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Elisa Longo Borghini will join UAE Team ADQ after signing a three-year contract. The Italian rider recently took third place at the Road World Championships and won the Giro d’Italia this season, among other victories.
Triple time trial World Champion and winner of 68 professional races, Ellen van Dijk, has extended her contract with Lidl-Trek through 2025. The 37-year-old Dutch rider has been with the team since its inception in 2019 and is motivated to continue her racing career with the squad.
New Zealand rider Mikayla Harvey has signed with Team SD Worx – Protime through 2026. After a promising year in 2020, she faced setbacks due to the Epstein-Barr virus. However, she is determined to return to her best form. “My goal is to develop myself further here. I don’t want to be a mediocre rider; I am aiming for the very highest and I don’t want to dream small. That won’t happen overnight, of course”, she said.
Meanwhile, Harvey’s future teammate Elena Cecchini has extended her contract with the Dutch squad through 2025. The Italian rider joined the team in 2021 and has steadily risen to the role of road captain. “I owe a lot to this team. I definitely wanted to go to the Olympics one more time and this team helped me get my selection for Paris 2024. I also feel the confidence and get drafted into the races I love. This is a special team that suits me perfectly and where I want to end my career in the long run,” she commented on her extension with the team.
Gravel rider and Voxwomen blogger Geerike Schreurs has signed an extension with Team SD Worx – Protime. Sports Manager Danny Stam commented: “Gravel is becoming increasingly important in cycling. We have seen that, as a team, we get a lot of extra exposure and popularity out of gravel cycling. We realise that it is also important to have charisma in this branch of cycling.”
Fresh from her rainbow jersey-winning ride in the Mixed Relay TTT at the World Championships, Brodie Chapman has signed a two-year contract with UAE Team ADQ. She commented: “During the middle of the year, I was looking for a new direction and I was at a training camp in the Dolomites and UAE Team ADQ was there too. I like that they’re super professional but also see room to improve. When I found out that Elisa was coming to UAE Team ADQ, she helped cement my thinking because we obviously work well together. I wanted to continue that good relationship.”
Karlijn Swinkels has extended with UAE Team ADQ until the end of 2026. The all-rounder joined the squad this season, and has picked up over 20 top-tens in her first full year with UAE Team ADQ. Most recently, she won the St. Feuillien Grand Prix de Wallonie, as well as the overall and points classification at the AG Tour de la Semois.
Italian rider Sara Fiorin, previously with the UAE Development team, has signed with CERATIZIT-WNT Pro Cycling. As a young rider, she is focused on growth, improving her sprinting and aiming for her first pro win.
Fauve Bastiaenssen has signed a two-year contract with AG Insurance – Soudal after riding for Lotto Dstny Ladies. The Belgian rider is making the leap to the WorldTour and brings with her a strong background, including a degree in Physical Education and Movement. Bastiaenssen aims to further develop her skills in the classics and enhance her climbing abilities.
Australia’s retiring Olympic and World Champion Grace Brown has been appointed president of the Cyclists’ Alliance, succeeding Iris Slappendel, one of the organisation’s founding members. The foundation has also announced that another prominent Australian, Amanda Spratt, is among several members stepping down from their rider council.
A new date has been set for the Trofeo Alfredo Binda. Next year’s edition of the race and the Mini-Trofeo Binda – Valli del Verbano 2025 will take place on Sunday 16 March. The decision was made after the cancellation of a race in the Netherlands. Italy will now host teams at three different highly prestigious events over two weeks. The official announcement of the new starting location will be made in the next few weeks.
Hess Cycling has announced a three-year partnership with OFX, a leader in international money transfers. OFX will become the main sponsor of the team, making Hess Cycling the highest-ranked British team in the women’s peloton.
UAE Team ADQ and the UAE Development Team have announced a significant step towards greater integration and renewed success, revealing that both squads will benefit from a shared pool of Sports Directors and staff. Starting in 2025, this initiative will serve as a crucial transition point for younger athletes, providing them with opportunities to learn, gain experience, and embrace the shared values and vision of the WorldTour team. Simultaneously, this new structure will enable WorldTour riders to impart their knowledge and experience to development riders, in an effort to accelerate their growth and progress.
The 2025 World Tour calendar has been released, starting with the Tour Down Under from 17 to 19 January and finishing with the Tour of Guangxi on 19 October. Races now also include Milan-Sanremo and the Copenhagen Sprint, but unfortunately no RideLondon.
Police are continuing to investigate the tragic fatal crash of Swiss rider Muriel Furrer during the World Championships. They reported that she fell on a steep left turn near the edge of a forest. There were no witnesses to the incident, and heavy rain had made the track very treacherous that day. Furrer was reportedly not discovered for over an hour, and it wasn’t until it was noticed she hadn’t crossed the finish line that concern grew.
Results
Binche Chimay Binche: Cat Ferguson (Movistar Team) ahead of Christina Schweinberger (Fenix-Deceuninck) and Anniina Ahtosalo (Uno-X Mobility)
Gravel World Championships: Marianne Vos (NED) ahead of Lotte Kopecky (BEL) and Lorena Wiebes (NED)
Zwift Blog
Megan Jastrab shares a powerful reminder about the ups and downs of injury recovery, shifting perspective and trusting the process. “I hope this blog helps those reading to realise that you are exactly where you need to be on your journey to your goals. It might take a different timeline than originally anticipated, but staying focused on doing the best you can at where you are is the most you can ask of yourself.” Catch her must-read blog here.
The Women’s Cycling Podcast
In our latest episode, Rebecca Charlton is joined by Olympian Lucy Martin to discuss her racing career and subsequent work in pro cycling. They also explore the progression of women into top roles within the sport. We meet Moroj Adil, the first Saudi woman to sign for a WorldTour team, for an inspirational chat. Listen to it on Spotify here or on Apple podcasts here.
Voxwomen Club
Calling all cycling enthusiasts! Join the Voxwomen Club on Zwift for some exciting upcoming rides. The next one is coming up soon, so find out more here
This week in cycling history
Emma Pooley
The former pro rider from Great Britain is known for her accomplishments both on the road and in the time trial discipline. Born on 3 March 1980 in Coventry, England, Pooley had a multifaceted career that spanned both athletics and academia. She began cycling in her late teens and quickly gained recognition for her talents. She became a dominant force in the sport, particularly in the race against the clock. Notably, she won the time trial at the UCI Road World Championships in 2008. In addition to her World Championship title, Pooley also earned several national titles and is an Olympian. Beyond her cycling achievements, Pooley worked at GCN as a presenter and also has a strong academic background. She holds a Ph.D. in engineering from the University of Cambridge and pursued a career in environmental sustainability after retiring from competitive racing.
WorldTour highlight videos
Watch the race recap from the time trial at the 2024 World Championships right here.
