This is it! The last Wheel Talk newsletter of the year. Thank you so much to all of you for following along this year, and what a year it’s been! We’ve seen top riders break new barriers, riders who have been around for quite some time step up in legendary ways, new names take massive wins, all while experiencing one of the most unhinged transfer seasons in women’s cycling history. And all signs point to 2025 being even more chaotic. It’s been a pleasure to bring you tidbits of news and rants all season long.
Wheel Talk
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Let’s start off with some end-of-year “news”/gossip.
Lotte Kopecky bites back
It’s been a few weeks since Demi Vollering claimed that she and her SD Worx-Protime teammate Lotte Kopecky reached a non-speaking point midway through the season, but when asked about the comments Kopecky was very clear about her side of the story. During a conversation with Het Laatste Nieuws Kopecky called Vollering’s remarks “completely unnecessary,” stating that it wasn’t the Belgian’s fault Vollering had a disappointing spring campaign.
“I think it’s completely unnecessary to start kicking now,” Kopecky said. “Demi is a really good rider, but this team has brought her to where she is now and I hope she is very grateful for that and then she should show a bit more respect for that.
“During the spring, things didn’t go great for Demi. She was fortunately able to make up for that in the Spanish races afterwards, but I think it’s not my fault that she didn’t perform well earlier. Afterwards, we rode separate programs. She aimed for the Tour, I did the Giro and the Olympics.”
It’s true that Vollering and Kopecky rode separate programs after the Classics season, competing against each other for their respective nations at the Olympics in July but channelling their focus with SD Worx-Protime towards different races. When they raced together again at Tour de Romandie later in the season Vollering claims the two didn’t speak.
“I think it’s a shame that she makes these statements because she told me a whole story in Romandie about her wedding plans,” Kopecky said. “So it’s not like we haven’t talked to each other anymore … Maybe her boiling point is just lower than mine?”
“I don’t know what exactly is bothering her. I’ve always had a good relationship with Demi. Even after that incident in Strade Bianche 2023, we always laughed about it within the team, because we saw it differently to how the media saw it, and Demi and I still got along perfectly well.”
Kopecky was speaking of the Strade Binche finale in which the two teammates came to the line together. They ended up racing to the very end, but the reaction from both when Vollering was able to cross the line first was sheer confusion. It was a moment that kick-started speculation around the teams inner-workings and seemed to que the beginning of the end for Vollering and SD Worx-Protime.
“Afterwards, I never had the feeling that our relationship was no longer good,” Kopecky said of the rest of 2023. “I hope that in the future we can still treat each other with respect, at least that’s certainly the case for me. I hope Demi will do that too.”
Now that 2024 is coming to a close neither rider is pulling punches when it comes to each other, which sets us up beautifully for the 2025 season when they will go toe-to-toe at the spring Classics and eventually the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.
More new kits
We’ve had a few more kit reveals before the end of the year, although Canyon-SRAM and EF-Oatly-Cannondale, arguably the two most “out there” kits in the peloton, will likely not see the light of day until Tour Down Under.
FDJ-Suez officially revealed their new look at the end of the week:
As is expected from the French team they nailed Juliette Labous’s national champs jersey.
DSM-Firmenich Picnic-PostNL’s new look returns to the bland one-colour base of previous iterations of the team, with an additional pop of colour. Honestly, it fits way better with the team’s general vibe. Last year’s number didn’t make sense at all, with the multi-colour mountain landscape.
And AG Insurance-Soudal released their new look by Castelli on Tuesday.
Liv AlUla Jayco hasn’t dropped their 2025 look just yet but they did announce a new partnership with MAAP, so chances are it’s going to be a banger. It is set to be released Wednesday the 18th, as is Human Powered Health’s new kit.
Racing Continues…
… in 36 days at the Tour Down Under!
No Nordic skiing this weekend, unfortunately, but up next is the Tour de Ski! It’s a stage race! ON SKIS! The race takes place in Toblach and Val di Fiemme, Italy from December 28th to January 5th. There are a few “rest days” (Dec 30, Jan 2), but the race consists of seven “stages” in total. Here’s the schedule, in case you’re curious (come on you all, it’s super fun! Get into Nordic skiing! Cave to my pressure!)
