19.
Lloyds Tour of Britain Women
How to Watch the Tour of Britain Women 2026 Live – Free Streams, TV Coverage & VPN Access from Anywhere
The UCI Women's WorldTour race runs from Cockermouth to Royal Leamington Spa on 19-23 August, with free UK coverage on ITV4, ITVX and YouTube, live stages on TNT Sports and HBO Max, and free streams on SBS in Australia.
Lloyds Tour of Britain Women
Tour of Britain Women 2026 favourites: Le Court and Kopecky head a powerful field, with the Great Orme as main GC test
Five demanding stages give the overall contenders few places to hide. The exposed Cumbrian opener and a decisive uphill finish in Wales should shape the contest before Royal Leamington Spa.
Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2026
Tour de France Femmes passes 100 million European viewing hours as digital records tumble
The 2026 race was broadcast in 190 countries, while official channels generated 241 million video views and the French television audience share reached a new high.
Lloyds Tour of Britain Women
Zoe Backstedt embraces challenging Tour of Britain Women as British field takes shape
Lauren Dickson is scheduled to return from injury, while Tour de France Femmes riders and Commonwealth medallists feature in the provisional field for the expanded race.
Feature
Women’s cycling is faster and better funded than ever. So why is the Grand Tour speed gap growing?
Investment, salaries and coverage have transformed the women’s peloton. An analysis of Grand Tour stages and World Championship time trials finds clear progress in speed, but no evidence of convergence with the men.
Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2026
Tour de France Femmes reaches 23.2 million French viewers as full-stage broadcasting case grows
France 2 recorded the race’s highest average audience share yet, while 5.1 million viewers watched at the Ventoux stage’s peak. Full-stage coverage remained limited and the reported totals conflict.
Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2026
Show every kilometre first before adding more stages - What next for the Tour de France Femmes?
The nine-stage race already delivers close, aggressive racing. Better live coverage and wider free access offer a clearer route to growth than immediately stretching the format.
Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2026
‘This déjà vu came back’ – Vollering turns tables to her favour after seizing Tour de France Femmes lead with stage 8 win
The FDJ United-Suez leader turned a 15-second deficit into an eight-second advantage in Nice, then disclosed the knee problem that disrupted her winter preparation.
Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2026
'It's gonna be brutal, 100%' - Marlen Reusser takes her 12-second Tour lead onto Mont Ventoux
The yellow jersey has ridden the Tour’s summit finish only once, but believes its long, sustained gradient may suit her better than the climbs already faced.
Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2026
'I was asleep. I don't know what I did', Reusser keeps yellow but sprint lapse leaves Vollering just 12 seconds back
Vollering cut her deficit to 12 seconds with an aggressive victory, while Reusser retained yellow but blamed herself for losing momentum in the decisive sprint.
Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2026
Mont Brouilly leaves the Tour de France Femmes podium race looking like a three-rider contest
The first major climbing selection gave the race a clear leading tier, but Mont Ventoux still stands between Wednesday’s evidence and a settled podium.
Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2026
Why Tour de France Femmes stage 5 could break the GC race open
Time-trial losses have given several powerful teams an incentive to attack on a twisting Beaujolais route where positioning and descending may matter more than altitude.
Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2026
French viewers embrace women's racing as 2.17 million watch Tour de France Femmes opener
France 2 secured a 27.6% audience share for the Lausanne opener before its post-stage programme retained 1.65 million viewers in a competitive evening slot.
Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2026
The Tour de France Femmes deserves better than a paywall and five-minute YouTube highlights in the UK
British viewers can watch every stage through TNT Sports and HBO Max, but the free evening programme offered for the men’s Tour has disappeared from the schedule.
Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2026
Wiebes survives rivals' best chance to crack her, and four more Tour de France Femmes stage 1 talking points
Late attacks could not dislodge the sprint favourite in Lausanne, while crashes, early GC losses and a fruitless Lidl-Trek move shaped a tense opening stage.
Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2026
How to watch the Tour de France Femmes 2026: Free live stages, TV coverage and streaming from anywhere
Every stage is available live in several major markets, with free coverage in Australia and parts of Europe. Find the correct broadcaster, subscription price and daily start time, plus guidance for following your usual service while travelling.
Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2026
Tour de France Femmes 2026 route and favourites analysis: Ventoux towers over nine days of racing drama
The 1,175km route combines a Dijon time trial, repeated technical climbs, a Mont Ventoux summit finish and four ascents of the Col d’Èze. Here is every classified climb, each finish approach and the leading jersey contenders.
Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2026
Canyon-SRAM's new Tour kit launches ten-year push to bring 1,000 women to cycling events each year
We Femmes will begin with free, no-drop rides before moving into a wider programme shaped by participant feedback and annual public reports.
Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2026
After missing an Olympic medal by 0.13 seconds, speed skater Sandrine Tas gets Tour de France Femmes debut
The 30-year-old Belgian only began her professional road career in April, but two stage wins in Brittany have secured her place in Lotto Intermarché Ladies' seven-rider squad.
Racing
'I didn’t expect to reach World Tour level so quickly': Kate Courtney turns road experiment into immediate FDJ United-Suez deal
The mountain-bike world champion and new USA road champion has secured a contract through 2028, with her first WorldTour start scheduled for August.
Feature
From the peloton to the people: Iris Slappendel's mission to build cycling's most welcoming brand
The former Dutch national champion launched IRIS in 2017 to make women's cycling kit she actually wanted to wear. Nine years later, the clothing may be the least important thing she sells.
