Strength in diverse talent: Team BikeExchange Jayco women confirm roster and goals for 2022

Team BikeExchange women, to be named Team BikeExchange Jayco in 2022, has confirmed its 13-rider roster for the next season, with the goal of using its diverse talent across the board, as it sees its most significant roster change since the team’s inception in 2012.

“The work done over this last year, working together with performance and technical team, has been very intense and I do believe that we have managed to put together the best line-up possible for the 2022 season,” General Manager Brent Copeland stated. “We have deeply analysed what has been done in the past and how we have to manage our future. Last season wasn’t the easiest for us, but with the talent and determination of our riders and staff members, we believe can step back up in the WorldTour ranking once again.”

Strength in diversity
2022 will see six new riders from four different countries join the Australian outfit with their attributes ranging from raw power to track speed and valuable racing experience.

The influx of different traits and abilities should allow the squad to be competitive in an array of races as it looks build on the 2021 season and develop into the future.

“Next year is really exciting for us as we have six new riders joining us, all with different strengths,” Head Sport Director Martin Vestby explained. “This is something that I think will be to our advantage, having a real variety of riders that can challenge for the victory from many different race scenarios.

In the past we have often had one or two main leaders, next year we will of course have leaders for certain target races but in general, we are known as a team that gives opportunities to more riders and will continue doing that.”

A mix of new and old
The shake-up sees just three core riders remain (Amanda Spratt 11^th season, Jess Allen 7^th season, Georgia Williams 6^th season) with all other riders having spent one year or less with the squad. With this, it brings a flair of fresh motivation and enthusiasm as the Australian outfit begins its second decade within the rapidly progressing women’s WorldTour peloton.

With new rider ages ranging from 22 to 33-years-old, the squad is hoping this will go hand-in-hand, with the older wisdom in the team complimenting the youth.

“It is almost like a new, fresh start for us in 2022,” Martin continued. “We will see quite a big change to the roster compared to previous years and this is an exciting challenge for us, and I think it will make the whole team step-up a level.

The older riders in the team, like Spratt who has been here since 2012, will be able guide the new recruits and show them our team culture and riding style and likewise, they can learn a lot from the new riders and their ideas.

It will be really interesting to see how the six new riders can progress and develop with us in 2022, as they will all be making the step up into the World Tour with us. This is a big step for any rider, but we saw the likes of Teniel and Urška making great progression this season, and both were able to win UCI races in their first year with us.”

Team BikeExchange Jayco women for 2022:

• Jess Allen (AUS, 28)
• Arianna Fidanza (ITA, 26)
• Amanda Spratt (AUS, 34)
• Teniel Campbell (TTO, 24)
• Alexandra Manly (AUS, 25) New rider for 2022
• Georgia Baker (AUS, 27) New rider for 2022
• Nina Kessler (NED, 33) New rider for 2022
• Chelisie Tan Wei Shi (SIN, 31) New rider for 2022
• Ruby Roseman-Gannon (AUS, 23) New rider for 2022
• Kristen Faulkner (USA, 28) New rider for 2022
• Ane Santesteban (ESP, 30)
• Georgia Williams (NZL, 28)
• Urška Žigart (SLO, 24)

2022 Team BikeExchange Jayco women’s squad stats:

• No. of riders: 13
• No. of Australians: 5
• No. of internationals: 8 (1x NZL, 1x ITA, 1x TTO, 1x NED, 1x USA, 1x ESP, 1x SLO, 1x SIN)
• Youngest rider: Ruby Roseman-Gannon (22)
• Oldest rider: Amanda Spratt (34)
• Average age: 27.7

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