December 28 @ 12:00 CET and 14:30 CET- Sprint Freestyle qualification and finals
December 29 @ 12:30 CET- 15 km Classic Mass Start
December 31 @ 14:45- 20 km Freestyle ITT (aka interval)
January 1 @ 12:30 CET- 15 km Pursuit Classic
January 3 @ 12:15 CET- Sprint Classic qualification and finals
January 4 @ 15:30 CET- 20 km Skiathlon (10 km Classic + 10 km Free)
January 5 (this day is wild) @ 15:30 CET- 10 km Freestyle Mass Start (they go UP a ski mountain, the kind normal people go down)
Please watch, and if she’s racing send some extra cheers to our young Latvian friend Patrīcija Eiduka. She’s had a rough start to the season and hasn’t been able to line up yet but she had some stunning performances last year at the Tour de Ski and hopefully will be back to test herself again.
Wheel Talk Podcast
Loren, Gracie and I are back this week for the last episode of the year. We chatted about Demi Vollering joining FDJ-Suez, what that means for the French team and how they might divide leadership between the Dutchwoman, Évita Muzic and Juliette Labous. We also reflected on our favorite moments of the season including Grace Brown’s Olympic and World Championship success, the Olympics in general, and of course Kasia Niewiadoma’s Tour victory.
Thanks so much for listening! This year has been insane and we’re so happy to have helped guide you through it. We will be back on January 7th with another Conversation episode (with Lauretta Hanson and Gracie) before we dive into the Aussie Summer of Racing with the National Championships and Tour Down Under. There is a lot to look forward to in 2025!
Let’s Discuss
Wheel Talk’s favourite moments of 2024.
There were so many amazing moments throughout the 2024 season, to finish off the newsletter this year Gracie, Loren and I singled out our top three women’s cycling events/moments, with a few notable overlaps. What was your top memory of the 2024 season? Drop it in the comments!
Gracie:
”The Paris Olympics reignited my love of the Games with the way they championed gender equality and capabilities of all bodies. As an Aussie, it was especially cool having 3/4 of our gold medals from our female athletes. There is no arguing now that female sport is worth the investment, even though some people are still trying!”
Loren:
“Grace Brown doing the double. Winning Olympic gold 20 years after Sarah Carrigan- and then 2 months later doing the unimaginable for most athletes, winning the world titles – before retiring!!! Talk about a fairy-tale ending.”
Abby:
“Elisa Longo Borghini’s Tour of Flanders win, which was a bit of a surprise as SD Worx-Protime was favoured to take the race. Longo Borghini and Shirin van Anrooij became such an amazing team this season, and when the two along with Kasia Niewiadoma were able to out-power the strongest team in the race, in a downpour, after some bad luck, it was such a beautiful moment. Plus, for Longo Borghini to win nine years after she last claimed the title was just * chef’s kiss *.”
Gracie:
“The emotion of Kasia on the finish line of Flèche and TdFF. I cried in my living room watching her crying with relief and happiness. They were both such great moments for her and for every rider that feels like they are always so close to the win but never get it.”
Loren:
“Lotte Kopecky winning Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift in the World Champs jersey. After the disappointment of Flanders, Kopecky turned it around, and took the win in a thrilling finale against Balsamo.”
Abby:
“The absolute chaos, in the best way, that was the first couple of stages of the Tour de France Femmes in Rotterdam. I wasn’t sold on a Dutch start at first, but the feeling on the ground was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. The first two sprints, Charlotte Kool’s two victories after quite a disappointing year following last year’s Tour, the Dutch fans and the city itself. Everything combined made for an unforgettable experience. And getting to share it with Loren and Matilda Price was the cherry on the cake.”
Gracie:
“Grace Brown winning LBL. The last 10 km was so thrilling, and watching her cross the line and screaming with joy was so exciting. Of course, her ITT wins were so huge, but this result I felt set up her amazing season and winning an epic road race like that, after placing in it in previous editions, was so cool to see because it is so hard to do.”
