Tashkent Metropolis Girls have responded to criticism after a number of of their riders acquired dropped and deserted through the opening stage of the Tour de France Femmes, stating that their presence right here alone is a “victory” for biking.
Whereas the Uzbek group made historical past as the primary central Asian group to start out 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 having 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 large for my part. To be prepared for large outcomes, they want time.”
Tashkent obtained a number of criticism on social media each when it was introduced that they’d secured a spot at each ladies’s WorldTour race, together with the Tour de France, by ending ranked within the prime 18 for girls’s groups. In the course of the opening stage within the Netherlands, their riders continued to desert because the kilometres ticked by.
The primary 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. Lastly, Madina Kakhorova was the fourth rider not making it by way of.
Starchyk swerved the query when requested whether or not the group knew the youngsters particularly wouldn’t be capable of observe the tempo and whether or not this was the very best concept, selecting to reply matter of factly that, “It’s not straightforward to complete when you’re 19 years outdated”.
Solely considered one of their riders managed to complete in the principle group – proficient 22-year-old Yanina Kuskova, who’s the three-time Uzbek nationwide champion. However Starchyk wasn’t phased, merely selecting to deal with how a lot of a hit it was for them to even be on the beginning line.
“Individuals can suppose every thing they need. All people is in a position to consider what they need however we’re right here, it’s one thing large for the nation,” stated Starchyk.
“The primary time in historical past an Uzbek group with all Uzbek riders so I feel 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 in the present day 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 have 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.
Nevertheless it maybe exhibits a possible difficulty with the UCI factors scoring system greater than something with Tashkent particularly, nonetheless, Starchyk did affirm it wasn’t an sickness that left 4 of their seven reeling however “for positive the legs and for positive velocity”.
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