The route for the inaugural women's Tour de France was unveiled on Thursday with eight stages, embarking from the Eiffel Tower on July 24 next year.

The 2022 Tour de France embarks from Denmark, pushes into Switzerland and Belgium, visits Dunkirk and Lourdes, and features five mountain slogs.

British rider Lizzie Deignan won the inaugural women's Paris-Roubaix bike race on Saturday with a solo breakawayacross the muddy, cobblestoned mining roads where many of her rivals sufferednasty falls.

Italy's Elisa Balsamo won the women's world road race title on Saturday ending a four-year run of success for Dutch riders. The 23-year-old held off a challenge by the Netherlands' three-time champion Marianne Vos to take the rainbow jersey after a gruelling 157.7 kilometres ride under clear blue skies. Balsamo crossed the line with her arms spread wide in celebration as she became the first Italian to win the title since Giorgia Bronzini won the second of her two titles in 2011.

Tony Martin ended his career in style on Wednesday after helping Germany to win the mixed relay time-trial title at cycling's world championships in Flanders.

European road race champion Ellen Van Dijk of the Netherlands claimed a second time-trial title at cycling's world championships on Monday after finishing ahead of Marlen Reusser and Annemiek Van Vlueten. The 34-year-old Van Dijk was 10 seconds faster than Switzerland's Reusser, who was also runner-up in the Olympic event in July, and 24sec ahead of her compatriot Van Vleuten, who won in Tokyo. Van Dijk went down the ramp over an hour before her key rivals and had a "quite horrible" nervous wait in the leader's hot seat.

The UCI Road World Championships road races in Flanders, Belgium take place Sept. 25-26. The Flanders region is a hotbed for professional cycling, known for its steep and often cobbled climbs. Both the elite men's and women's road races begin in Antwerp and feature multiple complex circuits which will give racers and fans a taste of quintessential Belgian bike racing before finishing on Leuven's Geldenaaksevest.

The UCI Road World Championship road races in Flanders, Belgium take place Sept. 25-26. The Flanders region is a hotbed for professional cycling, known for its steep and often cobbled climbs. Both the elite men's and women's road races begin in Antwerp and feature multiple complex circuits which will give racers and fans a taste of quintessential Belgian bike racing before finishing on Leuven's Geldenaaksevest.

“The Race of Truth ' comes to the 2021 UCI Road World Championships in Knokke-Heist, Belgium, in the form of a 30.3km time trial for the elite women on Sept. 20. The elite men will race 43.3km on a similar, longer course the day before. Both races will pass through Damme before finishing in the heart of Bruges.

Wout Van Aert can round off a superb season by being crowned men's world road race champion on home turf and shake off his tag of championship nearly man, giving Belgium a record-extending 27th rainbow jersey in male events.

The UCI Road World Championship road races in Flanders, Belgium take place on September 25 and 26th. The Flanders region is a hotbed for professional cycling, known for its steep, and often cobbled climbs.

The UCI Road World Championship road race in Flanders, Belgium takes place on September 25 and 26th. The Flanders region is a hotbed for professional cycling, known for its steep, and often cobbled climbs.

“The Race of Truth” comes to the 2021 UCI Road World Championships in Knokke-Heist, Belgium for the elite women on September 20th. The women’s individual time trial is 30.3km. While slightly shorter than the men's, both races will pass through Damme before finishing in the heart of Bruges.

American Ashton Lambie became the first person to complete a four kilometer standing start in under four minutes on August 18th.

Six rainbow jerseys will be awarded in Bruges, Belgium where every world time trial title will be decided. Following 2020, a year in which only elite world titles were awarded due to the coronavirus pandemic, youth categories will return in 2021, as well as the team time trial mixed relay.