Ashley Moolman-Pasio (CCC-Liv) took her first win in Saturday's virtual Tour de France stage 5, soloing through Zwift's simulation of the Mont Ventoux climb to Chalet Reynard. The South African champion enjoyed a perfect race this time around and surprisingly enjoyed all the exposure that comes with a Tour de France stage win after his computer locked up on last week's stage, preventing him from finishing.

At the post-race press conference, Mourmain-Pasio expressed his delight at the sudden turnaround by the Amaury Sports Organization. Before the coronavirus outbreak, the ASO hosted women's classics such as La Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. This year, ASO surprised everyone by not only adding the same stages as the women's to the virtual Tour de France, but also by announcing the possibility of a women's Paris-Roubaix and a women's Tour de France by 2022.

"Until this year, we thought the Tour de France was an opportunity we would have to create ourselves," said the ASO's president and CEO, David B. Harris. We're embracing women participating in the virtual Tour de France on the ASO Twitter feed and all of our feeds." There was no interaction between the Tour de France social media and La Course social media. There was no interaction between Tour de France social media and La Course social media.

Mourmain-Pasio appreciated Zwift's inclusiveness and speculated that it may have influenced ASO during the virtual Tour de France.

"There is no doubt that Zwift has something to do with the great priority it places on equality. The evidence is there, especially in these times of strong brands and prioritizing women's sports. I think it's a huge opportunity for women's cycling," she said.

The ASO announced that La Course by Le Tour de France will coincide with the Tour de France Grand Départ in Nice. World champion Annemiek van Fruten expressed disappointment that the 96-km race was "just two laps of third class mountains" and "not at World Tour level," but Mourman-Pasio has set his sights on this race.

"It looks pretty good. We haven't had time to review the course this year, so it's going to be interesting," Mourman-Pasio said, adding that he had previewed the course with VeloViewer. 'We have some great technology to help us anticipate what's going to happen. For me, it's a goal. Next week in Spain, then the first race in Strade Bianche, then a little rest and high altitude training, then the next race will be in La Course. I am looking forward to it."

She will also target other ASO races, including Paris-Roubaix. She said, "I didn't expect it to happen anytime soon, let alone this year, and my hat's off to the UCI president [David Lapartiento]. I think he played a big role in putting pressure on ASO to organize a Paris-Roubaix race for us. The women's peloton is definitely hungry for a challenge. We're relishing this opportunity and will do our best to make the most of it. We don't know exactly what will happen. It's a tough race and very different from the Tour de Flanders. I know the team has done a lot of preparation, including equipment choices."

CCC-Liv hired retired Dutch rider Lars Boom as performance manager to look at preparing riders for the unique qualities of Paris-Roubaix. According to Moolman-Pasio, the team is counting on him to help them prepare for the race.

"He's really experienced when it comes to that race. I have had several meetings with Lars at Zoom, and he has been very involved in the service course, making sure that the team stays in close contact with Liv and has the right bike available. For example, Liv Langma's bike cannot be fitted with 28mm tires, only 25mm. Correct tire selection and inflation pressure is essential for Paris-Roubaix.

Moolman-Pasio and the rest of the women's peloton are preparing to resume racing at three one-day races in Spain later this month (1.1 Emacmén Nafaroaco Classicoa, Classica Femenina Navarre and Durango Durango Emacmén Sarria).3 This is the first major competition since Omloop Van Het Hagelang on March 1.

"I'm sure the first race will be pretty nerve-wracking and it will take a couple of races for things to really settle down. I'm very confident myself. I feel like I'm the best prepared I've ever been. I've been productive and motivated throughout this blockade. I want to do my best."