Tour de France Femmes inspires

Women’s cycling is on the rise. The number of races broadcast on television is increasing and more and more girls are getting on their racing bikes. A few days after the finish of the Tour de France Femmes, in which the growing media attention for women’s cycling was clearly noticeable, five girls who will ride tomorrow in the pink or yellow jersey talk about their dreams for the future.

The youngest pink jersey wearer will be Hilène Drent from category 1 tomorrow. The Jeugdtour is an exciting competition for her. “There are many foreign riders. Normally I know my opponents and how strong they are. That is not the case now, so I just ride as fast as possible in the hope that I will stay ahead.” Her dream? “I want to win the Gouden Pijl in Emmen, because I often go there to watch.” Last year she was even allowed to take a picture with her hero Bauke Mollema.

Libby Winkley from category 2 has no idol, but is happy to watch women’s cycling on TV. She is looking forward to riding in pink tomorrow. Like Demi Vollering, she wants to win the Tour de France one day.

The fact that with the recent arrival of a Tour de France for women, the girls can now also dream of the yellow jersey in Paris, is also apparent from the ambitions of Alma Sofie Sørensen (category 5) and Jente Koops (U17 girls). Alma is the leader in the girls classification after two days. “I am very happy to be riding in the pink jersey. In Denmark there are not many girls who race, so it’s easy to win. Here the level is much higher and there are many girls at the start. I notice that the boys are a bit stronger, so I like the pink jersey.” She looks up to the Danish Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig, who won a Tour stage last year.

U17 rider Jente Koops also dreams of the Tour. Just like her example Marlen Reusser, she wants to develop into a good time trialist. “I’m looking forward to Thursday’s time trial. I think it’s great that we’re going up the Wall of Emmen. I like a tough course.” She made a nice advance on a time trial victory in the Tour last week with a bronze medal in the time trial of the European Youth Games.

Fabienne Snakenborg rides her second Jeugdtour. Four years ago she could not compete for the podium, but now she can start in the pink jersey. This came a little unexpected to her. “The pink jersey means I belong to the best girls. That gives me the confidence that maybe one day I can become a pro. Just like my example Lonneke Uneken, who, like me, also comes from the Stormvogels club. I hope to become Dutch and world champion one day.”

The girls in the Jeugdtour have big dreams. Before that happens, they can be “mini-pros” for a while this week, as our microphonist Marjo Nijmeijer puts it so beautifully.