The various women's cycling competitions

Do you know the different cycling competitions for women held at the international level? Road cycling World Championships and ITT, UCI World Tour, Olympics, Women’s Tour de France… a brief overview of the main bicycle races for ladies and the winners.

The Women’s Cycling World Championship

This is the very first women’s cycling competition organized on a global scale! The first edition took place in 1958. It was won by the one nicknamed the "Grand Duchess of the little queen," Elsy Jacobs.

Since its inception, the event has been orchestrated annually by the International Cycling Union (UCI) at the end of the cycling season. The elite category competition consists of a road race, an individual time trial, and a mixed relay team time trial.

The Women’s Cycling World Championship has given rise to stars such as Jeannie Longo, a record-breaker on both road and track.

The UCI also organizes world championships in other disciplines like MTB, BMX, and cyclo-cross. Similarly, cyclists compete every year for the title of European champion.

The Women’s UCI World Tour

The Women’s UCI World Tour is an annual circuit that brings together the most prestigious road cycling competitions for women. All the top names in cycling compete here!

Launched in 2016, the series of races replaced the former World Cup established in 1998. American cyclist Megan Guarnier clinched the top spot in the inaugural rankings.

In 2021, the Women’s UCI World Tour is in its 6th edition. All teams labeled "WorldTeam" must participate in all the events of the circuit, a new rule since 2020.

The 9 teams participating in the 2021 women’s season:

• FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine-Futuroscope (France);

• Alé BTC Ljubljana (Italy);

• Canyon-SRAM Racing (Germany);

• DSM (Netherlands);

• Liv Racing (Netherlands);

• SD Worx (Netherlands);

• Movistar (Spain);

• BikeExchange (Australia);

• Trek-Segafredo (United States).

Among the events, we find classics with one-day races like Paris-Roubaix Femmes, La Flèche Wallonne Féminine, La Course by Le Tour de France, Amstel Gold Race Ladies Edition. The UCI calendar also includes prestigious stage races, such as the Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta or the Giro Rosa (Women’s Tour of Italy).

Leading the provisional standings at the end of September 2021 with 5,409 points, Dutch rider Annemiek van Vleuten once again proves her status as a great lady of women’s cycling.

Women’s Olympic Cycling

Road cycling made its debut in the Olympic program in 1984, in the form of a road race. Cyclist Connie Carpenter secured the very first Olympic title for the United States! The silver stayed on American soil with the performance of Rebecca Twigg, while the bronze went to German Sandra Schumacher.

From 1996 onwards, an individual time trial event is also held at the Olympics each year. Other Olympic disciplines opened up to women later on: track cycling in 1988, MTB in 1996, and BMX in 2008.

In 2021, Austrian Anna Kiesenhofer became the Olympic road race champion. Annemiek van Vleuten won her first career gold medal in the time trial.

The International Women’s Tour de France

Formerly known as the "Women’s Cycling Tour," the International Women’s Tour de France succeeded the first Women’s Tour de France born in 1984 and ceased in 1989.

Jeannie Longo and Pierre Boué continued the idea of a women’s version of the Tour with the creation in 1992 of a stage race in France.

Unfortunately, financial instability, coupled with organisational problems, led to the end of the International Women’s Tour de France: 2009 was the last edition.

But the hope for a women’s Tour is not lost. Amaury Sport Organization (ASO) announced the return of an event in 2022, under the name Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.

The International Women’s Route de France

Though no longer active, the International Women’s Route de France was on the UCI calendar during its years of existence (2006-2016) in category 2.2, then 2.1.

With its ten editions, the stage race ranging from 500 to 1000 km saw the big names in women’s cycling compete, including the indomitable Annemiek van Vleuten.

Alas, the organising company Routes et Cycles decided to permanently cancel the competition due to a lack of media coverage and funding.

Competitions in France

The French Cycling Federation (FFC) organizes the French Road Cycling Championships for women annually since 1951. In 2021, Évita Muzic took the title for the road race and Audrey Cordon-Ragot stood atop the podium for the time trial.

In 2000, a new competition was introduced: the Women’s French Cup of Road Cycling. Similar to the UCI World Tour, riders compete in several events throughout the season. The winner of the 2019 edition was Lucier Jounier.