TDF Femmes finale; Remco transfer saga rolls on; the UCI crackdown on drafting; Adam Hansen on improving motorbike safety in races
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After an enthralling second edition of the Tour de France Femmes finishes with Demi Vollering's overall victory in Pau, these are RadioCycling's headlines... Bigger and better than in 2022, with a stronger, deeper and more competitive field, the Tour de France Femmes built towards a dramatic climax in the Pyrenean mist that will stay in the memory. We get a rider's perspective on the race from French star Audrey Cordon-Ragot. One of the dominant stories of the Tour de France Femmes was the crackdown by the UCI jury of commissaires on riders drafting behind cars when rejoining the peloton after a crash or a mechanical. Race winner Demi Vollering was penalised for doing it, while her Team SD Worx DS Danny Stam was kicked off the race for facilitating this. We examine the historical context for this hardline approach, hear from Stam and a fellow DS, Uno-X's Huub Duijn, who was also penalised, and from AG Insurance Soudal Quick-Step team leader Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio, who tells us the rules should be strictly and consistently imposed at all races. Remco Evenepoel's reign as world champion ended with him winning last weekend's Clásica San Sebastián, but the saga of his rumoured transfer away from Soudal-QuickStep rumbles on. Chris Marshall-Bell, who's so well informed on this story that even S-QS boss Patrick Lefevere asks him for the latest developments, provides an update on the those developments. As had been the case at the Tour de France, the issue of motorbikes and rider safety was highlighted on a number of occasions during the Tour de France Femmes. Adam Hansen, president of the riders' association (CPA), details the ways that things could be improved and explains his own invention of a laser-based system that could ensure that motorbikes don't hamper or interfere with racers.  And finally, in Ground Beans... – the latest on the transfer tug-of-war over Carlos Rodríguez – Caleb Ewan and Lotto-Dstny reach agreement on sprinter's future – Irish sprinter Sam Bennett set to move? Support the show
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