Women ride historic (epic) runs at Hardline

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$865.7 million

-?A new report?found?this was the economic impact generated within Australia by the women's World Cup —?plus an additional $212 million in decreased healthcare costs due to?more physical activity in the country

Three?stories you should know this week in women's sports

1. The first women ride (and kill it!) at Red Bull Hardline

Red Bull Hardline?is a unique and gnarly (yes, we said it) downhill mountain bike race that's part freeride and features massive jumps — but is also about getting down the mountain fastest.

In short: It's considered one of the hardest mountain bike events in the world!?

Last year, a handful of women were finally added to the invite-only event and?six riders went to?a progression camp?to work on the course, but weren't able to?compete?due to cancellations. This year, Hardline expanded?with a second?event in Tasmania and?a group of women were invited to race.

During the practice days, 19-year-old Canadian Gracey Hemstreet became the first woman to ride a Hardline course top-to-bottom. She also came away with the fastest women's ride in the final, ahead of Louise-Anna Fergson (who was also able to complete a run in the morning and send every feature?despite crashes).

Hemstreet received the rider of the week award and the biggest cheers from the crowds.

WATCH: The two women's finals ride

2. And women get their own?CONCACAF tournament

There's been a men's CONCACAF Gold Cup since 1991, but the women's?competition was only approved in 2020. The soccer tournament brings together teams from N. America, Central America, and the Caribbean,?plus guest teams from S. America.

For the U.S. squad, which is in transition?until the new coach takes over later this summer, it's also an important test of young players (like Jaedyn Shaw) and team formations.

However, the U.S. lost in a stunning 2-0 game to Mexico—just the second time that's ever happened. So it's not quite clicking yet.

RELATED: The?Canada women's team union also?filed a $40 million lawsuit?this week against the the national federation for negligence

WATCH:?Recently retired USWNT player Sam Mewis hosts the Men in Blazers' 'Women's Game' show?with all the latest news and analysis

3. Young female runner killed in Georgia

A 22-year-old nursing student, Laken Hope Riley, was attacked and murdered?this past week while on a run through campus.

And it's brought back into the spotlight debates about women's safety when out running alone,?about what women can do to stop this from happening: wear more clothes, wear less clothes, run with other people, don't tell anyone where you're going, tell?everyone.

But maybe it's not?up to women to stop themselves from being attacked.

We wrote about this, unfortunately, two years ago: Maybe we need to stop giving women tips for being safe.?It's not running that's unsafe.

"As someone who works out while female, I understand this urge. I know why we want to have a list of things that we can do, things we can pinpoint and say “this is where she went wrong,” so we can feel like if, instead, we just smile the correct amount we’ll be OK. It’s the same reason we put the napkin over our drink when we went to the bathroom back in college and why we pretended to be on the phone when we had to walk home in the dark. Because we want to build an armor of those little napkins, a wall full of fake phone calls. If we can just share the right safety tip from our aunt on Facebook, then maybe we’ll have finally cracked the code.

I understand why we do this, but we have to stop. It shifts the responsibility onto the wrong person and sells women a version of the world where their objectively safe everyday activities are viewed as the dangerous problem."

As we wrote then:?

"Here is a list of some things women have been doing when they were murdered: walking through a park, going to a party, going to a bar, turning down a man, not dancing with a man, dancing with a man, calling off an engagement,?getting in their car, sitting at home.?

It’s not running that needs to be fixed."

Tip of the week

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The highlight reel

• Lots of people?thought?Marianne Vos?was done — until she won her first Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (and her 251st UCI title) in an exciting four-way sprint over Lotte Kopecky.
• ?The Cynisca Continental-level women's team is facing discipline for?attempting to fake a rider?to meet the?five rider minimum at a race last year.
• The new regulations for cyclocross are out and the UCI is requiring juniors' races for the men but not for the women.
• Whitney Allison won the eight-day?self-supported Transcordilleras race in Columbia.

• Sophie Linn won the first World Triathlon World Cup?of the season in New Zealand (and her first World Cup win). And 2016 Olympic gold medalist Gwen Jorgensen won the Continental Cup in Cuba ahead of her comeback attempt to make the Paris Olympic team.
• Sandra Mairhofer won her third Winter Triathlon world title.
• Courtney Dauwalter?started out her season with a tough win at the 126K Transgrancanaria. She led an American sweep across the race distances.
• After two years, Briana DeSanctis became the first woman to thru-hike the American Discovery Trail from coast to coast.
• The ISU Speedskating World Championships for long track skaters returned to?Calgary for the first time in 25 years and the Canadian women's sprint team took gold on the first day. Czech Martina Sablikova also won her 25th career individual distance medal.?
• On the short track,??Kristen Santos-Griswold became just the second U.S. speedskater ever to win World Cup victories at all three distances (500m, 1000m, 1500m).?
• The women's World Cup downhill ski races in Val di Fassa were canceled due to heavy snow.?
• Mikaela Shiffrin, who was injured in a crash last month, plans to return to the next World Cup race — however, she's acknowledged it's now mathematically unlikely at this point for her to reclaim the series?title from Lara Gut-Behrami.
• And Chinese-American sensation (and Stanford student) Eileen Gu won the final freestyle ski halfpipe World Cup of the season —giving her the most wins of any female freestyle skier ever.
• UVA swimmer Gretchen Walsh became the first woman to break 20 seconds in the 50y free as part of a winning relay leg at the conference championships.
• Ahead of the Olympic team trials, Kayla DiCello won the USA Gymnastics Winter Cup—while?Tokyo Olympic gold medalist Suni Lee struggled in her comeback, and 2012 London gold medalist Gabby Douglas had to withdraw with COVID.?
• A team of all Black women will be going for the record for most Black women to reach the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro later this summer.
• The Heartland Track Club is pioneering a new model?for women's pro running teams.?
• For the first time, female pro softball players in S. America have a league of their own.?
• In South Korea, women outnumber male sports fans.
• And the LPGA is ramping up its efforts to promote the female players on its tour.

Feisty recommendations

What to read:?Pre-order The Price She Pays— on the hidden mental health crisis in women's sports

What to listen to: 'All Things Endurance Nutrition with Megan Foley'

What to do: Try the USAT women's tri series —?and?apply for the?Ironman?Race for Change scholarship

What not do: Don't be this guy

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