Rally Cycling signs young talents Henrietta Christie and Barbara Malcotti

 

Rally Cycling has signed young climbing talents Henrietta Christie and Barbara Malcotti to its womenโ€™s team for 2022 and 2023. The new additions are the first names to be announced for next seasonโ€™s roster.

Both newcomers spoke about signing for Rally Cycling and their aspirations for the coming years. With the team applying for a Womenโ€™s WorldTour license, they will have plenty of opportunities. 

Pair of Kiwis 

Christie, from Christchurch, New Zealand, is the current under-23 national time trial champion and joins from the Bepink squad.

โ€œIโ€™m really excited about getting to meet everyone next year,โ€ Christie said. โ€œRally Cycling can help me progress with my career, and I canโ€™t wait to build some strong foundations within the team.โ€

The 19-year-old recently competed in both the womenโ€™s elite World Championship road race in Flanders, and the inaugural Paris-Roubaix Femmes, arguably the two most gruelling weekends of racing this season. The jump up did not faze the talented young climber though.

โ€œI love pushing myself to the limit,โ€ she said. โ€œMy aspirations are to get stronger every day and aim to get on a UCI Womenโ€™s WorldTour podium next year.โ€

Christie in the world-famous Vรฉlodrome Andrรฉ-Pรฉtrieux at the end of Paris-Roubaix Femmes

Christie describes herself as a hardworking, driven and team-focused rider who enjoys competing in stage races, as showcased by her young rider classification victory at the Tour Cycliste Fรฉminin in September.

โ€œItโ€™s going to be so cool to be part of a team that is so close-knit and is like a family.โ€

Returning for 2022 will be a fellow New Zealander whom Christie looks up to. Olivia Ray, the current national criterium champion, will renew her position on the team for next season and the duo will bring a unique Kiwi vibe to proceedings. 

Italian jersey hunter

Rally Cycling is also excited to welcome young climber Barbara Malcotti, who will be the teamโ€™s first-ever Italian rider. 

The 22-year-old from Tione di Trento (think mountains) has raced with the Italian team Valcar โ€“ Travel & Service since 2019 and is looking forward to joining an international program. 

โ€œIโ€™m excited to be racing with girls from around the world,โ€ Malcotti said. โ€œItโ€™s a great opportunity for me to improve my skills and be a good rider for the team.โ€

Like Christie, Malcotti is a climber who thrives in the mountains. Her fourth place in the young rider standings at the 2021 Giro dโ€™Italia Donne, and strong top-10 finishes in the recent Italian fall classics, the Giro dellโ€™Emilia (8th) and Tre Valli Varesine (4th), showcase her strengths going uphill. 

โ€œI look up to Annemiek van Vleuten, Marianne Vos and Elisa Longo Borghini because I like their method of racing. They stay in the bunch, get in the breakaway, and they attack, and I think a rider must do all of these things.โ€

Malcotti also hopes to figure in the Ardennes Classics and aspires to follow in the wheel tracks of her compatriot and current teammate, new world champion Elisa Balsamo

A platform for progression 

โ€œWe saw the promise and progression that they have shown already at a young age,โ€ said womenโ€™s team director Joanne Kiesanowski. โ€œHenrietta showed a lot of progression already after only a few months in Europe and Barbara has kept improving from her junior years and is ready to move to a World Tour team after racing at a very high level in the elites.โ€

โ€œThey both have shown strength in stage racing and have the abilities to be GC contenders in the future,โ€ Kiesanowski added. โ€œWeโ€™re excited to work with them and help them develop over the next two seasons.โ€ 

The team looks forward to welcoming Christie and Malcotti to the line-up for the next two years and is thrilled to have Ray returning. Weโ€™re not done yet, stay tuned for more rider announcements over the coming weeks.

Source

Mathew Mitchell
Mathew Mitchellhttp://procyclinguk.com
My name is Mathew Mitchell, 30-something from Staffordshire, UK. Over the last few years, I've got more and more into cycling, from the first innocent Sportive events to Audaxes, Go-Races, British Cycling racing, Time Trials and now Cyclocross.

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