As Christmas and the festive season approaches very quickly, we’re all thinking about how we’re going to celebrate, who we’re going to see, how much cycling we’re going to do. Oh, and which presents from our wishlist are going to be under the tree.
Now, whilst we’ve already put together a list of gift ideas for cyclists – if you need some last-minute inspiration – the end of the year got me thinking about a different kind of wishlist, a very hypothetical one.
As cycling fans, we spend all year talking about racing, and with that the things we think could be better or different. So, what if there was a Father Christmas of Cycling – who may be able to grant our wishes UCI president David Lappartient – to whom we could actually put our wishlist of changes this Christmas? And if there was, what would we ask for?
I had visions of this being full of whimsical and silly ideas, but my colleagues – being the intelligent, serious journalists they are – really thought properly about this, and gave some really considered, thoughtful answers. Even in the festive season, all we really want is for the sport we love to be better all round.
I never used to be a subscriber to the idea that the women’s calendar should replicate the men’s, and I still don’t think it should be a carbon copy, but the success and excitement of races like Paris-Roubaix Femmes and Milan-San Remo Donne has convinced me that the women should at least race all the Monuments. Which means I’m hoping for a women’s Il Lombardia under the tree this year.
Now, we know already that the race isn’t going to happen in 2026, but RCS have been floating the idea, and it could come soon. I think this would be such an exciting addition to the women’s calendar, and really round out the season on a bang, which can kind of tail off after the World Championships. With the Grand Tours all out of the way by August in the current schedule, a late-season hit out for the climbers like Demi Vollering and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot in a truly iconic race would surely thrill us. I dream of the day we have a women’s Lombardia!
A Tour de France with no summit finishes and lots of…
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