With Saturday’s GP De Plouay race bringing the 2015 UCI Women Road World Cup to a close, The Sufferfest and the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) are calling on the cycling community to vote for the most ‘Epic Moment of Suffering’. Amongst the nine winners of The Suffer Prize, the winner will receive a US$1,000 cash prize and the prestigious 2015 ‘Epic Moment of Suffering’ title.
Earlier this year, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) confirmed that The Sufferfest will be the Official Sponsor of the UCI Women’s Road World Cup in 2015.
A leading producer of indoor training videos, The Sufferfest has been a sponsor of the UCI since 2010 and of the UCI Women Road World Cup since 2014. It produces ‘highly effective and engaging training videos using footage of professional races, including UCI events.’
Brand new to the UCI Women Road World Cup in 2015, the Suffer Prize was awarded at the end of each round to the rider who ‘suffered the most in pursuit of glory’. The Suffer Prize has been given for exploits such as relentless attacking, driving the pack in pursuit of a breakaway, repeatedly fighting back to the front of the race after multiple crashes and working to keep a small breakaway going against the odds.
Founder and Chief Sufferlandrian, David McQuillen, said the award has fit perfectly with The Sufferfest’s values of encouraging cyclists to push themselves beyond what they thought they were capable of.
“Throughout the UCI Women Road World Cup we have witnessed nine truly inspiring stories of determination in the face of epic suffering, stories we might not otherwise have heard about without this prize,” McQuillen said.
“The Suffer Prize has given a new dimension to women’s racing tactics,” said Andrea Marcellini, UCI Women’s Cycling Coordinator. “It’s been great to see riders execute brave and bold moves that made every race even more interesting. This award gives some real spotlight to the ‘hard grafters’ of the women’s peloton and to those who don’t necessarily cross the line first.”
Across the nine winners from eight countries, there were tales of overcoming obstacles and pain, conquering punishing climbs, returning to the front after mechanical failures and crashes, powering through attacks, feats of long solo efforts, and chasing down breaks on behalf of a team leader.
Throughout the 2015 UCI Women Road World Cup, the Suffer Prize judging panel has consisted of the TV production team, the Chief Commissaire, the Race Director and the UCI. However, naming the ‘Epic Moment of Suffering’ is down to the cycling community who can watch videos on each winner and vote for their favourite at thesufferfest.com/uci-womens-world-cup-the-suffer-prize/.
Voting opens on Wednesday 2 September at 10:00 AEST and closes on Tuesday 8 September at 11:59pm AEST.
The announcement of the 2015 ‘Epic Moment of Suffering’ winner will be made on Wednesday 9 September.
Full list of Suffer Prize winners from the 2015 UCI Women Road World Cup:
- Ronde van Drenthe – Lizzie Williams, Orica-AIS
- Trofeo Alfredo Binda – Jolanda Neff, Swiss National Team
- Tour of Flanders – Annemiek van Vleuten, Bigla Pro Cycling
- La Flèche Wallone – Christine Majerus, Boels-Dolmans
- Tour of Chongming Island – Hongyu Liang, Chongming-Liv-Champion System Pro Cycling
- The Philadelphia Classic – Charlotte Becker, Hitech Products
- Sparkassen Giro – Katarzyna Niewiadoma, Rabo-Liv
- Open de Suède Vårgårda – Amanda Spratt, AIS-Orica
- GP de Plouay – Evelyn Stevens, Boels-Dolmans
Based in Singapore, The Sufferfest makes ‘the world’s best indoor cycling videos’, combining officially licensed footage of professional bike races such as the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia with high energy, hand-picked music and structured interval workouts designed by world-class coaches.
The Sufferfest is the official sponsor of the UCI Women’s Road World Cup as well as the sponsor of Africa’s first all-black UCI Elite Mountain Bike Team, ACE-TheSufferfest-Lesotho. The Sufferfest was founded in 2009 by David McQuillen and has customers in more than 70 countries.
‘Sufferlandria [a country that knows no borders, only lactate thresholds] continues to lobby the UN for recognition and fights the forces of sinister, terrible Couchlandria.’
www.TheSufferfest.com
www.sufferlandria.com
