"Just imagine if this had been a women's race" - Dutch pundit on criticism of women's cycling and double standards
Cycling
The women's and men's races in the Kigali World Championships have had completely different dynamics and the men's race proved to be one without real tactics deciding the winner. Marijn de Vries has shared an observation regarding the two races, in which she indirectly criticized those who verbally abuse women's cycling for what she saw happening in the men's race.
In the Vlammen podcast, the former Dutch rider used satire to bring forward the point that is often made about women's cycling regarding its tactics and 'boring racing' that is often argued on social media.
"Just imagine if this had been a women's race. Then it would have been analyzed as follows: 'Why do these men let all this happen? You know Pogacar announces: I'm going to attack on Mont Kigali. And they just let themselves be led like sheep to the slaughter. He attacks, does exactly what he always does, and then rides ahead for a very long time. Super boring race.'"
This Sunday's race ultimately proved to be the exact opposite of Saturday's main event, with Tadej Pogacar taking the win after launching an attack over 100 kilometers from the finish and then seeing the two riders that managed to keep up with him crack. As had happened in Zurich, the Slovenian was simply head and shoulders above the entire competition even in what is a once-in-a-year event.
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Is men's cycling really stuck in a cycling of repetition?
After his victories in the Tour de France, Il Lombardia, other monuments and stage-races throughout the season, many argue that men's cycling is currently far from its most exciting levels, with the biggest races in the world being disputed and won by a very small number of top riders.
Currently, out of the last 21 monuments Tadej Pogacar, Mathieu van der Poel and Remco Evenepoel have won 18 of them. In the Grand Tour field, Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard have now finished first and second on every single Tour de France since 2021.
"What does it actually say about men's cycling that one rider stands out so much? You can't call that professional? Men's cycling is actually still in its infancy," de Vries continued her satire, hinting quite obviously that this argument is often used against women's cycling. "Because if one rider is so much stronger than the rest, what are the rest actually doing? They're apparently not training or eating properly."
However in the Dutch rider's opinion, she does not hide that this weekend's events saw a largely more spectacular race on the women's side, where Canada's Magdeleine Valleries pulled off a shocking surprise by taking the rainbow jersey in a very tactical race. "That being said, I thought it was a great race for the women. And I found the men's race really boring," she concluded.
As in 2024, Tadej Pogacar rode to a comfortable solo win at the World Championships. @Imago
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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