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Leah Kirchmann criticizes Flèche Wallonne organizers for not broadcasting women’s race live

Viewers could watch Julian Alaphilippe climb to victory but not Anna van der Breggen

FlecheWallone

FlecheWallone

Anna van der Breggen (Boels-Dolmans) won her third WorldTour race of the season on Wednesday climbing the Mur de Huy to her fourth consecutive victory at La Flèche Wallonne Fèminine. While fans could have watched van der Breggen win at Strade Bianche and De Ronde Van Vlaanderen, no images were available live for the women’s Flèche Wallonne race. This didn’t go unnoticed with Canadian Leah Kirchmann criticizing race organizers for not broadcasting the event.

https://twitter.com/L_Kirch/status/986528553238966272

“Still can’t believe there is no live coverage of women’s Flèche Wallonne! Viewer numbers from last UCI Women’s WorldTour races demonstrate that the interest is there when races are visible,” Kirchmann tweeted after the race.

Amaury Sport Organisation, the owners of the Tour de France, Vuelta a España, Tour of California and the upcoming Liège–Bastogne–Liège, put on Flèche Wallonne. ASO has been criticized in the past for not making efforts to wholeheartedly contribute to promoting women’s cycling by only having one day women’s races at the Tour de France and only introducing a women’s Liège–Bastogne–Liège last year.

La Flèche Wallonne Fèminine was first put on 1998 and has always been at the upper echelons of women’s cycling. Like in the men’s race, riders tackle the Mur de Huy multiple times before a finishing effort up the 1.3 km climb that averages over nine per cent and maxes out at 26 per cent.

https://twitter.com/L_Kirch/status/986618979350466562

While viewers could watch the build-up to the explosive conclusion of the men’s race won by Julian Alaphilippe, women’s cycling fans had to wait until highlights were released. Kirchmann shared footage of the final ascent of the Mur which showed the break getting caught in the early going before van de Breggen unleashed her winning acceleration.

While coverage of women’s cycling continues to improve, Kirchmann along with many other female cyclists hope to see that progress continue.