My Weekend as Sports Director at RideLondon Women's World Tour Race
by Meg Smith
Last week, I lined up as the sports director for the Das-Hutchinson Brother Women's Continental Team at the RideLondon Classique, a prestigious three-day race on the Women's World Tour calendar. We found ourselves lined up against 11 World Tour teams and eight top-tier continental teams, including the likes of SD Worx, DSM, Uno-X Mobility, and Jayco AlUla. Among the competitors were the world champion, Lotte Kopecky, and several national champions.
The UCI (governing body of cycling) categorises teams into 3 divisions. The first division is UCI World Teams, the second is ProTeams and the third is Continental Teams. However in women’s cycling, currently there are only World teams and Continental teams.
Sometimes, Continental teams are invited to participate in World Tour events, usually through wildcard invitations. As an underdog team, our goals were realistic yet ambitious. Our lineup of riders is outstanding, and we were eager to prove ourselves against the best in the world.
My Role as the Only Female Staff Member
Being the only female staff member, my responsibilities varied, but my primary role for this race was as the DS (Directeur Sportif). This involved all technical and tactical race planning, delivering instructions to the riders over the radios during the race, and conducting race briefings and debriefings.Stage Highlights
Stage 1: Unfortunately, we had a setback with one rider abandoning due to a severe concussion from a crash. However, the remaining 5 riders had a great finish, to secure a spot in the top 25 after a fast uphill sprint finish.
Stage 2: Our team delivered a strong performance, finishing with the front group in Maldon town center, holding 24th place on GC after a long day in the saddle.
Stage 3: The final stage was a spectacular experience, lining up on The Mall in front of Buckingham Palace and racing 10 laps of a 10k circuit. Driving on closed roads through London at such speeds was an incredible experience. Our Norwegian rider, with the support of her teammates, claimed a sensational 12th place on the stage.
Achievements and Reflections
Our team met our goals: finishing in the top 25 on GC and securing a top 15 stage finish. I couldn't be prouder of our riders; they proved themselves among the world's best. Our staff and support team pulled together to create an environment for our riders to excel.
Onwards and upwards to our next challenges: the British National Championships, followed by the Tour of Poland and the Tour of Portugal.