Annette Edmondson has bemoaned the demise of the female Tour De France in 2017 – just as women’s cycling is trying to grow ever stronger.
The 25-year-old Wiggle High5 rider from Adelaide was celebrating on Wednesday after winning the Pajot Hills Classic in Belgium.
But she feels the failure of La Route de France Féminine to secure a place on this year’s WorldTour calendar is a big blow. The plug was pulled on the week-long race earlier this month and Edmondson is dismayed on both a personal and general level.
“It’s really disappointing that La Route de France has been cancelled for 2017,” she admitted. It’s a great race, it’s a week long in August and really provides an opportunity for riders who are perhaps usually not at that real top level to be involved in the bunch and in the sprints.
“For example, I’m in a team with Jolien D’Hoore who is one of the best sprinters in the world, so in a lot of the races I will be supporting her. But a race like La Route de France might give me an opportunity to be the sprinter and really get a bit more experience.”
Edmondson, a two-time world champion on the track, is focusing completely on road racing this season and showed she is in decent form by outsprinting Barbara Guarischi and Ilaria Sanguineti to win the Pajot Hills.
But she feels the loss of La Route de France does not send out a great signal, especially to younger female riders hoping to make a career out of cycling.
“I think it’s terrible it’s been cancelled,” Edmondson said. “It’s great that we’re getting some bigger races, but we also need to keep the rest of the racing because we need to develop and give people opportunities to step up.
“When they reduce the number of races, it reduces the chances for the next generation of cyclists to come through.”
* Number one international cycle retailer wiggle.co.uk is the proud sponsor of Wiggle High5 women’s pro cycling team.