Tashkent City Women have responded to criticism after a number of of their riders obtained dropped and deserted throughout the opening stage of the Tour de France Femmes, stating that their presence right here alone is a “victory” for biking.
While the Uzbek group made historical past as the primary central Asian group to begin a Tour de France, males’s or ladies’s, their debut was overshadowed by a dismal show within the Netherlands warmth, with greater than half their group not with the ability to stay with the WorldTour peloton’s tempo on stage 1 into The Hague and leaving the race.
“First stage, the group usually are not feeling actually good as a result of we misplaced 4 riders however it’s a mono-nation group and our first time in Tour de France so we’re within the center I’ll say,” Director Sportiff Volodymyr Starchyk advised Cyclingnews after the stage.
“For a mono-nation with not many ladies’s riders within the nation, to be current within the Tour de France Femmes is one thing massive in my view. To be prepared for large outcomes, they want time.”
Tashkent acquired loads of criticism on social media each when it was introduced that that they had secured a spot at each ladies’s WorldTour race, together with the Tour de France, by ending ranked within the high 18 for girls’s groups. During the opening stage within the Netherlands, their riders continued to desert because the kilometres ticked by.
The first got here contained in the opening 40km of racing, Ekaterina Knebeleva, with 19-year-old Asal Rizaeva and 18-year-old Mohinabonu Elmurodova following swimsuit not lengthy after. Finally, Madina Kakhorova was the fourth rider not making it via.
Starchyk swerved the query when requested whether or not the group knew the youngsters particularly wouldn’t have the ability to observe the tempo and whether or not this was one of the best concept, selecting to reply matter of factly that, “It’s not simple to complete when you’re 19 years outdated”.
Only one in every of their riders managed to complete in the primary group – gifted 22-year-old Yanina Kuskova, who’s the three-time Uzbek nationwide champion. But Starchyk wasn’t phased, merely selecting to give attention to how a lot of successful it was for them to even be on the beginning line.
“People can assume every little thing they need. Everybody is in a position to consider what they need however we’re right here, it’s one thing massive for the nation,” stated Starchyk.
“The first time in historical past an Uzbek group with all Uzbek riders so I believe additionally for biking it’s a victory as a result of a rustic fully exterior of races in Europe, an Asian group coming right here to Tour de France, it’s by no means occurred in historical past.
“So it’s unhappy for outcomes as a result of we lose some riders at the moment however on the identical time, Tour de France Femmez avec Zwift exhibits those that biking is open for the entire world.”
It’s the races exterior of Europe that had been contentious for Tashkent, as reported by Cyclingnews in November, the place European groups raised eyebrows on the factors scoring primarily at smaller one-day races, continental championships and nationwide championships.
But it maybe exhibits a possible challenge with the UCI factors scoring system greater than something with Tashkent particularly, nevertheless, Starchyk did verify it wasn’t an sickness that left 4 of their seven reeling however “for certain the legs and for certain pace”.
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