The two new riders have plenty of WorldTour experience and a deep skill set to add firepower to the health of human power, Cordon-Ragot told US-based Min
"It was clear that I would re-contract with the team just because I have confidence in the management team. In 2023, they were there for me, they got me back after a difficult period in my career. This mutual trust was the main criterion I stayed by," Cordon-Ragot said Tuesday in her own media statement in quotes published by L'Equipe.
The difficulties mentioned by Cordon-Ragot included a major health scare in 2022 and the immediate transition to Human Powered Health on May 4 last year. The Double French champion was allowed to terminate his contract with the troubled Zaaf cycling team before the transfer window due to an unpaid salary and joined the US-based human-powered health team just two days before Paris-Roubaix.
She finished in 35th place at Paris-Roubaix, but soon settled down with her new team, and two weeks later at Omloop van Borsele, she became fourth overall on the Bretagne Ladies Tour and third on the Antwerp Port Epic Ladies.
It was 1 year ago that the French champion had a stroke before the uci Road World Championships. She recently posted on Instagram that she is ready to close that chapter and advance her aspirations for the 2nd Olympic Games in her home country, the 2024 edition.
"A year later, I am still standing, strong, alive. I will forever be a victim and forever a survivor. Of course, I will not forget, I take care of myself, and I can not deny that the experience has changed the woman I was," said Soh. "Today I want to talk about the athlete, my good or bad performance, my character, without constantly returning everything to this accident. It's a good idea."
After finding her feet in the spring of this season, she went to complete the Giro d'Italia Donne and the Tour de France Femme, and then took the fourth in the time trial at the European Championships.
Grossetête and Kasper bring experience to the team to support Cordon-Ragot if necessary, but also attack with their own strengths. Kasper, particularly in leadership roles at Human Powered Health, brought 16 years of experience to the team and was last on the world tour with Jumbo-Visma in 2022.
"I've been in Propeloton for a while, so I know the race, especially in the spring, so I can read the race situation pretty well and this is also my strength in positioning for the rest of the team, and I can use this to help Spring and make life easier for sprinters." Kasper says.
"This is a new experience for me and I would like to share my knowledge to help young riders go up at the WorldTour level.
The 35-year-old finished 2nd overall on the Women's Tour in Qatar, winning the Thuringia Women's Tour and the Tour de Feminine in the Czech Republic. She is in the top 3 in all 20 editions of the Paris Rubé Femme.
"This is always the highlight of the year for me, because having a female rubé has helped me lengthen my career. Ronde van Drenthe also suits me, but it's all about weather conditions. It works well when it's windy or bad weather, and it's really chaotic. I really like it.
After spending 6 seasons in the FDJ-Suez program, the 25-year-old Grossete is focused on the 1st race. She finished 12th in this year's Rondo van Drente and 4th in the Grand Prix International Disberg. Last year, she won the Top 10 in the one-day race and took 3rd place in the mountain classification on the Simac Ladies Tour.
"I wanted a new challenge, a new beginning, a new atmosphere. I needed to change my career," said the young French rider, who was most looking forward to the spring classic. "Nervous bunch, small roads, up and down, technical roads, this is what I love about cycling."
Team Performance Manager Kenny Latomme said that both riders have the versatility to play a big role in different race scenarios, and Kasper is immediate as team leader
"Maëlle has brought a great experience from being on the top team of the world tour, and we are very pleased with the results." It will be a real help in the final of the race. She can also be in the front group and get her own results," he said in the team's press release.
"Romy has seen it all and will be important for the classics and the lead-out. Team leaders don't necessarily have to get results, but they remove stress and pressure from others by leading the team.”
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