Lizzie Deignan (Trek-Segafredo), former road world champion and the first ever female Paris-Roubaix winner, will receive an MBE in the 2023 New Year Honors.

Born and raised in West Yorkshire, the 34-year-old Deignan plans to return to competition next season after giving birth to her second child this September. She won her first women's Paris-Roubaix in 2021 after taking a break to have her first child.

Now, as announced by British Cycling, Deignan will be awarded an MBE, putting her in the company of other cycling stars who have received the same recognition. Among them are Bradley Wiggins (later promoted to Knight), Nicole Cook, Mark Cavendish, Jason and Laura Kenny (later promoted to Knight and Dame), Chris Froome, Joanna Rowsell, Geraint Thomas, and Tom Pidcock,

Dignan's recognition comes as part of King Charles' first New Year's Honors list, and others honored by the MBE this year include Queen guitarist Brian May, former soccer player and sports analyst Chris Camara, and July's Euro 2022 title and several members of the England women's national soccer team, which won the Euro 2022 title in July.

For Dignan, it was her first honor in 13 years, since winning gold as a member of the British Team Pursuit team before switching her focus to road racing. 2011 marked her fourth British national road race title since then, and in 2012 she won the gold medal at the Ghent-Wevelgem. Ghent-Wevelgem and won the silver medal in the London Olympic road race.

She won the rainbow jersey in the elite women's road race at the 2015 Richmond World Championships and has since won several other major races, including the 2016 Tour de Flanders, the 2020 Liege-Bastogne-Liege and La Course, and last year's Paris-Roubaix victories.

At the beginning of 2022, she announced that she would be taking a break from the season because she was pregnant with her second child; in 2023, she signed with Trek-Segafredo and plans to return to racing.

"We are delighted that Lizzie has been awarded the MBE in recognition of her amazing career to date, becoming the elite women's road world champion in 2015 and the first ever winner of the Paris-Roubaix fam in 2021. For Lizzie, this award is no surprise," British Cycling Team Performance Director Stephen Park said in a statement from British Cycling.

"For over 15 years, Lizzie has been at the forefront of women's road racing, representing Great Britain at the highest level, and we are eager to see what the 2023 season will bring as she returns to racing after the birth of her second child. Congratulations, Lizzie