{"id":205956,"date":"2026-07-29T18:43:47","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T18:43:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=205956"},"modified":"2026-07-29T18:44:51","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T18:44:51","slug":"five-rivalries-that-could-define-the-next-era-of-womens-cycling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2026\/07\/29\/five-rivalries-that-could-define-the-next-era-of-womens-cycling\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Rivalries That Could Define The Next Era of Women&#8217;s Cycling"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>If you\u2019ve been following women&#8217;s cycling for a while, you probably remember a time when the big races felt somewhat predictable. There was Annemiek van Vleuten, whose incredibly powerful mountain attacks made her the rider to beat whenever a stage race reached high altitude. There was SD Worx, a team so dominant that rivals often joked they weren&#8217;t racing against seven riders, but fourteen, thanks to the tactical options their roster provided. And there was a clear sense of hierarchy: the established stars, the promising challengers, and everyone else.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yet as we gear up for this biggest event on the women\u2019s calendar, we are happy to say that that certainty has disappeared. The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift has grown into the sport&#8217;s biggest stage at exactly the moment the women&#8217;s peloton has become deeper, younger and more diverse than ever before. Riders are changing teams in search of leadership, Olympic champions are returning from other disciplines and immediately competing for Grand Tours, and a generation of young riders has arrived having grown up with professional development pathways that barely existed ten years ago.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The result is a sport being shaped by some seriously interesting rivalries, some between individuals, others between different philosophies of racing, that are changing what success looks like. As we prepare for the Tour de France Femmes to get underway, these are the battles worth watching.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Demi Vollering vs Lotte Kopecky: the split that reshaped the peloton<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If one rivalry captures the current state of women&#8217;s cycling, it&#8217;s Demi Vollering and Lotte Kopecky. For several seasons, they were teammates at SD Worx, arguably the strongest women&#8217;s team ever assembled. Together they won Monuments, WorldTour stage races and world championships, often leaving rival teams wondering whether to chase Vollering&#8217;s climbing attacks or Kopecky&#8217;s devastating acceleration on flatter terrain.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But success created an inevitable problem, as both have become fierce leaders in their own right. Vollering wanted to build her career around Grand Tours. Kopecky had become the face of the team after winning the road world title in Glasgow in 2023 and establishing herself as the peloton&#8217;s outstanding Classics rider.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Their partnership reached its most uncomfortable moment during the 2024 Tour de France Femmes. Vollering crashed heavily on stage 5 after touching wheels in the finale, losing more than a minute and, ultimately, the yellow jersey by just four seconds to Katarzyna Niewiadoma, the closest winning margin in Tour history. SD Worx came under fierce criticism for the way it handled the aftermath, with questions over whether the team had reacted quickly enough to support its leader. It wasn&#8217;t the reason Vollering left, but it became a defining image of a partnership nearing its end.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_204937\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-204937\" style=\"width: 990px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2026\/03\/Lotte-Kopecky-profimedia-1085480886-CVR.webp\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-204937\" src=\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2026\/03\/Lotte-Kopecky-profimedia-1085480886-CVR.webp\" alt=\"Lotte Kopecky\" width=\"990\" height=\"660\" srcset=\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2026\/03\/Lotte-Kopecky-profimedia-1085480886-CVR.webp 990w, https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2026\/03\/Lotte-Kopecky-profimedia-1085480886-CVR-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2026\/03\/Lotte-Kopecky-profimedia-1085480886-CVR-768x512.webp 768w, https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2026\/03\/Lotte-Kopecky-profimedia-1085480886-CVR-400x267.webp 400w, https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2026\/03\/Lotte-Kopecky-profimedia-1085480886-CVR-272x182.webp 272w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 990px) 100vw, 990px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-204937\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">If one rivalry captures the current state of women&#8217;s cycling, it&#8217;s Demi Vollering and Lotte Kopecky. \u00a9 Profimedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Her move to FDJ-SUEZ ahead of the 2025 season marked one of the biggest transfers women&#8217;s cycling has seen. What makes this rivalry so compelling is that the riders are becoming increasingly similar despite very different strengths.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vollering remains the benchmark in stage racing: one of the world&#8217;s finest climbers, an excellent time triallist and remarkably consistent over multi-day races. Kopecky, meanwhile, continues to redefine what a Classics rider can become. Every year she survives longer in the mountains, making fewer and fewer races that don&#8217;t suit her.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The question they pose is bigger than either rider.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Will the next dominant champion be a specialist, or someone capable of winning almost everywhere?<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Pauline Ferrand-Pr\u00e9vot vs Puck Pieterse: the off-road revolution<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For decades, riders were encouraged to specialise. Road racers raced on the road. Mountain bikers raced off-road. Cyclocross was considered winter training.