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Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig will join Canyon//SRAM on a two-year contract. In 2022, the Dane took a superb stage win at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift and the overall victory at the Tour of Scandinavia. In 2023, she won two stages of the Tour of Scandinavia, and added a second Giro dell’Emilia, as well as a bronze medal at the UCI Road World Championships to her palmares. Cecilie’s 2024 season began with a stage win at the Tour Down Under in Australia before several setbacks prevented her from reaching her top form. “I am immensely looking forward to joining Canyon//SRAM Racing for 2025 and onwards. I love the team’s aggressive racing style and not being afraid to lose,” the Dane said about her new squad.
Sarah Gigante has extended with AG Insurance-Soudal for another two years. The talented Australian aims to keep improving and gain confidence. She’s also hoping to defend her Tour Down Under title in January and play a key role in the Grand Tours next season.
British all-rounder Elynor Bäckstedt will join UAE Team ADQ on a three year deal. After five years at Lidl-Trek, Bäckstedt is ready for a new challenge and will link up with current teammates Elisa Longo Borghini and Brodie Chapman in 2025, as UAE Team ADQ takes the next step in its development. “I’ve been teammates with Elisa for five years, and Brodie for two. I get along with them and we work super well together. That was certainly a factor in the move across to UAE Team ADQ because they’re amazing teammates but I’m looking forward to getting to know all the riders,” Bäckstedt said.
Eleonora Ciabocco has extended with Team dsm-firmenich PostNL. She produced a great result at the Tour de l’Avenir, where she climbed superbly to end in eighth place overall, while finishing every stage in the top ten. Becky Storrie, who joined the squad in 2023, has also extended with the team. The British rider has played an important role in several of the team’s successes, such as its first ever Grand Tour podium with their women’s program at the Giro d’Italia, and at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, where she helped the team to two victories on Dutch soil.
Swiss rider Steffi Häberli has signed with Team SD Worx-Protime for the next two years. Häberli finished fifth on the last stage of this year’s Tour de Suisse. Sports manager Danny Stam remarks: ‘Steffi comes from mountain biking and has not actually been cycling for very long. At the Tour de Suisse, she immediately caught our eye. Because she hardly has any racing history on the road, we are convinced that she can still make great strides. She now wants to focus completely on the road.”
New Zealand climber Henrietta Christie will join EF-Oatly-Cannondale in 2025. This year, Christie achieved a notable third-place finish at the Gran Premio Ciudad de Eibar, and is a former junior and U23 national time trial champion. Christie has also won the best young rider classification at both the Tour Down Under and the Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l’Ardèche. In addition to her cycling achievements, she also has a passion for baking, which played a significant role in her journey to Europe. “I used to sell home-baked cakes before I came to Europe,” she shared. “That’s how I saved up to join my first team here. The money I earned paid for my flights and spending money.”
Italian rider Monica Trinca Colonel will make her debut in the Women’s WorldTour in 2025 with Liv AlUla Jayco. Despite having only one season of international racing under her belt, she has rapidly ascended the ranks with impressive performances against seasoned professionals. Notably, during La Vuelta Femenina and the Giro d’Italia, she secured top 20 finishes, a remarkable achievement even for the most experienced of riders.
Kim Le Court has renewed her contract with AG Insurance-Soudal for another two years. Her focus will be on enhancing her consistency and targeting key races where she can showcase her strengths. In addition, she aspires to grow as a leader within the team while maintaining a healthy balance between her cycling career and personal life.
Thalita de Jong has returned to the WWT by signing with Human Powered Health through 2026. The former cyclocross world champion had a successful 2024 season, winning two stages and the overall classification at the Tour d’Ardeche, finishing tenth at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, and second in Oetingen, while also securing several top tens in the classics.
After a standout and consistent road season, Letizia Paternoster has committed to two more years with Liv AlUla Jayco. The Italian is hoping to build on her strong 2024 performances, which saw her take a top ten at the Tour of Flanders and a podium finish in Dwars door Vlaanderen, amongst other impressive top-five placings in key WorldTour races.
Marion Bunel will join Team Visma | Lease a Bike Women from St Michel-Mavic-Auber93 on a three-year contract. The French rider, who recently won the Tour de l’Avenir, will join experienced teammates such as Marianne Vos and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot to further develop her skills.
Promising Scottish cyclist Eilidh Shaw has signed a two-year contract with the UAE Team ADQ’s development squad. The 19-year-old had a breakout season, securing two domestic victories and achieving her first UCI podiums at the Tour de Feminin. In 2023, she won the Scottish national road championships and also finished second to the recently-crowned Junior World Champion Cat Ferguson in a U.K. race in April.
Heidi Franz, who raced for Lifeplus Wahoo this year, and fellow American Alexis Magner, who was with Canyon//SRAM from 2016 to 2021, will join Cynisca Cycling next year. Magner will take on the role of team captain, bringing a wealth of experience from her 12 years in professional racing. In addition to her road racing, Franz is also an avid gravel rider, having represented Team USA at the 2024 UCI World Road and Gravel Championships.
Audrey Cordon-Ragot has retired after an impressive 16-year career in professional cycling. Her final race took place this week at the Simac Ladies Tour in the Netherlands, where she previously celebrated victory in 2022. Joining her in retirement is teammate Alice Wood, a former British national champion, who also concluded her professional journey this week.
Christine Majerus will also retire, her final race being the Simac Ladies Tour. Remaining at Team SD Worx-Protime for the vast majority of her career, Majerus became invaluable to the Dutch team and was present for several of their biggest results. She has not yet announced her post-racing plans.
British former World Hour record holder Joss Lowden finished her last pro road race at Tre Valli Varesine. After the race, she commented: “It’s not the end, just the end of professional racing, but maybe the beginning of gravel racing and maybe some track.”
