All images by Justin Britton
2024, an amazing season
Even if CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto’s riders did not raise their arms very often in 2024, the six wins that the German team acquired in 2024 were all at the biggest races in the world.
The most incredible of them is obviously the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, won by Katarzyna Niewiadoma after an extremely suspenseful final stage, where the Polish rider managed to keep four seconds of advantage over her rival Demi Vollering, allowing her to win her first ever Grand Tour. After five seasons without a success, Niewiadoma also raised her arms at the Flèche Wallonne, only a few weeks after finishing on the second step of the podium at the Ronde van Vlaanderen. At 30 years old, the Polish rider had the best season of her career and proved once again that she was one of the best riders in the peloton.
Alongside Niewiadoma, other riders from CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto also had a very good season. The young Australian Neve Bradbury was one of them, as she revealed herself as an extremely talented climber; one to count on for the future. Indeed, at 22 years old, the Australian raised her arms in Champagne at the Tour de Suisse and, even more impressive, at the top of the Blockhaus at the Giro d’Italia. The young Australian also finished these two races on the podium of the general classification, adding these places of honour to the ones she scored earlier in the season in Australia and the UAE.
The mountains performances of CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto did not stop with these two riders. Indeed, Elise Chabbey climbed into the top 5 at Itzulia Women and the Vuelta a Burgos, after finishing fourth at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, while the young Antonia Niedermaier confirmed that she was one to watch for the future with a top six at the Giro d’Italia. Ricarda Bauernfeind also showed great strength at La Vuelta, where she finished sixth in the general classification, posting a great performance at the Spanish Grand Tour for the second year in a row. On different parcours, the Cyclo-Cross U23 World Champion Zoe Bäckstedt also showed herself by raising her arms for the first time at the professional level in the prologue of the Simac Ladies Tour, a race in which she finished in third place overall. The American Chloe Dygert also proved herself at the World Championships. She couldn’t keep her title in the ITT, only finishing third, but she brought home a silver medal during the Road Race, beaten only by Lotte Kopecky.
Overall, CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto was present throughout the season, with great results from different riders. If the total of wins can be seen as low given the number of podiums, the German team still managed to finish the season in third place on the UCI classification, proving their status as one of the best teams in the world.
Adding even more talent for 2025
This interseason has been really busy for a lot of teams in the Women’s World Tour. CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto is one of them, as six new riders will be joining the German team next season.
The biggest name on the list is undeniably Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig, who is arriving from FDJ-SUEZ. The former Danish champion will add even more quality in the mountain team of CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto and will try to forget the 2024 season, where she was not at her best level. Indeed, despite a stage win at the Tour Down Under and a top ten at the Giro d’Italia, the former stage winner on the Tour de France Femmes couldn’t compete in the Classics due to a crash during Omloop Het Nieuwsbald that resulted in a sacrum fracture. This injury cost Uttrup Ludwig in her preparation for the rest of the season and could be one explanation for her complicated end of the year. At 29 years old, the native of Frederiksberg will have at heart the aim to perform again throughout the season, making her abilities of puncheur and climber speak during hilly races. Her arrival is also made possible by the departure of Elise Chabbey to FDJ-SUEZ, where the Swiss rider will try to take on a new challenge at 31 years-old.
Another field where CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto reinforced themselves during the winter is the sprint. Indeed, the Italian Chiara Consonni has signed a contract with Ronny Lauke’s team. The native of Ponte San Pietro has proven to be one of the fastest women in the peloton, raising her arms at each Giro d’Italia since 2022. Consonni will also be a very important asset for her new team in the Flanders Classics, as she already triumphed at the Dwars door Vlaanderen and recorded a podium at Gent-Wevelgem. At 25 years old, the Italian should be the main sprinter of CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto in 2025.
Alongside these two riders, CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto also registered the arrival of the very young Finnish Wilma Aintila, who, at 20 years old, is a very good time trialist who could become one of the very best in the discipline in the future. The former Portuguese champion Maria Martins will add more depth to the Classics squad while Anastasiya Kolesava should be a domestique for her leaders when the road rises. Finally, the Gravel specialist Rosa Maria Kloser completes the roster of the German team for 2025.
