Anyone watching women’s cycling in the spring needs strong nerves and a clear diary. Omloop Nieuwsblad, Strade Bianche, Milan–San Remo, Ronde van Brugge, Gent–Wevelgem, Dwars door Vlaanderen, Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix, Amstel Gold Race, Flèche Wallonne, Liège–Bastogne–Liège: Almost every major men’s classic now has its female counterpart. And it is precisely these races that have demonstrated in recent years what women’s cycling is capable of. Franziska Koch beating Marianne Vos in a sprint finish at the legendary Roubaix velodrome – just the thought of it still gives me goosebumps. Equality on the calendar has long since ceased to be a mere promise in the spring; it is a reality. This makes the contrast all the more stark when the leaves begin to fall.
A missed autumn for women’s cycling
Let’s take a look at the second half of the 2026 season. The Tour de Romandie Féminin and the Tour of Guangxi have been cancelled, and the Simac Ladies Tour has lost its WorldTour status. What remains for women’s cycling after the Tour de France Femmes can be listed quickly: the Tour of Britain, the Classic Lorient Agglomération and the Tour of Chongming Island. The latter is a three-day stage race with three completely flat sprint finishes. With all due respect to the sprinters: a season’s highlight looks rather different. Speaking of falling leaves: a ‘race of the falling leaves’ (the Tour of Lombardy) simply does not exist for women.
Then there’s the figure that actually took me by surprise when I was doing the maths. Between 29 August and 9 October, there wasn’t a single race day in the Women’s WorldTour. That’s 40 days of inactivity in the sport’s top racing series. 40! Of course, the World Championships in Montréal took place in between. But a World Championships is no substitute for a normal racing calendar: only a fraction of the peloton competes in it, many riders aren’t even selected, and their teams are left without a platform for their sponsors for weeks on end.
A look at the men
In the men’s race, such a gap would be simply unthinkable. There are still some real highlights in September and October: the two classics in Québec and Montréal, plus the Tour of Lombardy as the final Monument of the year. These are races steeped in history, with memorable faces and plenty of TV coverage. That’s exactly where the images that round off a season are captured.
I find the case of Canada particularly disappointing. This year’s World Championships took place in Montréal, of all places; the entire women’s cycling community was already there, as was the infrastructure. A women’s race in Québec or Montréal would have been the obvious choice. Instead, it was limited to the men’s event.
2027: better, but not good
The calendar for the coming season has been out for a few days now, and to be fair, it’s fair to say there’s been some movement. The Vuelta España Femenina is being moved to the end of the season and will follow directly on from the men’s Vuelta. That’s a real boon for the autumn. However, it isn’t being added to the calendar, but rather rescheduled. What the autumn gains, the spring loses.
And the fundamental problem remains. Following the Tour de Romandie Féminin in mid-September, there is once again a gap of just under three weeks before the Vuelta begins in early October. There are no World Championships taking place during this period either. September, of all months – when the men are racing their classics in Canada and many female riders are peaking in form – remains largely empty on the Women’s WorldTour calendar.
What women’s cycling needs now
Cosmetic changes to the calendar aren’t enough. Women’s cycling needs a real highlight this autumn – ideally one that isn’t just a carbon copy of the men’s races.
A major, selective one-day classic in September would be the obvious next step. A hilly race in which climbers and classics specialists alike have a chance, either as a dress rehearsal for the World Championships or as the season finale. The Women’s Tour of Lombardy may sound like a dream, but you can’t conjure up a Monument out of thin air. A race with a clear profile and a fixed place in the calendar, however, is certainly possible.
I’d find a stage race even more exciting – one that doesn’t exist in the men’s calendar. Women’s cycling has proven in recent years that it can sustain its own formats. Why not a compact, challenging stage race in the autumn that deliberately focuses on excitement rather than distance? Five days, varied terrain, a mountain finish, a time trial. That would be a race that doesn’t need to measure up to the men’s calendar, but sets its own standards.
The riders are ready – you can tell simply from the fact that almost all the top riders are competing in the entire race calendar. The teams are more professional than ever, and the public has long since shown in the spring that they are tuning in. Now it’s down to the UCI and the organisers. A 40-day radio silence should not be allowed to happen again.
Leon Weidner
Editor