Form check women's cycling

Annemiek van Vleuten - The top favourite looks beatable

Even at the age of 39, the Dutchwoman is not tired of trying to win every race. When the going gets tough, the Team Movistar cyclist remains in a class of her own. With her frequent one-woman show, she won for the second time after 2019 at the Liège-Bastogne-Liège. The first attack on the Côte de la Redoute was unsuccessful - the Swiss rider Marlen Reißer was guarding her rear wheel from Team SD Worx - and the chasers closed the gap again. When Van Vleuten pushed herself into the saddle again on the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons, no rival was able to follow. Liane Lippert, who was often on the Dutchwoman's rear wheel in the races, said after the spring classics: "It worked out again for Annemiek with a solo victory - but it took a while. You could see that she's beatable this year." The evidence for this theory is obvious: in the Amstel Gold Race and at the Flèche Wallonne she lost out to the Italian Marta Cavalli. According to the peloton, the level in women's cycling has risen once again. After her victory in Liège, Van Vleuten stated that she had pedalled her highest wattage to date for over five minutes. So it doesn't get worse with age - rather the others get better. Nevertheless, following the retirement of her long-time rival Anna van der Breggen, van Vleuten remains the top favourite for the really tough stage races, the Giro d'Italia and the restart of the women's Tour de France

Marta Cavalli - A new face at the top

The Italian is the new face among the classics specialists. The 24-year-old from the FDJ-Nouvelle Aquitaine-Futuroscope team surprised her rivals and, above all, the favoured SD Worx team when she won the Amstel Gold Race took advantage of the hesitation in the leading group. At the apex of the final Cauberg climb, she took the lead and rode the last 1.5 kilometres solo to victory. It was the 2018 Italian road champion's biggest success to date. Ten days later, she also won the direct duel in the mountain sprint at Flèche Wallonne against Annemiek van Vleuten. "It's good for women's cycling that a surprise like Marta Cavalli is riding past Annemiek - that someone else is winning and that other nations are also involved," says Liane Lippert. The Italians are now the big challengers to the Dutch riders, with the current world champion Elisa Balsamo and Roubaix winner Elisa Longho Borghini (both Team Trek-Segafredo). For the competitors, the development of the now particularly wiry Italian from the village of San Bassano in the Po Valley was astonishing. "She was already on the radar. But if you think about where she comes from: she was a bit of a sprinter," recalls Lippert. Now Cavalli is still fast, but amazes her rivals with how easily she climbs the mountains. "She has really developed into a mountain racer in recent years. I think this is one that can fight for the podium at the Giro or the Tour - The way she rides on the mountain and looks relaxed at times," observed German competitor Lippert. The young Italian stepped into the breach for her team FDJ after team leader Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig missed an important part of the spring races due to coronavirus. "I also liked how well Team FDJ rode together," said Lippert. The team has established itself as an important challenger to the top teams SD Worx and Trek-Segafredo in the classics.

Lotte Kopecky - pioneering role in Belgium

Women's cycling still plays a minor role in Belgium. While female cyclists from the neighbouring country, the Netherlands, dominate the world elite, Belgium's women's cycling largely consists of a lone female fighter: but Lotte Kopecky is increasingly inspiring her compatriots - as a man, she would now be a kind of national hero, a kind of female Tom Boonen. The 26-year-old Flemish woman won the country's most important cycling race: the Tour of Flanders. Previously, Grace Verbeke was the only compatriot to achieve this in 2010, although she was unable to make a lasting impact in her home country. Kopecky has now celebrated her biggest victory to date in the Belgian champion's jersey. "I've been racing with her for a long time and have witnessed her development. It's very impressive how she has improved on the mountain", says competitor Liane Lippert. Until now, the Belgian was primarily regarded as a strong sprinter - together with her now retired compatriot Jolien D'hoore, she was world champion in the two-person team race (Madison) on the track in 2017. "You don't win Strade Bianche or the Tour of Flanders as a pure sprinter. "It's impressive how she can get over the mountains and then still sprint," is how Lippert describes it: "The classics are her territory." Was the switch to SD Worx a decisive factor? "That's one of the keys to her success," says Lippert. The numerical superiority of the Belgian racing team is particularly effective when you have a strong sprint specialist like Kopecky in your ranks. The woman from Rumst has what it takes to be a Flandrienne - a strong classics specialistthat the Flemish fans love. "In Belgium, they are very focussed on men's cycling. And then there's Lotte Kopecky. But there's still more to come in women's cycling in Belgium!" says Lippert. The Tour of Flanders winner is in the process of paving the way over the cobblestones to great fame for her fellow women.

Liane Lippert - Finally a result!

It was the best classic campaign so far this spring for the cyclist from Lake Constance. Third place in the Amstel Gold RaceLiane Lippert is now one of the world's best, having also finished third in the similarly demanding Arrow of Brabant. "It meant a lot to me that I finished on the podium there - it was just necessary for me to get a result. And it was nice that it continued straight after that - with another podium in Brabant. All in all, I'm quite happy, even if I didn't quite make it onto the podium at Flèche Wallonne and in Liège," says the 24-year-old. This was followed by top ten finishes at Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège at the end of April. "The mountains are a bit different in these races - a bit steeper and a bit longer. I would have to train a bit more to be able to ride with the top women in the world. It just wasn't enough - I was the first one who couldn't keep up with the top six or seven," says Lippert. Nevertheless, a strong spring after missing the Tour of Flanders due to a Covid infection.

It's on to the tough stage races. Lippert regrets that she will not be able to take part in the Tour of Thuringia this year due to her busy schedule in the Women's WorldTour - the race that once brought her her breakthrough and paved the way to a professional contract with Team DSM. Internationally, the German race has been left behind, with the top teams focussing on appearances in the women's Giro d'Italia and the restart of the women's Tour de France after a break of several years. Lippert does not yet know which race she will be sent to by her Dutch team. If she had the choice, the woman from Lake Constance would, like many female cyclists, opt to start in the Tour. "It's the first time I've done it, it's something special." She has her eye on the stages with a classics profile in particular. "The overall classification will be difficult. I've looked at the profiles - there are mountain finishes of several kilometres," she estimates. The European Championships in Munich follow in August. "The European Championships are nice because it's a home race in Munich - but the course is flat." Rather nothing for Lippert, but she plans to be at the start as a helper for a strong sprinting team-mate like Lisa Brennauer. Autumn still has a lot in store. "The World Championships are a big goal for me," says Lippert about the season highlight in Wollongong, Australia, in September. "Many people underestimate the course, I think," says Lippert, referring to the elevation profile and metres of climbing to be completed. Classics specialists with strong climbing skills should have a good chance. "I'm looking forward to the course. There's a kicker in there - I like that kind of thing," she says, referring to the climb in the course, which could be a starting ramp to winning a medal.