Lizzie Deignan is going to give back to British cycling in her new role as event organizer of the national level Santini Otley Grand Prix.
Lizzie Deignan at La Flèche Wallonne.
Cor Vos
Howdy, and thanks for opening this week’s Wheel Talk Newsletter. Most of the news this week centres on teams. There’s an exciting new team making some waves, and Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi has explained why they aren’t quite ready to be WorldTour. Plus, Lizzie Deignan has announced some of her future plans.
First things first: Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Paige Greco
The week started with some truly devastating news from Australia – the passing of Paige Greco, an accomplished track cyclist from Australia. The 28-year-old Paralympian passed away on Sunday after a sudden medical episode in her home in Adelaide. She was born with cerebral palsy.
Greco won multiple world titles on the track, a gold medal at the Tokyo Paralympics, and three bronze medals from the Tokyo and Paris Paralympics across track and road.
More importantly, she was by all accounts also an exceptional human being. Greco’s loved ones have called her kind, compassionate, and determined, and praised her ability to make everyone around her feel included.
The outpouring of love for Greco and her family, friends, and teammates has been immense.
“While we are devastated by her loss, we are incredibly proud of the person she was and the way she represented Australia,” her mother Natalie Greco said in a statement from AusCycling.
“As a family, we are deeply grateful for the support shown by so many people connected to Paige, including her teammates and friends. Paige cherished the connections she made through her sport, and we take comfort in knowing how widely she was loved.
“We are grieving deeply and ask for privacy, time and space to navigate this overwhelming loss.”
There’s an exciting new team on the block
Last week at Rouleur Live in London, Team Amani announced the first women’s Continental squad based in Africa, set to launch in 2026 with an eye on participating in the 2028 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, Giro d’Italia, and Vuelta a España. The Ethiopian-based team will be home to Xaverine Nirere, the Rwandan national time trial champion. Ashleigh Moolman Pasio has also come on board as a mentor, and the team has an impressive lineup of sponsors, including Rapha, who will no longer support EF Education-Oatly in 2026, as well as Factor and POC.
Amani has been a team since 2020, with most of their attention on gravel, but will move into the road scene with this new women’s squad.
“Establishing this team with ambitions to race competitively in the biggest races in the world within three years feels like a watershed moment for our project,” said Mikel Delagrange, co-founder of Team Amani.
“We’ve always believed that with like-for-like resources, our athletes could compete with the best. We set out a moonshot trajectory with ambitious milestones. It just so happens that our ladies hit them first.
“Our message to the young women on our team is that the only limitation they have now is that of their own imaginations. Trailblazers have the hard work of cutting paths where none previously existed. But once the path is paved, many will follow. That’s why this moment is so consequential – not just for the women on this team but also for the future of the sport.”
Transfers update
No news on WorldTour transfers, apart from a few extensions – including Tiffany Cromwell, who will continue riding for Canyon-SRAM-zondacrypto through 2026. The bigger bit of news on the transfer side comes from Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi, who announced five new signings: Irati Aranguren, Paula Patiño, Tiril Jørgensen, Cecilia Van Zuthem, Marjolein van ‘t Geloof, and Sara Fiorin.
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