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Get your week started with the latest news in women’s cycling
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL has announced an intensified commitment to closing the gender gap in professional cycling. Starting next year, with the support of co-title partner PostNL, the team will ensure that the minimum salary for World Tour neo-pros and World Tour elite contracts will be the same for both their men’s and women’s programs.
French rider Juliette Labous will leave dsm-firmenich Post NL and join French team FDJ-SUEZ until 2027. Her last race with the Dutch team will be the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.
Australian riders Tiffany Cromwell and Neve Bradbury have extended their contracts with Canyon//SRAM Racing, with Bradbury signing through 2027 and Cromwell through 2025. Cromwell has been a key part of the team since its inaugural season in 2016. Bradbury, who won the Zwift Academy in 2020, has since developed into a strong contender, securing general classification podiums at the Tour Down Under, UAE Tour, Tour de Suisse, and Giro d’Italia.
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot will join Team Visma | Lease a Bike Women in 2025. The 32-year-old Frenchwoman returns to road cycling after a successful period in mountain biking. The former World Champion has signed a three-season contract with the Dutch team. “Ineos aren’t planning to launch a women’s team at the moment. That’s why I wanted to change. I didn’t have any choice if I wanted to race on the road next year,” she commented about her switch to her new team.
17-year-old Carys Lloyd, an impressive junior talent on both the road and track, will join Movistar Team. The British rider has already collected three European titles. In 2023, she became the Continental Champion in the Madison, and last July, she took gold in the Omnium and notched up a second madison title, together with future teammate Cat Ferguson.
Elisa Longo Borghini has had to withdraw from Le Tour Femmes avec Zwift due to a crash in training. Although she sustained no broken bones, the Italian rider suffered road rash, which will prevent her from riding. We wish her a speedy recovery.
Last Friday, AG Insurance – Soudal unveiled a slightly updated jersey for the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. The new design features the AG200Y logo, commemorating the 200th anniversary of AG Insurance, which began operating in the Belgian insurance market in 1824. Additionally, the jersey will display a new Circeaulair logo from Ekopak.
The Australian cycling team for the World Championships has been announced. Riders include recent Olympic ITT Champion Grace Brown, Sarah Gigante, National Road Champion Ruby Roseman-Gannon, and Amanda Spratt, who is contesting her 12th elite World Championships. Neve Bradbury has also been selected following a breakthrough season, with Oceania ITT Champion Isabelle Carnes and Brodie Chapman completing the team.
Lifeplus-Wahoo, Britain’s most successful and longest running UCI women’s team, will close at the end of the year. Founded in 2016 and formerly known as Drops, team management has been unable to find a sponsor. “Despite securing a full stable of premium product partners for 2025, we have been unable to sell the naming rights for a figure commensurate with the budget required for a UCI Pro Team Licence application”, Team Manager Bob Varney commented. The team has developed many promising riders including former British champion Alice Towers and former Hour record holder Joss Lowden.
According to reports from a French newspaper, the future of the St Michel-Mavic-Auber 93 team, which earned a wildcard entry to the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, may be in jeopardy due to the departure of major sponsors.
In a surprising yet fortunate twist of events, the future of Pro-Noctis-200º Coffee-Hargreaves Contracting was uncertain until its Manager reached out to a company whose name he spotted on the side of a lorry while driving. Now, the British Women’s Continental team has secured a new sponsor, Smurfit Westrock, through at least 2027.
Ireland’s women’s team pursuit squad made history with their debut at the Paris Olympics, marking the country’s first-ever participation in this event. Despite the significant challenge of lacking a home velodrome, the team has displayed remarkable dedication and perseverance, frequently traveling abroad to train and prepare.
In a true show of Olympic spirit, the German track team stepped in to provide Ese Lovina Ukpeseraye with a bike, after she received a late call-up to compete in the keirin and sprint events. The Nigerian rider, who competes on the road for the Canyon//SRAM Generation team, was able to participate thanks to their generous support.
In a recent article, Audrey Cordon-Ragot opens up about her experience in 2022 when she suffered a stroke and expressed her reasons why riders must be educated about these risks.
The Tour de Femmes avec Zwift will start today. Find out all you need to know about this event in our race preview featuring stage-by-stage parcours analysis, riders to watch, race predictions and analysis of key team strategies. Check it out here.
For all fans of women’s cycling, check out our handy guide to where and when you can watch the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift – right here!
Results
2024 Paris Olympic Games
Team Sprint: Great Britain ahead of New Zealand and Germany
Team Pursuit: USA ahead of New Zealand and Great Britain
Keirin: Ellesse Andrews (NZL) ahead of Hetty van de Wouw (NED) and Emma Finucane (GBR)
Madison: Italy ahead of Great Britain and The Netherlands
Sprint: Ellesse Andrews (NZL) ahead of Lea Friedrich (GER) and Emma Finucane (GBR)
Voxwomen Club!
Calling all cycling enthusiasts. The Voxwomen Cycling Club is hosting a series of exciting rides on Zwift with our ambassadors and we’re inviting YOU to join. Whether you’re a seasoned rider or just starting out, let’s pedal together, have fun and stay fit! More information can be found here.
The Women’s Cycling Podcast p/b Liv
Rebecca Charlton and Hannah Walker bring you a special episode of the Women’s Cycling Podcast powered by Liv! Get ready for the essential guide to the 2024 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift and delve into the stages, the riders to watch, where they think the race will be won, and of course they give you their tips for the win. This is your essential guide to the biggest women’s race in the world. Curated by the team at Voxwomen, the Women’s Cycling Podcast is supported by Liv, the sponsors of the White Jersey of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. Listen to it on Spotify here or Apple Music here!
Zwift Blog
Why are women’s races shorter than men’s? In her latest exclusive blog, Lizzie Stannard examines historical conventions, physiological insights, and current regulations to delve into the reasons behind this disparity and what can be done to bridge the gap. This compelling read can be found here.
This week in cycling history
Kristin Armstrong
Kristin Armstrong, born on 11 August 1973, is a celebrated U.S rider who had an illustrious career marked by numerous achievements. She is a three-time Olympic gold medallist, winning the Individual Time Trial in 2008, 2012, and 2016, making her the only female rider to have won the same event at three consecutive Olympic Games. Additionally, she became the oldest female rider in history to win an Olympic medal when she won gold in Rio, one day before her 43rd birthday. Beyond her Olympic success, Armstrong has claimed numerous national titles and World Championship medals, establishing herself as one of the most accomplished time trialists in cycling history. After retiring from competitive cycling, Armstrong transitioned into coaching and became an advocate for youth sports and physical fitness. She founded the Kristin Armstrong Cycling Academy, aimed at nurturing young talent and promoting the benefits of an active lifestyle. More recently, she opened and runs “Pivot by KA,” a chain of health and lifestyle clubs in Idaho.
WorldTour highlight videos
Catch up on all the action from the latest WorldTour races, like the Giro d’Italia Women, right here.