Has Katarzyna Niewiadoma found the way to victory?
It will be one of the most interesting things to follow next season: after spending five seasons without raising her arms, Katarzyna ‘Kasia’ Niewiadoma finally found success in 2024, with two impressive wins at the Flèche Wallonne and the Tour de France Femmes. Could this relief act as a trigger for the future?
From the beginning of her professional career in 2013 to 2019, Niewiadoma was a quite successful rider, raising her arms multiple times during the season. However, after her triumph on the fourth stage of the OVO Energy Women’s Tour in 2019, the former Polish champion spent five seasons without adding a race to her trophy cabinet. It was an anomaly as the native of Limanowa was one of the greatest riders in the world but she would accumulate podiums and top five without raising her arms.
In 2024, her curse was continuing as she finished fourth at the Strade Bianche before losing the sprint against Elisa Longo Borghini at the Ronde van Vlaanderen. However, at the top of the Mur de Huy on the Flèche Wallonne, the Polish rider managed to beat her Italian opponent as well as Demi Vollering to finally raise her arms after five long years of waiting. After this deliverance, Niewadoma continued to post very good results (fifth at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, fourth at the Tour de Suisse) before entering the Tour de France Femmes, a race where she already climbed onto the third step of the podium twice. After five stages, the 30-year-old took the Yellow jersey and managed to keep it through an amazing final stage.
Winning the most prestigious race in the World after five years of shortage was really amazing for Kasia Niewadoma. Her main objective for 2025 will be to surf on this result and to get used to winning more often. Indeed, raising her arms again may have broken a mental barrier for the Polish rider, proving her that she was able to win in the biggest arenas of the cycling world. Let’s hope for Niewiadoma and her team that 2024 has broken the seal and that we will see the Polish rider on the top of the podium more often next season.
Trusting the youth
Out of the eighteen riders that will wear the CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto’s jersey in 2025, six will be under 23 years old at the beginning of the season. Having a third of a team being this young is not that common in cycling, especially when these young riders already have responsibility in the team.
Behind Kasia Niewiadoma and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig, two very talented young climbers are completing an incredibly stacked mountains team, that could do a lot of damage in 2025 for CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto. Indeed, the Australian Neve Bradbury has already proven herself as one of the best young climbers in the world, climbing to the third step of the podium at the Giro d’Italia. At this same Giro, her teammate Antonia Niedermaier managed to finish in sixth overall, confirming the expectations that were placed on her after her triumph at the Tour de l’Ardèche and her stage win at the Italian Grand Tour the year before. Depending on their schedule next season, these two young stars could shake up the hierarchy in the German team and make their talent speak for themselves to take the lead at the biggest races in the world.
Another extremely promising rider is Zoe Bäckstedt who will experience her second complete season at the World Tour level. Last year, the British rider showed all of her talent in individual time trials during the Simac Ladies Tour, where she won the prologue before taking third place in the general classification. At only 20 years old, Bäckstedt is also an excellent cyclo-cross rider; she was crowned U23 World Champion last year. In 2025, the young star could burst onto the scene in ITTs but also at the Flanders Classics, that are races that she appreciates a lot. Indeed, the daughter of Magnus Bäckstedt, former Paris-Roubaix winner, finished her first Hell of the North in a very honourable 16th position, in the group playing for seventh.
The glut of promising riders does not stop here for CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto, as Alice Towers is also part of the team. The British rider’s only win at the professional level is the British Championships, that she won in 2022, at the age of 20 years old. Even if she did not manage to raise her arms since, the native of Derbyshire can still be considered as a rider with potential, as can her two teammates Wilma Aintila and Justyna Czapla, both 20 years old. The former is the Finnish ITT Champion, while 2025 will already be the third professional season for the former.
This young generation is really promising for CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto and it will be very interesting to see if they can reveal themselves even more to the cycling world, helping the German team to stay one of the best in the peloton.
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