Loren:
“The Paris Olympics. It’s not a moment in women’s sport, but a movement. There had been some monumental moments leading up to the games that I felt like captured the attention of the world (and cycling world), the Women’s Tour de France avec Zwift launching in 2022, the Women’s World Cup down under, the comeback of Simone Biles, Allyson Felix famously standing up to sporting giant Nike. Everything that has happened since the last Games seemed to set the stage for women’s being the lead in this year’s Olympics.”
Abby:
“Kasia Niewiadoma’s entire season. The Tour win and her emotion at the finish line (being able to be there to hug her) was something I’ll never forget, but the win didn’t come out of nothing. From the very start of the season, we saw a different, more tactical and more thoughtful version of Kasia and it all came together for her at the Tour. But her Fléche win, her performance at Flanders, even her Gravel World Championship win in 2023, all these little pieces added up for Kasia to take that Tour and watching it all unfold was nothing short of magic. She’s been one of my favourite riders since I met her in 2016, and to see her progress and years of disappointment come to an end this season was by far the highlight of the year for me.”
A picture worth a couple of words
Cycling had quite a few highlights for me this year outside of the women’s racing. I don’t mention my personal life often on this thing; that’s not why you’re here, but being in Paris at the Olympic Games with my two-year-old to watch her dad (my husband) ride to fifth, and then being there to see him finish fourth at the World Championships, was unreal. Those experiences overshadow everything I watched in cycling this year.
The other major highlight was being on the ground at the Tour, with some incredible women. Loren, Tilda and I got to meet up with Rebecca Charlton, one of my favourite people in the sport, to talk women’s cycling at a Zwift event in Rotterdam. We then got our photos taken by one of my other favourite people on planet earth, Dominique Powers.
Watching the Tour continue to grow and break every expectation has been such an amazing experience. Like many, I grew up watching the Tour with my dad. There was no women’s Tour de France on TV at that time. I had no idea there were even women who raced, but I loved sitting down every morning to watch the race as a family. Cycling wasn’t my sport back then (have I mentioned Nordic skiing?), but I still felt a pull towards the vastness of the Tour.
Many years later, I dreamed that I would one day race in France, but never once dreamed I would race the Tour. It was too farfetched, I never dared hope we would have a women’s Tour de France. Now, on the other side of the fence, I feel a pang of jealousy when I see the women lining up each stage, but I also feel an overwhelming sense of hope for the future. It’s not only the Tour that is on the rise. Thanks to the attention the Tour is gathering, other women’s events will start to get more traction. This is only the beginning.
Taylor Swift corner
Women’s cycling had a big year and Taylor Swift had arguably an even bigger one. She dropped a mega album that spans 31 songs and takes just over 2 hours to listen to, she wrapped up a worldwide tour all while recording new music (or re-recording old music), dating Travis Kelce, and breaking the internet every time she was seen in public wearing plaid. Just last week Swift won 10 Billboard Music Awards, breaking her tie with Drake for the most BMAs in history. Her recent wins include Top Hot 100 artist, top Hot 100 songwriter, top radio songs artist, and top Billboard 200 album for The Tortured Poets Department. All this on the heels of Billboard’s questionable decision to name Swift the second-best popstar of the 21st century.
All signs point to Swift having a quieter 2025, however, she still has two re-records to release. I firmly believe she is biding her time to release Reputation (Taylor’s Version) because she wants it to win a Grammy. Her 2020 film Miss Americana documented Swift’s disappointment when Rep was not nominated for any major Grammy (it was nominated for Best Pop Vocal album but did not win). So far she’s won a few non-Grammy awards for re-records, a lot of them for All Too Well: The Short Film and Red (Taylor’s Version).
At least with women’s cycling, we can mark the big moments of 2025 on the calendar. When it comes to Swift, I fear we will remain in the dark for some time.
On that depressing note, never forget this Christmas banger.
Until next time!
That’s it from me for the 2024 season. Thank you to everyone who followed along, I hope next year will be another good one. Have a great Holiday season and Happy New Year!
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