Coryn Rivera has just announced that she will be riding for Jumbo Visma in 2022, at the same time she ‘suddenly’ became Coryn Labecki. She’s not alone in changing her name mid-career, it’s almost something to be expected for a handful of riders in women’s cycling. Now a rider doesn’t have to change their riding name when they get married (in the same way they don’t have to change their name then) and there are examples like Anna van der Breggen where that is the case. Here’s a list of riders who have changed their name during their careers.
Riders with new surnames
- Coryn Rivera – Coryn Labecki
- Lizzie Armitstead – Lizzie Deignan
- Lotta Lepisto – Lotta Henttala
- Lizzy Stedman – Lizzy Banks
- Shara Gillow – Shara Marche
- Laura Trott – Laura Kenny
- Claudia Häusler – Claudia Lichtenberg
- Lucy Garner – Lucy van der Haar
- Anna Wilson – Anna Millward
- Monica Valen – Monica Valvik
- Inga Civilnaite – Inga Cesuliene
- Vita Petersone – Vita Heine
Coryn Labecki is just the latest of a number of riders to take on a new surname. Lizzie Deignan may the most high profile and it’s rare to hear people accidentally call her Armitstead, it seems to have stuck. Although, Laura Trott was a household name due to her Olympic success and plenty still refer to her by her old name. Lizzy Banks’s maiden name probably isn’t too commonly known. Whilst she was racing and achieving results as Lizzy Stedman, as she rose up a level to Storey Racing in 2017, she was Lizzy Banks. There’s a decent mix here of riders partnered to other riders and also non-riders.
Photo Credit: Luc Claessen/Getty Images
Riders who have added to their original surname
- Chantal Blaak – Chantal van den Broek-Blaak
- Ashleigh Moolman – Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio
- Audrey Cordon – Audrey Cordon-Ragot
- Mirjam Melchers – Mirjam Melchers-van Poppel
- Michael Valgren Andersen – Michael Valgren Hundahl
- Florian Senechal – Florian Senechal-Staelens
Riders in this list added their spouse’s name to their own. Audrey Cordon-Ragot’s name is almost so synonymous with her success that it’s a long memory that can remember her racing as just Audrey Cordon attached. There are a pair of interesting, less-traditional or expected, male riders adding the name of their wife to their name. In the macho world of men’s cycling, so much so there are no homosexual riders at the top levels of the sport, this is a nice surprise to find.
Photo Credit: Thomas Maheux
Riders who have added to their surname then reverted
- Chloe Dygert – Chloe Dygert-Owen – Chloe Dygert
- Connie Carpenter – Connie Carpenter-Phinney – Connie Carpenter
- Rebecca Twigg – Rebecca Twigg-Whitehead – Rebecca Twigg
- Jeannie Longo – Jeannie Longo Ciprelli – Jeannie Longo
There are even riders who have changed their names once and then reverted back to their original name. The first three on the list have the simplest explanation, they took on their husband’s name when they got married and then removed it when they got divorced. Jeannie Longo’s is a bit murkier. She added her husband’s name but then removed it around the time L’Equipe reported that he’d purchased EPO previously. She was cleared of any improprieties, but the name disappeared nonetheless.