News
Blanka Vas steps back from racing over health problems, ending six-year run as Hungarian champion
The SD Worx-Protime rider said on Instagram that she had stopped training and could not start the Hungarian national road championships this weekend, ending her title defence before it began.
Racing
Lael Wilcox abandons around-the-world record bid after 14 days as European heatwave triggers heat exhaustion
Wilcox stopped near Fontainebleau on her support team's advice after being nauseous every day and vomiting on her final ride. She had been targeting Mark Beaumont's outright record of 78 days.
Tour de Suisse Women
'I just don't feel satisfied about my performance,' Longo-Borghini loses yellow to Reusser but stays within 10 seconds ahead of mountain finale
Marlen Reusser won the 23.7km Aarburg time trial and took yellow, but Elisa Longo-Borghini's frustration was with her own execution rather than the GC gap, and she heads into the decisive final stage in striking range.
Tour de Suisse Women
'It was now or never': Bäckstedt claims second win of the year after surviving Tour de Suisse sprint chaos
Bäckstedt credited her Canyon-SRAM teammates for the stage 3 victory in Bad Ragaz, but it was her own improvisation inside the final kilometre that turned a messy lead-out into a decisive long-range sprint.
Tour de Suisse Women
'We stay humble and we keep working', Elisa Longo-Borghini remains grounded after going into Suisse lead with solo stage win
The Italian champion went clear on the final climb to win stage 2 solo and pull on the yellow jersey, with family and friends watching close to her home near Verbania, as a difficult season continues to turn.
Tour de Suisse Women
Tour de Suisse Women 2026 preview: Reusser defends on home roads with 23.7km time trial as major GC factor
A talent packed startlist is set to race on Swiss roads as Demi Vollering takes break after winning the Giro, but a demanding five-stage route with a flat TT and a brutal mountain finale means the GC battle is far from settled.
Giro d'Italia Women
'My finish line was on the top of that climb', Demi Vollering reveals how FDJ United-SUEZ's all-in gamble delivered the maglia rosa
Vollering explained the tactical raid that turned a 49-second deficit into a Giro d'Italia Women title, describing how she told Niedermaier to go up the road, accepted the risk of losing even her podium place, and treated the final climb as the only finish line that mattered.
Giro d'Italia Women
'The weirdest finish line of my life', Vollering wins as ice sheet forces queen stage to end 1km short of the Finestre summit
An unstable ice sheet above the road forced organisers to cut the queen stage short on the Colle delle Finestre, removing the descent and Sestriere summit finish entirely. The late change reshaped tactics, fueling and the GC battle with one stage to go.
Giro d'Italia Women
'It was perfect', Vollering wins her first Giro stage but Van der Breggen still controls pink after first mountain test
FDJ United-Suez executed a textbook tactical stage, placing Lauren Dickson in the breakaway before relaying her back to support Demi Vollering on the climbs. Van der Breggen kept the maglia rosa, but Niedermaier signalled she is ready for what comes next.
News
'We need more women to prove what's possible', Lael Wilcox targets Beaumont's outright around-the-world record from June 7
The women's circumnavigation record holder will depart Chicago at 4:00 a.m. on Sunday, aiming to cover 29,000 km in under 78 days with a full support crew for the first time in her career.
Giro d'Italia Women
‘I know a time trial is always different than a road race', Van der Breggen takes pink in dominant Nevegal TT but braces for rain and brutal Giro climbs
Anna van der Breggen won the 12.7km uphill time trial by more than a minute to seize the Maglia Rosa, but with a depleted SD Worx-Protime team and wet mountain stages ahead, defending it may be harder than winning it.
Giro d'Italia Women
Chiara Consonni fined for 'inappropriate behaviour' after pulling bike from beneath fallen rider at Giro d'Italia
The Canyon//SRAM rider was penalised by the race jury after forcefully freeing her bike from a crashed Thalita de Jong on the road to Buja, in an incident the commissaires ruled damaged cycling's image.
Giro d'Italia Women
Balsamo leads a tightened Giro sprint hierarchy, but Gillespie, Consonni and Kool are close enough to keep it live
Lorena Wiebes' disqualification removed the dominant sprinter from the Giro d'Italia Women. Two stages in, Elisa Balsamo has capitalised, but the margins behind her suggest the remaining bunch finishes are far from settled.
Feature
Lorena Wiebes’ 20-gram disqualification shows the UCI's minimum weight rule should be abolished
The UCI's 6.8kg bike weight limit was introduced in 2000. Twenty-six years later, it still carries an automatic expulsion for a margin smaller than a handful of tyre sealant.
Giro d'Italia Women
Lorena Wiebes expelled from Giro d'Italia Women after bike fails minimum weight rule, Elisa Balsamo inherits Maglia Rosa
The Stage 1 result in Ravenna was revised after the jury found Wiebes' bike did not comply with minimum weight requirements. Balsamo will start Stage 2 in pink.
Giro d'Italia Women
Vollering the clear Giro d'Italia favourite as Longo Borghini and Reusser return for a race shaped by Nevegal and Finestre
The 2026 Giro d'Italia Women starts Saturday in Cesenatico with a route built for climbers and time triallists. Demi Vollering arrives as the rider everyone else must answer, but the defending champion and a comeback story add genuine tension behind her.
Giro d'Italia Women
'We are happy to draw a line', CANYON//SRAM terminates zondacrypto partnership with immediate effect citing breaches of contract
The Women's WorldTour team has ended its co-title sponsorship deal with the Polish cryptocurrency exchange amid weeks of legal and financial turmoil, reverting to CANYON//SRAM ahead of the Giro d'Italia Women.