VeloNews’ Fred Dreier spoke to the team about its plans for the women’s WorldTour. Read the full article here.
Rally Cycling is aiming for the UCI Women’s WorldTour next year.
Officials from the U.S. team recently confirmed their intention to file for UCI Women’s WorldTour license for 2022 and 2023.
“We’ve grown every year since 2007 and this is the next step,” Charles Aaron, the team’s owner, told VeloNews. “This has been the goal since the formation of the women’s WorldTour.”
Rally launched its women’s programme in 2012 under the name Optum presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies, and over the years it has worked with some of the top riders in North America. Sara Poidevin, Megan Jastrab, Alison Tetrick, Jade Wilcoxson, and Leah Kirchmann — among many others — have passed through the programme. The race has competed at the UCI Continental team level, and its current lineup includes Madeline Bemis, Holly Breck, Katie Clouse, Kristabel Doebel-Hickok, Heidi Franz, Leigh Ann Ganzar, Clara Koppenburg, Poidevin, Olivia Ray, Emma White, and Lily Williams.
For 2021 the team has pursued a largely international racing programme. The team completed the Giro d’Italia Donne, La Course by Le Tour de France, Vuelta a Burgos, and the Navarra and Nafarroasko races in Spain. Team officials said they hoped to continue with the European-centric racing programme in 2022 and beyond.
“Our team is growing. It’s an exciting time for women’s cycling and upgrading to women’s WorldTour is the next logical step,” said manager Jonas Carney, who helped launch the squad in 2007. “I never thought we would be doing this for 15 years. It’s quite amazing that after all this time, we’re still experiencing growth. Growth and change keep things interesting and I’m very fortunate to be a part of this organisation.”
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