Canyon SRAM zondacrypto Generation have added two important young riders for the next stage of their development project. Italian sprinter Erja Bianchi and Polish all-rounder Weronika Wąsaty will both join the team on two-year contracts through 2027. Their arrivals follow the recent signings of Sophie Alisch and Ethiopian climber Tsige Kahsay Kiros, giving the squad a deeper and more varied lineup.
Sports director Gosia Jasinska believes both riders offer different qualities that will help the team. Bianchi brings fast finishing speed, while Wąsaty offers power on short climbs and the ability to handle harder one-day races.
Photo Credit: Canyon SRAMErja Bianchi, the Italian finisher with more than pure speed
Erja Bianchi grew up near Milan, close to Lago Maggiore, and has been involved in cycling since she was very young. She first joined a club at the age of seven and quickly showed strong sprinting ability. Over the last two seasons, she has become one of the standout juniors in Italy.
Racing for Biesse Carrera Zambelli, she took eight wins in 2024, the Italian junior team time trial title and a European bronze medal on the track. She built on that again in 2025, winning more races and taking fourth in the Italian junior road race, which is known for being one of the hardest junior championships in Europe.
In May she earned the Lombardy regional title in Cantù after finishing third in a tight bunch sprint. It confirmed her status as one of the most reliable fast finishers in the Italian junior scene.
Her track results also stand out. In 2025, she earned silver medals in the team pursuit at both the European Junior Track Championships and the Junior Track Worlds. In 2024, she also won bronze in the team sprint, showing her explosive power.
Even so, Bianchi does not want to be seen only as a sprinter. She has already shown she can race well on rolling courses, winning events with tougher profiles in Lunigiana and the Marche region. Through the winter, she focused on improving her climbing so she can survive harder races and still sprint for the win.
Away from the bike, she balances school at a sports science high school in Gallarate. She says she tries to enjoy racing rather than worrying about pressure, something that fits the development approach of her new team.
For Jasinska, Bianchi was an obvious choice. The sports director sees her as a first-year U23 rider with strong sprint data, but also with the hunger and mindset to learn and grow. Importantly, Bianchi has already spoken about wanting to work for the team as much as she races for herself.
Photo Credit: Canyon SRAMWeronika Wąsaty, the Polish talent with a classics profile
Weronika Wąsaty arrives from Żarowo in northern Poland. Cycling runs in her family. Both her father and grandfather raced, and her father coached her in her first years on the bike. She says this gives her extra motivation and a strong connection to the sport.
Like many young riders, she mixes road and track, but her progress on the road has been the clearest sign of her talent. In her first year out of juniors in 2025, she stepped up to longer races and tougher fields and handled the change well.
At the Polish national road championships, she finished 13th in a hard elite race where many older riders did not complete the distance. She took silver in the U23 road race on the same day and placed sixth in the U23 time trial. She also raced internationally at Tour de Feminin in the Czech Republic and at Gracia, earning a top ten on stage 2 at Tour de Feminin.
Her calendar already includes important development races like Tour de Pologne Women and Tour de l’Avenir Femmes. She also represented Poland at the first U23 World Championships road race in Rwanda, finishing inside the top 30, and at the European U23 road race in France.
Jasinska has worked with Wąsaty in the Polish national set-up and was impressed by her race sense. She highlighted her ability to hold position in the bunch, fight for space and ride with confidence. She sees her as a rider who can support teammates in tense moments while also taking leadership when the race suits her.
Wąsaty’s strengths lie in classics style races and short climbs. She already shows a mature view of her development, often saying she wants to improve physically, mentally and technically while gaining more experience.
Her contract runs through to 2027 and brings her into the same wider system as Polish WorldTour riders Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka and Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney. For Wąsaty, it is a major step towards the international career she hopes to build.
A growing and ambitious generation squad
The signings of Bianchi and Wąsaty continue a period of steady expansion for Canyon SRAM zondacrypto Generation. Together with Alisch and Kiros, the team now has a promising mix of sprint power, climbing ability, classics strength and track speed.
Bianchi brings the finishing speed to win bigger races as she adapts tothe U23 level. Wąsaty brings the toughness and race intelligence needed for rolling classics and team roles. Both riders talk openly about wanting to learn, and both now have the chance to grow in one of the most structured development programmes in the women’s peloton.
