As the Simac Ladies Tour marks the final European Women’s WorldTour event of the 2024 season, the women’s peloton is preparing to bid farewell to some of its seasoned competitors. Among those retiring are Audrey Cordon-Ragot and Alice Wood, both from the Human Powered Health team.
The 17-year journey of French rider Cordon-Ragot reaches its conclusion at this six-day Dutch race. Having competed for teams such as Vienne Futuroscope, Wiggle High5, and Trek-Segafredo, she has amassed 21 victories, including nine national titles. Reflecting on her imminent retirement, Cordon-Ragot shared, “I’ve tried not to think about it too much. I’ve managed to stay focused and still train hard, so I’m proud of myself for maintaining that focus, which was really important for me this year to keep my motivation.” The sentiment is especially poignant as she dons her French national time trial champion’s jersey for the final time. “For sure it’s going to be special because it will be the last time I wear it in a race. I’m so proud to wear it whenever I can.”
Meanwhile, Alice Wood is also stepping away from racing after nine years in the peloton, having ridden for teams like Drops and Canyon-SRAM. With five professional victories, including British road and time trial titles, the 29-year-old reflects on her decision: “It’s a weird feeling to know this will be my last race. I still feel this is the perfect time for me to end my career. I have often had some good results at this race and in the Netherlands, so hopefully, I can end on a high.”
The duo began their final race with Cordon-Ragot and Wood finishing 16th and 42nd respectively in the 10km time trial at Gennep, which was claimed by Zoe Bäckstedt of Canyon-SRAM. The competition continues with a 155km sprint stage to Assen on Wednesday afternoon.
