37 in 2021, 71 in 2022
The number of race days will be a much nicer one to look at in 2022. It has grown to 71 last Thursday when the Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta announced that it will be extending its stage race from four days to five.
The last two years were hard on everybody and everything. Women’s cycling was no exception. Only 37 race days happened in 2021 and due to the pandemic, the 2020 season ended with mere 21 days of racing. We can look back to 2019 as the last normal year. 54 days of racing happened then.
A lot of new events will take place in 2022. The most prestigious addition to the calendar will be the Tour de France Femmes, which now replaces La Course. However, there is also the stage race around the RideLondon event or the Battle of the North. 10 stage races are set to happen.
The changes are bound to have an effect on the women‘s peloton, which was recognised by Lizzie Deignan (Trek-Segafredo) in a recent press conference.
“In my position, as a leader in women’s cycling over the last five, ten years, whatever. I’ve kind of had to be on form all the time because we’re expected to be able to win on lots of different terrains but I think the more professional the sport is getting the more specialist people are becoming.
“So I think you’ll see specific teams developing as you do in the men’s cycling. That you have a spring team [for the Classics] and then, you know, a grand tour team or whatever.”
Do you agree with her? We can‘t wait for the season to start and find out.
