Women’s cycling will see big changes starting in 2025. A new division for professional cycling teams will be introduced, so as a result ProTeams will make their debut.
“The introduction of this division, which positions itself between the existing UCI Women’s WorldTeams and UCI Women’s Continental Teams, was initially planned for the 2026 season,” the UCI said. “However, due to the current growth of women’s cycling and after consultation with stakeholders, we have decided to bring the launch forward by a year.”
This means women’s cycling will be set up the same way as men’s cycling. “This new initiative will enable a greater number of female riders to benefit from a professional framework,” the cycling union stated.
In addition to this, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), which governs cycling, announced that there will be a second division of professional women’s cycling teams from 2025. This system will include WorldTeams, ProTeams, and Continental teams. The first two will be overseen by the UCI, which will allow for more rules and the possibility of minimum salaries.
On Wednesday, the UCI said that this decision was made in Glasgow before the World Championships. Though ProTeams were planned for 2026, the launch was moved up due to the current growth in women’s cycling.
“The UCI Management Committee approved the creation of a second division of women’s professional teams. This means that UCI ProTeams for women will appear from 2025,” the UCI explained.
“This new initiative will also enable a greater number of female riders to benefit from a professional framework. With the introduction of the women’s UCI ProTeams, women’s teams are now structured according to the same model as men’s teams.”
UCI president David Lappartient commented, “The sector is continuing the impressive progress it has made in recent years. These advances will boost the sector and provide further evidence of its growth.”
Recently, six of the 22 teams at the Tour de France Femmes were Continental teams. The move towards professionalism is aimed at avoiding issues like non-payment of salaries, as happened with the Zaaf Cycling Team earlier this season.
