We are getting really excited about stages eight and nine of the UCI Women’s World Cup in Vargarda, Sweden. Racing begins today with a team time trial followed by a 133.5 km road race on Sunday.

Who to watch

Our own Lizzie Armitstead (Boels Dolmans) is still leading the UCI Women’s World Cup rankings by 35 points ahead of Eliza Longo Borghini (Wiggle Honda) who recently won the Route de France. She is followed by Anna van der Breggen (Rabo Liv Women Cycling Team) who is four points behind.

The team time trial is 42.5km in distance and prone to cross winds between Vargarda and Herrljunga in the first out and back section. It then joins part of the road race circuit that we will see the teams racing on Sunday.

We think it’s going to be a strong race for Velocio SRAM (who have announced they will finish at the end of the year). This is based on their strong performance in previous years on this course when they were racing as Specialized-Lululemon from 2012 to 2014.

That said, Evelyn Stevens, crowned World Team Time Trial Champion in 2014 with Specialized-Lululemon, has joined Lizzie Armitstead as part of the Boels Dolmans Cycling Team which will be a great help in broadening the gap of her overall ranking.

Sunday’s road race is predicted to be fast, aggressive and full of attacks with a good weather forecast. The course starts with a 56.5km lap that includes a short stretch of gravel, the teams then tackle an 11km lap seven times that includes a climb in the middle.

What an exciting weekend ahead. We can’t wait to see what this weekend of the UCI Women’s World Cup will hold.