At 4pm French time on Saturday afternoon, all eyes should have been on Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift, as the race reached its crescendo point. Emma Norsgaard had just made what could have been a race-winning attack from the group of favourites, and all of the biggest riders in the world were at their limit, from Lotte Kopecky to Marianne Vos, waiting to see what would happen. Just 15 minutes later, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot would launch her victorious move, and write her name into the history books. Everyone was gripped - there was just 32km to go, one of the moments of the year was approaching.
Not all eyes were on one of the biggest women’s races of the year, however. 150km to the south, the star riders for Sunday’s Paris-Roubaix were filing off stage in Compiègne, as part of a team presentation for the men’s race. As one of the biggest events in women’s cycling was taking place - owned and operated by the same race organisers, ASO - a promotional event for the men’s race was taking away attention, distracting some. It meant the male riders couldn’t watch much of the race, but also gave an opportunity for fans, journalists, casual observers, to completely miss the women’s event. It seems ludicrous.
