Your Monday Briefing

Marianne Vos has extended her contract with Team Visma | Lease a Bike, committing to the squad until the end of her career. The multiple world champion will continue her successful partnership with the team, with whom she has enjoyed a string of impressive victories in the five years since she joined the squad.  In 2024, she celebrated a major milestone by securing her 250th professional win.

Following a recent period away from the sport, Shari Bossuyt has joined AG Insurance-Soudal with the first race scheduled in mid-June.  The move marks a new chapter for the 24-year-old after a period of uncertainty surrounding her cycling career. The former Belgian junior road and ITT champion said about her return to the peloton: “This is a fresh start, and I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity. I’ve missed the rhythm of racing, being part of a team and the challenge, and I’m ready to give it everything.”

Team Coop-Repsol has confirmed that Sigrid Ytterhus Haugset sustained a broken hip in a crash at Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift. Despite the injury, Haugset managed to finish the race. However, she now faces a recovery period that will sideline her from the Vuelta. A decision regarding the need for surgery is still pending.

Karlijn Swinkels of UAE Team ADQ has been managing ongoing discomfort while riding, diagnosed as piriformis syndrome. In coordination with the team’s medical and performance staff, a comprehensive recovery plan has been implemented. This includes bike fit adjustments, targeted physiotherapy, and specialised treatments aimed at relieving symptoms and ensuring a full recovery. Her primary focus now is regaining full health, with the goal of returning to racing pain-free and performing at a high level. Swinkels is expected to rejoin the peloton in approximately three to four weeks.

The Tour de Suisse Women has published the line up for this year’s race. 13 WorldTour teams, including the Swiss squad Roland, two UCI ProTeams and five UCI Continental teams will be at the start of the race which is scheduled from 12 to 15 June. The route will encompass 500km total in distance with 7000m of climbing and two circuit stages. The event starts in Gstaad with a circuit race and finishes with another circuit race in Küssnacht.

Double Olympic champion Kristen Faulkner has transitioned into a strong podium contender in her own right. The Ardennes Classics serve as a valuable warm-up for the upcoming Vuelta a España Femenina, where she hopes to further develop her climbing skills. Faulkner noted that these races offer the perfect opportunity to build form and confidence. Following the Vuelta, she plans to return to the U.S. at the end of May to defend her U.S. Pro Road Championship title. Among her goals for the season are a strong showing at the Tour of Britain, a stage win at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, and a podium finish at the World Championships.

Just weeks after securing second place at RADL GRVL in Australia, U.S. rider Melissa Rollins made a remarkable comeback. After breaking both wrists at the Otway Odyssey Mountain bike race, she bounced back to finish sixth in the elite women’s division at Sea Otter Gravel California. She also lined up for last Saturday’s 137-mile Growler, a demanding course featuring steep climbs, technical descents, and rugged roads. She faced a stacked field that included defending champion Lauren De Crescenzo, along with Cecily Decker, Courtney Sherwell, Danni Shrosbree, Flavia Oliveira Parks, Gwendalyn Gibson, Kira Payer, and Paige Onweller.

The Herald Sun Tour in Victoria, Australia, will return in 2026 after a five-year hiatus. The event, planned for February a few days after the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, will feature five stages. Grace Brown will be the women’s race director. More details are expected in the coming weeks.

The Tour of Britain, set to run from 5 to 8 June, has revealed the route for its four-stage race, which will unfold across Northern England and Scotland. This year, Glasgow will make its debut as a host city for the Women’s WorldTour event, with the final stage featuring a city-centre circuit. The race kicks off with Stage one between Dalby Forest and Redcar, followed by Stage two between Hartlepool and Saltburn-by-the-Sea. Stage three moves north to the Scottish Borders, centred around Kelso, before the grand finale in Glasgow.

French TV audience figures for this year’s Paris-Roubaix avec Zwift reveal the highest viewership since the race’s inception. A peak of 1.9 million viewers tuned in to watch Pauline Ferrand-Prévot’s victory, marking an increase of 300,000 compared to last year. Across the full broadcast, the race reached nearly 3.2 million viewers, with coverage aired in 190 countries worldwide. Visits to the race’s website increased by 67 percent compared to last year, while visits to social media platforms experienced an increase of 24 percent.

The UCI has unveiled further details about the 2027 UCI World Championships in Sallanches, which will be a multi-discipline event – the second of its kind – scheduled to take place from 24 August to 5 September in France’s Haute-Savoie region. The Championships will feature 20 different competitions across 12 venues. Dedicated events for gravel and e-sports are also on the program, reflecting the evolving landscape of the sport. The road race circuit for the 2027 Road World Championships was also revealed. All categories will compete on a 13.3km loop, with both the start and finish lines in Sallanches, marking the event’s return to the town after nearly five decades. The last time Sallanches hosted the Road Worlds was in 1980, when U.S. rider Beth Heiden claimed victory on a similarly challenging circuit.

SafeR, a structure dedicated to safety in men’s and women’s road cycling has provided an update on their work. Between 1 March to 13 April, they have reviewed over 100 incidents to determine causes and assess appropriate actions. SafeR relies on TV footage, spectators and social media videos to support their decision making. In June, SafeR will submit to the UCI a proposal for rule changes to ensure greater safety for all riders.

EF Education Oatly went into Paris Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift full of enthusiasm and was motivated to finish well in the velodrome. But their performance was beyond expectations and there were even moments of comparison to Alison Jackson’s winning ride in the race. Read more here.

23 April: La Flèche Wallonne Féminine

23 April: Pan American Championships WE – ITT

26 April: Pan American Championships WE – Road Race

27 April: Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes