Many of the top women's teams in the world, and in North America, will head to round six of the UCI World Cup, Philadelphia Cycling Classic, held in Pennsylvania on June 7.
Some of the international teams are in the US to race in a series of UCI events and were at the Winston-Salem Cycling Classic in North Carolina on Sunday before heading up to Canada for the double Grand Prix Cycliste de Gatineau road race (June 4) and the Chrono de Gatineau individual time trial (June 5).
The women's race in Philadelphia was registered as a World Cup from 1998 until 2001, as the Liberty Classic, and then downgraded to a Category 1 event until this year.
Organisers have used the same course design as the previous two years with the start-finish line at the top of the circuit’s main climb on the Manayunk Wall. Riders will follow a 19.2km circuit that includes climbs over Lemon Hill, Strawberry Mansion and flat sections along Kelly Drive. The women will race for six laps and roughly 115km.
Anna van der Breggen is currently leading the World Cup series with 290 points, however, her team Rabo-Liv is not registered to compete in the event. Annemiek Van Vleuten (Bigla Pro Cycling Team) is second with 226 and Jolien D'hoore (Wiggle-Honda) is third with 220.
Watch the live streaming of the Philadelphia International Cycling Classic live on Cyclingnews on June 7. The men's UCI 1.1 will kick off the live coverage at 8:00am followed by the women's World Cup at 12:30pm (EDT).
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To view the Philadelphia Cycling Classic start list please click here.
La Course by Le Tour de France announces 20 teams
Organisers of La Course by Le Tour de France announced on Tuesday the 20 teams that will compete in the second edition of the race held on July 26 along the Champs-Élysées in Paris.
The teams will include Rabo-Liv Woman Cycling, the outfit of the defending champion Marianne Vos. Teams also include Orica-Ais, Lotto Soudal Ladies, lensworld.EU-Zannata, Topsport Vlaanderen-Pro-Duo, Bizkaia-Durango, Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies, UnitedHealthcare, Poitou Chanteres Futurescope 86, Wiggle-Honda, Matrix Fitness, Alé-Cipollini, Inpa Sottoli Giusfredi, Hitec Products, Boels-Dolmans, Liv-Plantur, BTC City Ljubljana, Bigla and the French national team.
Leth recovering from Winston-Salem crash injuries
Danish time trial champion Julie Leth (Hitec Products) suffered a crash in the Winston-Salem Cycling Classic on Sunday and is recovering from a “broken jaw, elbow, and some crush damage in her vertebrae,” said the team’s Karl Lima.
"She had surgery today for the jaw, while the other two injuries will be healed without operation," Lima added. "She is a tough girl and has a remarkable [sense of] humour through it all. Our DS Steven Sergeant has stayed with her round the clock, which has no doubt helped her through the traumas. The girls have also visited twice, but her father arrives tonight to get her back to Denmark."
Leth crashed early during the women's race on a downhill where she hit a dip in the road. She was taken to a hospital and treated for her injuries and the team noted that she will be transported back to Denmark early this week.
The team also stated in a press release that Leth is “expected to be out of cycling for 10-12 weeks. Considering the conditions, she is fine, and it looks like she will be fully recovered from the injuries.”
Her injuries have forced her to pull out of the European Games, the Danish Championships and Nordsjørittet.
Hitec Products will continue racing in North America at Grand Prix Cycliste de Gatineau road race and the Chrono de Gatineau individual time trial in Canada, and the Philadelphia World Cup.
Laws to lead Bigla at Aviva Women's Tour
Sharon Laws will lead her Bigla Pro Cycling Team at the upcoming Aviva Women’s Tour held from June 17 to 21 in the Britain. Laws will aim to defend her title as the events Queen of the Mountains earned in last year’s race. The team will also include Dutch and Finnish National Champions Iris Slappendel and Lotta Lepistö along with Vera Koedooder, Emilie Aubry and Caroline Baur.
"The Aviva Women's Tour is a race we are very much looking forward to," Team Manager Thomas Campana said. "Since the inception of the race, what they have added to the growth of women's cycling has been impressive. Growing women's cycling is a focus for us so we're really excited to be invited to the race and will look to make an impact and respect this invite."
Weaver joins Liv-Plantur
Briton Molly Weaver is the newest addition to the Liv-Plantur women’s cycling team, as of June 1, announced the team on Tuesday. She joined the team from Matrix Fitness.
"It is a great opportunity for me, and I am looking forward to riding for Team Liv-Plantur," Weaver said. "The team is known for its vision on rider development, and it is great to see the teamwork they are promoting. It’s not just about one leader, but about developing young riders and investing in them.
"This year I signed with a UCI Women’s Team for the first time and achieved some good results. Now it’s amazing that I can take the next step in my career already. I see myself as an all-rounder, good in one-day races on harder courses and as a potential GC contender in the future."
Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.
Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.
