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Emma Norsgaard will join Lidl-Trek for the next three years. The Danish rider burst onto the scene in 2016, when at just 16 years old, she claimed the elite national road title, signalling the start of a promising career. Since then, she has collected an impressive 15 career victories across a variety of terrains. Commenting on her move to Lidl-Trek, she said, “This team has always been a dream team for me, and I really had the feeling that they have confidence in me and believe so much in me.”
New Zealander Niamh Fisher-Black has also signed with Lidl Trek for the next three years. Fisher-Black turned professional in 2020 and, having adjusted to the European racing scene, quickly established herself as a rising star in the peloton. In 2022, she claimed the inaugural Under-23 Road Race World Championship in Wollongong. Her career highlights also include WorldTour stage victories at the 2023 Tour de Suisse and a remarkable stage win at this year’s Giro d’Italia.
Maggie Coles-Lyster will join Human Powered Health through 2026. The Canadian will bolster the squad’s classics squad and bring firepower to sprints. The 2022 national road champion scored two podiums at the Thüringen Ladies Tour this year, and was fifth at Ronde de Mouscron and tenth at Gent-Wevelgem.
French media is reporting that FDJ-Suez has signed Normandy’s Eglantine Rayer and New Zealand’s Ally Wollaston. Most recently, Rayer won Stage 2 of the Tour de l’Avenir, while Wollaston took silver and bronze on the track at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
At the European road championships, Audrey de Keersmaker, Alana Castrique, Valerie Demey, Marion Norbert-Riberolle, Marthe Truyen, Jesse Vandenbulcke, Fien van Eynde and Margot Vanpachtenbeke will represent Beigum at the road race events, while Lotte Kopecky will race the ITT. Meanwhile, the Netherlands will be represented by Lorena Wiebes (road), Karlijn Swinkels (road), Ellan van Dijk (road and ITT), Mischa Bredewold (road), Shirin van Anrooij (road), Riejanne Markus (road, ITT), Thalita de Jong (road) and Loes Adegeest (road).
Last weekend, Alison Jackson was at the start line of the British Gravel Championships in Galloway, Scotland. The winner of last year’s Paris-Roubaix participated in the elite women’s championship race, even though she was not eligible to win the title as she is not British. It was only her second gravel race, but she was eager to explore this discipline further.
The cyclocross season is fast approaching, and the new Exact Cross series will feature seven races, including a new event in both the Netherlands and Belgium. The series will kick off with its traditional opener, the be-MINE cross in Beringen on 12 October, and will conclude, as usual, with the Waaslandcross in Sint-Niklaas in mid-February.
Since coming on board as the presenting sponsor of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift in 2022, Zwift has played a crucial role in revitalising the event. One of the company’s goals was to reduce its own gender gap. Before 2022, women represented only 9 per cent of its user base. Today, that figure has risen to around 22 per cent. The success of the race has prompted Zwift to extend its title sponsorship for an additional year, now totalling five years.
To further enhance the development of junior female riders in cyclocross, the UCI has strengthened this category. Beginning this season, a junior women’s ranking will be introduced. For the 2025-26 and 2026-27 seasons, race organisers that do not include a junior women’s race will receive a fine. Starting the following year, junior women’s races will become mandatory.
Results
Premondiale Giro Toscana Int. Femminile-Memorial Michela Fanini:
Stage 1: Scarlett Souren (VolkerWessels Women’s Pro Cycling Team) ahead of Marion Norbert Riberolle (Fenix-Deceuninck Development Team) and Christina Lorenzen (Team Interklima ABC Copenhagen)
Stage 2: Rasa Leleivyte (Aromitalia 3T Vaiano) ahead of Elisa de Vallier (Top Girls Fassa Bortolo) and Margot Vanpachtenbeke (VolkerWessels Women’s Pro Cycling Team
2024 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships Mixed Team Relay: USA ahead of France and Italy
2024 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships Women Elite Downhill: Myriam Nicole (FRA) ahead of Tahnee Seagrave (GBR) and Valentina Höll (AUT)
2024 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships Elite cross-country Short Track: Evie Richards (GBR) ahead of Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (FRA) and Jenny Rissveds (SWE)
2024 UCI Mountain Bike world Championships U23 Cross-country Short Track: Isabella Holmgren (CAN) ahead of Ella McLean-Howell (GBR) and Ava Holmgren (CAN)
Zwift Blog
Ever wondered what it’s like to ride a Grand Tour? Franziska Koch takes you behind the scenes at the Giro, sharing the highs, lows and everything in between. From unexpected challenges to unforgettable moments, have a read here!
This week in cycling history
Alessandra Cappellotto
Born on 27 August 1968 in Sarcedo, Italy, Cappellotto became a prominent figure in women’s cycling in the 1990s and early 2000s. Her most notable achievement came in 1997 when she won the UCI Road World Championships in San Sebastián, Spain, becoming the first Italian woman to claim the road race world title. After she won the event, she formed the first international women’s team in Italy. Later she became the Vice President of the Italian riders’ association and ran the women’s section of the CPA. She is also the president of Road to Equality, which is an amateur sports association that, through sports and particularly cycling, promotes the empowerment of women in developing countries and areas where women lack basic rights, and supports them both sportively and socioeconomically. Outside of cycling, Cappellotto enjoys wine making from the grapes of her own vineyard in Italy.
Elsy Jacobs
On 30 August 1958, Elsy Jacobs became the first ever women’s Road World Champion. Thirty riders from Britain, France, Belgium, the Soviet Union, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Romania and the German Democratic Republic took part in the race. The 25-year-old Jacobs was the sole representative of Luxembourg and won the inaugural event by almost three minutes. By 1958, she moved to Paris, having become a full-time rider the year before. Besides the World Championships, she also won many national road titles and held the hour record of 41,347m/h, which she set in the Milan velodrome.
WorldTour highlight videos
Catch up on all the action from the latest WorldTour races! Watch highlights of the Tour de Femmes avec Zwift right here.
