Cecilie Uttrup-Ludwig (FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope) says she welcomes the fact that the fourth stage of the Giro d'Italia International Women's Minillet (aka Giro Rosa) is longer, at 170.3 km.

"Finally, we are being taken seriously," she said.

In a video interview, Uttrup Ludwig talked about his chances in the Giro Rosa -- nine stages starting in Grosseto, Tuscany on September 11 and finishing in Motta Montecorvino, Puglia, southeast Italy, on September 19

"It's a good idea.

"I expect to have good legs. I hope we can come together as a team, as I think we all do.

"I want to be at the back of the race. I think I've prepared well so far and I'm ready to swing the hammer down," he said, using a phrase that has become the 25-year-old's catchphrase since his post-2019 Tour de Flanders interview went viral.

While Uttrup Ludwig cannot single-handedly take credit for helping to popularize modern women's cycling, her many impassioned interviews and "Bam. Let's swing the hammer down. The one in Flanders did not harm her own popularity.

"After that Flanders interview, I was out training and people shouted, 'Siree, put the hammer down.' ' [For a long time I have been saying that I trained just as hard as the men.

"Just last week, the GP de Plouët, the European Championships, La Course, was televised, and although the men were not interviewed, people could watch our races and I gained 3,000 or 4,000 new followers.

"The women's race is only 140 kilometers, so they fire off the gun to tire everyone out.

The long fourth stage, especially in the Giro Rosa, seems to stimulate the desire for something different and is a step towards the occasional long, tough stage or one-day race.

"It's very cool, and yes, we are finally being taken seriously, and it's not like our uterus is supposed to fall off after a long stage or a long climb," Uttrup Ludwig said unabashedly and honestly. [Especially last week, it was all 90km races and 100km races. Like the men's race is the most important, so we need to shorten the women's race and finish it before the men's race. So it is really great to have these longer stages. I think it's worth running the proper distance, not the junior distance."

But as Uttrup Ludwig mentioned, professional women's teams and riders are, as ever, up against it when it comes to television coverage of the race.

"It's our Grand Tour, and people say, 'I want to watch the Giro,' and I say, 'Yeah, you can watch the highlights at 6:00 at night. "

Uttrup Ludwig cited the Women's Tour (Women's Tour of Britain) as an example of a race that enjoys great support from both the organization and the communities it passes through.

"They take women's cycling seriously and are very good at getting the community involved. They tell schools, 'Come out and watch the bike race,' so you get big crowds and it feels like you're riding in a big boys' race."

[5 [And when we go to the Giro Rosa, there is no live coverage and almost nobody on the course. If everyone knew we were coming and there was live TV coverage, people would watch.

For full reports, results, news, features, and galleries of the 2020 Giro Rosa, please visit Cycling News' dedicated women's page.

The UCI Road World Championships have excellent TV coverage for both men and women, and last week it was announced that the elite men's and women's only World Championships will be held in Imola, Italy in a shortened format.

"The course is great," Uttrup said of the new route for the 144-km elite women's road race in Imola.

"The climbs are mega short, so if I come back strong from the Giro and keep riding my bike, I think the course in Imola will look great. I'm already excited."

Uttrup-Ludwig was also asked about the first women's Paris-Roubaix, which will be held on October 25.

"It's a spectacular race for the men, and it will be for the women as well.

"It's also unexpected, so it's going to be mega epic, and I've been watching this race since I was five years old, so it's pretty cool.

"Four years ago, when I was in Belgium for a month or two, I was staying near the Arenberg Forest, so I ran the cobbled Trouet d'Arenberg section.

Uttrup Ludwig, winner of the Giro delle Miglia in mid-August, is a rider to watch both at the Giro Rosa and at the World Championships.

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