This wasn’t a REALLY ultra-distance ultra, though. “Only” 50km and about 4 hours. A little less-than twice as long as a regular marathon in terms of time. Women really start to come into contention for outright wins in events even longer than this. I kind-of get that the organizers considered the outcome unlikely. Women have won outright several long-distance, multi-day bike races in the past few years. It’s great to see.
