As the the fireworks light up the skies worldwide and a new year is celebrated, we look back on another exciting year of women’s cycling. This year brought incredible performances, groundbreaking milestones, and unprecedented viewership for marquee events like the Tour de France Femmes, Giro d’Italia, the Classics and some great other races. We also look ahead with the change of teams by some key riders for next season.
Season start
The season started in Australia with Sarah Gigante winning the first Women’s WorldTour of the season at the Tour Down Under followed by the win of Rosita Reijnhout’s win at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race.The season has started!
Classics
Then the season of Lotte Kopecky Started. The Spring Classics provided a thrilling start to the season, with iconic races where the Belgium rider wins the UAE Tour, Strade Bianche and Paris-Roubaix Femmes drawing large crowds and online viewership. Kopecky solidifying her reputation as one of the strongest one-day riders in the peloton. Meanwhile, Marianne Vos added another victory to her illustrious career by winning the first European race at Omloop het Nieuwsblad, further cementing her status as a legend. Elisa Longo Borghini crowned herself as queen of the Ronde van Vlaanderen.
The next stop was the Spanish block, marked with a big red circle by Demi Vollering. The Dutch champion wins all three races, La Vuelta Espana Femenina, Itzulia Women and La Vuelta e Burgos.
Italy reigns
The Giro d’Italia Donne retained its reputation as the ultimate test of endurance. Elisa Longo Borghini claimed overall victory, showcasing her tactical brilliance and consistency across the 10-stage race. The Lidl Trek team did everything right in Italy helping the Italian champion to Victory.
Tour de France Femmes: The Jewel of the Calendar
The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2024 was undoubtedly the highlight of the season, showcasing the best of women’s cycling to a global audience. Building on its remarkable debut in 2022, this year’s edition delivered thrilling drama, intense rivalries, and one of the closest GC battles in history.
Kasia Niewiadoma triumphed in an exhilarating finale, narrowly defeating Demi Vollering by just four seconds. The final-stage time trial on the legendary slopes of Alpe d’Huez was a masterclass in tension, with fans around the world glued to their screens. The Tour’s viewing figures shattered records, reportedly surpassing 22 million viewers across platforms, cementing its status as the crown jewel of the Women’s WorldTour.
📸 Tour de France Femmes – ASO
Paris 2024
Meanwhile exciting times in Paris at the Olympic Road Race where Kristen Faulkner proudly represented colors of the United States of America winning the race ahead solo of a stunning Marianne Vos and Lotte Kopecky who battled it out in an exciting finale.
Kopecky’s strength
Lotte Kopecky also showed her strength again in Zurich at the Women’s World Championships Road Race winning for the second consecutive year and can continue to show off her rainbow jersey in the 2025 season. She also wins the UCI Women’s WorldTour leader jersey in the 2024 season followed closely by Demi Vollering and ElisaLongoBorghini.
Shirin van Anrooij emerged as a force to be reckoned with, winning stages in the Giro Donne and consistently finishing near the top in the Spring Classics and winning the UCI Young rider classement ahead of new revelation Puck Pieterse. The Team SD Worx-Protime being the best team of the season.
Efforts to increase diversity saw progress this year, with teams investing in riders from underrepresented regions. The success of Fariba Hashimi, the first Afghan woman to win a UCI race, exemplifies the potential for cycling to become a truly global sport.
📸 Team SD Worx – Protime
Looking Ahead
Key riders have decided to leave the safety of their teams and move on to new adventures and that means new waves into the peloton. Demi Vollering travels to France to FDJ Suez where she is joined by Juliette Labous. Elisa LongoBorghini moves to UAE Team ADQ where sprint revelation Chiara Consonni is heading to the Canyon Sram team. Cedrine Karboal is heading to EF-Otaley Cannondale and Riejanne Markus is leaving her safety at Team Visma LAB to have a new adventure at Lidl Trek.That means more riders now have more opportunities to win races and it shows that 2025 will be a very exciting year!
Looking ahead towards 2025
As women’s cycling heads into 2025, the successes of 2024 provide a strong foundation for growth. The Tour de France Femmes has proven that women’s cycling can captivate a global audience, but the sport’s future depends on spreading that success across the entire calendar. Sponsors, governing bodies, and media must work together to create a balanced ecosystem where all races—and all riders—can thrive.
Women’s cycling has come a long way, but as 2024 has shown, there is still much work to be done. With the passion and resilience that define this sport, the future remains bright. Thank you for all the fans out there who have supported ProCycling Women in 2024 and we hope that you will continue to follow us in 2025 and support our mission in the promotion of professional women’s cycling.
