This is a parallel subject to that of the Men’s Hopes category (read here). This Saturday, there will be a race within the race during the Women’s Elite World Championship as the Espoirs will compete for the rainbow jersey in the U23 category at the same time as the scratch title. And this for the last time since the UCI has decided to create a Women’s U23 Road World Championship from 2025, with a baptism of fire in Rwanda. However, David Lappartient, on the occasion of a press conference which he held at the Palais des Congrès in Zurich, this Saturday morning, and at which DirectVelo was present, confirmed that “athletes who belong to WorldTeams will not be able to” compete in this U23 World Cup.
Next year, the ProTeam division – the second division in the world -, located between the WorldTeam and the Continentals, will see the light of day for women. However, the initial idea was to also deprive the girls who play in ProTeam from this Mondial Espoirs, in order to model the new regulations on those of the Men. But the UCI could backtrack. “With the creation of ProTeams for women, that’s a lot of changes at once, and a need for adaptation”concedes David Lappartient.
A DECISION STILL NOT SURE FOR THE 2025 WORLD
Above all, the question of the homogeneity and density of the women’s peloton still exists, although things have evolved favorably in recent seasons. “We cannot hide the fact that it is still difficult to compare the U23 Women and U23 Men squads. We cannot nip the U23 Women’s category in the bud by creating a U20 World Cup with a peloton that is not sufficiently stocked and coherent”analyzes the President of the UCI, who admits that the world body will “take the time to analyze” the number of riders under 23 who will play in the world’s second division next year before making a final decision.
It is therefore not yet decided whether the girls who will play in the second world division next year will be able to compete, or not, in the World Championship in Rwanda among the Espoirs. But there is no doubt that the UCI’s desire is, at least in the medium term, to deprive the ProTeam girls of the U23 World Cup. In any case, this will already be the case for WorldTour competitors on January 1st.
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