Chiara Consonni was unfortunately unable to start at the Simac Ladies Tour due to health problems. That event was planned to be her last race with UAE Team ADQ, a squad she rode with for the past two years.
Shirin van Anrooij will miss the upcoming cyclo-cross season due to ongoing issues with her left leg. She indicated that further tests may be necessary and that surgery could be required, which means she will be sidelined from racing for an extended period. Despite this setback, she remains optimistic, believing that obtaining a proper diagnosis will enable her to focus on recovery and work towards her future goals.
Great Britain has taken the top spot in the 2024 UEC National Federations medal table, followed by Germany and France, while France topped the 2024 European Championships and European Cups overall ranking ahead of Germany and Switzerland. The latter ranking includes Track, MTB Freestyle, BMX, road, trials and indoor cycling.
Lars Boom has been appointed Sports Director at FDJ-SUEZ. The 2008 World Cyclocross champion and a stage winner at both the 2014 Tour de France and the 2009 Vuelta a España, Boom has made a successful transition from professional rider to Sports Director. He previously served as the Sports Director for the Liv Racing team in 2021 and then for Team SD Worx-Protime from 2022 to 2024.
Emil Vinjebo will join Uno-X Mobility as new Sports Director. The Dane will bring recent experience from the peloton, having retired from the sport after the 2023 season. He will work across both the women’s and men’s teams.
A last-minute sponsor has been secured for the St Michel-Mavic-Auber93 team, with Preference Home stepping in as a co-sponsor for both the men’s and women’s squads in 2025. Starting next year, the team will compete under the name St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93. Preference Home, a French real estate development firm, will take over the co-title sponsorship from Mavic, who announced earlier this year that they would withdraw from the co-title role. Without this new sponsorship, the team faced the risk of closure, making this new partnership an important step for the team’s future.
British Cycling has announced a strong 23-member team that will represent Great Britain at the 2024 Tissot UCI Track World Championships, taking place from October 16-20 in Ballerup, Denmark. Leading the squad are Olympic team sprint champions Sophie Capewell, Emma Finucane and Katy Marchant. The women’s endurance team features Olympic bronze medalists Josie Knight, Anna Morris, and Jess Roberts, along with Olympic reserve Meg Barker. Great Britain currently holds the world title in the team pursuit, and Katie Archibald will return to the track to bolster their defense of that title.
USA Cycling has announced its squad for the Track World Championships. The squad includes Chloe Dygert (individual pursuit), Emily Ehrlich (individual pursuit), Megan Jastrab (Madison) and Jennifer Valente (Madison, Points race, Scratch, Elimination, Omnium).
The course for the 10th anniversary of the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race has been officially confirmed. In 2025, the course for the race, scheduled for February 1, will be held in the reverse direction, mirroring the route of the inaugural races in 2015. A new loop will also be added to the Geelong Circuit, enhancing the challenge. As in previous years, the peloton will complete two loops of the Geelong Circuit, which includes the infamous Challambra climb.
Grace Brown and Brodie Chapman have expressed their concerns to the commissaires about the severe weather conditions at last week’s Tre Valli Varesine. During their discussion with the official during the race, the two riders were dropped and ultimately decided to abandon the race. Only 35 riders completed the event, with the subsequent men’s edition ultimately being cancelled due to the weather conditions.
Results
Tre Valli Varesine: Cedrine Kerbaol (CERATIZIT-WNT Pro Cycling) ahead of Silvia Persico (UAE Team ADQ) and Liane Lippert (Movistar)
Simac Ladies Tour
Stage 1: Zoe Bäckstedt (Canyon//SRAM Racing) ahead of Lieke Nooijen (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) and Ellen van Dijk (Lidl-Trek)
Stage 2: Lorena Wiebes (Team SD Worx-Protime) ahead of Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek) and Charlotte Kool (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL)
Stage 3: Lorena Wiebes ahead of Elisa Balsamo and Lotte Kopecky (Team SD Worx-Protime)
Stage 4: Barbara Guarischi (Team SD Worx-Protime) ahead of Ally Wollaston (AG Insurance-Soudal) and Maria Giullia Confalonieri (Uno-X Mobility)
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.
Race Preview
Get ready for the final showdown on the Women’s World Tour with our race preview for the 2024 Tour of Chongming Island. This 3-day stage race promises thrilling bunch sprints. But who will be in the mix? Find out which teams and riders to watch as they battle for one of the last chances to raise their arms in victory this season. Read it all 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
Dede Barry
The former U.S. professional rider was born on 8 October 1972. A remarkable athlete, Barry is a six-time U.S. champion and has earned several World Cup victories, along with two medals at the World Championships. She also secured a silver medal in the time trial at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Originally a speed skater, Barry made the transition to cycling, where she quickly excelled. After earning her MBA in Barcelona, she began working at Mariposa Cycling, a family-run business in Ontario, Canada. She frequently returns to Girona, where she lived prior to her move back to Canada, to lead cycling tours and share her passion and expertise with fellow cycling enthusiasts.
Anne-Caroline Chausson
Anne-Caroline Chausson, born on 8 October 1977, is a legendary figure in the world of mountain biking, renowned for her achievements across multiple disciplines, including endurance racing and BMX. She secured titles at 13 UCI international senior mountain bike World Championships, 14 European mountain bike championships, and numerous MTB World Cup events. At the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, Chausson made history by winning the inaugural women’s BMX event. As an ambassador for Commencal, she also served as a test rider and product developer. Despite facing cancer and undergoing surgery for its recurrence, Chausson continues to ride. As she puts it, “whatever happens, riding is a link with life, one made of joy and discovery.”
WorldTour highlight videos
Catch up on the action from the Simac Ladies Tour right here!
