Marianne Vos of the Netherlands completed an irresistible win in La Course, the one-day women’s race organised by the Tour de France, outsprinting a select group that included last year’s champion and the recent winner of the Giro Rosa, Annemiek van Vleuten.
Vos, who won the first edition of La Course in Paris in 2014, put in a devastating sprint in the final 150m of the circuit race in Pau to leave her rivals trailing in her wake.
“I was well positioned just behind the Sunweb train,” Vos said. “We came to that final corner to the steep hill and on instinct I just went from the bottom, full gas to the finish. When I came around the last corner I saw I had quite a good lead. Lactic acid was everywhere but it was quite a good feeling.”
While Vos celebrated an impressive success, it was a less than auspicious day for Lizzie Deignan of Great Britain, who endured a series of misfortunes in the 121km race, based on the men’s individual time trial circuit.
“I was pretty unfortunate today,” Deignan said. “I had two bike changes, both at the bottom of the climb where everything kicked off, and the second was when all the attacks came so it was pretty much race over for me.”
But Deignan, who is building her form steadily towards this autumn’s Yorkshire-based UCI World Road Championships, added that her legs felt “pretty good”. “I’m pretty happy with myself,” she said, after finishing in 77th place, more than 11 minutes behind Vos. She is now heading to Japan to reconnoitre the 2020 Olympic Games course.
Despite a series of statements of intent both from ASO, the parent company of the Tour de France, and the UCI, cycling’s governing body presided over by David Lappartient, the return of a standalone women’s Tour de France appears as distant as ever.
Vos, who was one of the figureheads of a movement lobbying for a greater profile for women’s racing six years ago, prior to the first edition of La Course, was diplomatic when asked if she felt real progress had been made. “Women’s cycling is not only La Course,” Vos said. “It has been growing over the last five years, with bigger teams and better organisation and better riders.
“The level of the field is growing and getting more depth. I think it’s getting more and more professional, but La Course is one moment in the year when the whole world is watching and that’s a big plus for women’s cycling.
“A lot of things are changing. The calendar is growing and getting bigger. The teams are getting bigger, but not a bigger roster, so at the moment it’s more important to change the calendar a bit than to add more and more races. You want the best teams in the best races in the world.”
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