Former racer Tom Dumoulin has said that recent Dutch domination at La Vuelta Femenina could be seen as a "bad sign" for women's racing.
The race, the 11th edition of the women's Grand Tour, saw all six of the individually contested stages won by Dutch riders.
Marianne Vos, Femke Gerritse, Anna van der Breggen, and Demi Vollering shared the stage spoils among themselves. The final podium saw Vollering and Van der Breggen take first and third overall, while Vos and Vollering won the points and mountain classifications.
Vollering will also line up as the favourite to win the next major women's stage race, the upcoming Itzulia Women (May 16-18), which she won last year.
Speaking on Dutch cycling podcast De Grote Plaat, Dumoulin worried about the level of dominance his compatriots displayed at the race.
"If I got it right, the Netherlands won all the stages in the Vuelta. That's not normal, is it? That's also a sign of where women's cycling can still grow," he said. "Is it a bad sign? I think so.
"In speed skating, we all cry that it is a small sport because we [the Netherlands] win all the medals at the Olympics, and the same can be said of women's cycling. Of course, it was different in the spring."
As Dumoulin concedes, Dutch riders haven't had it all their way this season, despite numerous triumphs from Vollering (Strade Bianche), Lorena Wiebes (Milan-San Remo, Classic Brugge-De Panne, and Gent-Wevelgem), Mischa Bredewold (Amstel Gold Race), and Puck Pieterse (La Flèche Wallonne) in the spring.
The Women's WorldTour calendar to date has seen wins by Italians (Elisa Longo Borghini and Elisa Balsamo), Belgians (Lotte Kopecky and Lotte Claes), and riders from Mauritius, Switzerland, and Australia (Kim Le Court, Noemi Rüegg, and Ally Wollaston), too, while the top 20 of the UCI rankings currently features 14 non-Dutch riders.
Dumoulin looked ahead to the Tour de France Femmes in July, noting that Van der Breggen has, ominously, room to grow after a long time away from racing. She's expected to be a top favourite for glory in France this summer, again alongside Vollering.
"Logically, or so you would say, she still has room for growth as she has only a few races left in her legs after years of not racing. I hope she will improve towards the Tour de France," he said.
Dumoulin said that men's cycling could learn from the women's sport, given what he had seen at La Vuelta. He said "huge strides" have been made recently, calling it a "top-class sport" at that level, even if there are still gaps to be closed at the lower end – a process that will take time.
"Huge strides have really been made in recent years. It's now much more attractive to watch. It is a top-class sport at the highest level," he said. "You had about 30 riders in the Vuelta who are really good, who give their all, and are top professionals. Many male cyclists could learn something from that.
"But there are also women who ride at a completely different level, and you can see that in the results. In recent years, the women's peloton has undergone such an enormous development. Many teams have emerged, and fortunately, they're now paying good salaries, but you can't train all new female cyclists within five years."