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That idea is changing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pauline Ferrand-Pr\u00e9vot has spent much of the last decade proving she is one of the greatest multi-discipline cyclists of her generation. Already a former road world champion, she stepped away from the road to focus on mountain biking, collecting multiple world titles and, finally, the Olympic gold medal she had spent years chasing in Paris. Many assumed her road career was behind her.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instead, she returned and almost immediately looked capable of challenging the world&#8217;s best stage racers. Her technical confidence on descents, efficiency over difficult terrain and ability to recover day after day suggest that success in mountain biking can translate remarkably well to Grand Tour racing.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then there is Puck Pieterse. If Ferrand-Pr\u00e9vot opened the door, Pieterse may be the rider who walks through it completely.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Still only in her early twenties, the Dutch rider has already won at the highest level in cyclocross, mountain biking and road racing. She announced herself to many road fans by winning a stage at the 2024 Tour de France Femmes before going on to claim the young rider classification. Less than a week later, she was back racing mountain bikes. Earlier this season, she added victories at Fl\u00e8che Wallonne Femmes and the national mountain bike championships, underlining just how comfortably she moves between disciplines.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rather than choosing one identity, Pieterse seems determined to keep all of them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It&#8217;s a fascinating contrast.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ferrand-Pr\u00e9vot represents the established champion bringing off-road experience back to the road. Pieterse represents an entirely new generation that never saw those disciplines as separate in the first place.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Katarzyna Niewiadoma vs the next generation<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Few riders have earned as much affection from fans as Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney. Long before she <a href=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2024\/08\/21\/kasia-niewiadoma-on-winning-the-2024-tour-de-france-femmes-avec-zwift\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">won the Tour de France Femmes in 2024,<\/a> she had become one of the peloton&#8217;s great entertainers. She attacks early, descends fearlessly and rarely waits for the &#8220;perfect&#8221; tactical moment. Even when those attacks fail, they often define the race.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Her Tour victory was years in the making. After finishing on the podium in virtually every major stage race, she finally held off Vollering by just four seconds after one of the most dramatic final mountain stages the race has seen. Exhausted at the finish on Alpe d&#8217;Huez, she collapsed into tears, having secured one of the most emotional victories in recent cycling history.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yet even as Niewiadoma remains among the sport&#8217;s elite, a remarkable new generation is arriving. French climber Marion Bunel has emerged as one of the most exciting pure climbing prospects in years. Britain&#8217;s Zoe B\u00e4ckstedt, meanwhile, represents another modern development pathway altogether. Already a world champion in cyclocross as a junior and under-23 rider, she is gradually translating her immense engine to the road while continuing to race across disciplines.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Julie Bego belongs in this conversation too. The young French rider has become a textbook example of how development has changed. Instead of slowly working her way through domestic racing, she has benefited from structured WorldTour development programmes, sports science support and international racing opportunities from an early age. Riders like Bego are arriving in the professional peloton better prepared than many of today&#8217;s established stars were at the same age.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That means that while Niewiadoma is still shining bright, she\u2019s racing against a generation that has grown up in a very different version of women&#8217;s cycling.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Marlen Reusser vs Demi Vollering: Teammates, rivals and modern leadership<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the most interesting rivalries in the peloton may not even involve opposing teams. Marlen Reusser spent years being viewed primarily as one of the world&#8217;s best time triallists. Three European titles and Olympic silver confirmed her place among the discipline&#8217;s elite, but few expected her to become a genuine Grand Tour contender.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That has changed dramatically. Reusser&#8217;s climbing has improved year after year, and her performances in week-long stage races have transformed perceptions of what kind of rider she is. Her dominant overall victory at the 2025 Tour de Suisse Women and consistently aggressive racing throughout 2026 have shown that she is no longer simply supporting GC leaders; she can become one herself.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For now, FDJ-SUEZ appears to have found a balance between Reusser and Vollering.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">History, however, suggests these arrangements rarely last forever. As women&#8217;s cycling becomes more competitive, teams increasingly find themselves managing multiple riders capable of winning the same races. That&#8217;s a sign of progress. A decade ago, most teams were simply hoping to produce one legitimate Grand Tour contender. Now some have two.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>The real rivalry: Specialists versus complete cyclists<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Perhaps the most interesting rivalry we are seeing play out isn&#8217;t between individuals at all. It&#8217;s between different ideas of what the ideal cyclist looks like.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Women&#8217;s cycling used to reward specialists, with the top climbers winning stage races, the strongest sprinters dominating flat stages, and classics riders focusing on cobbles and punchy terrain.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Increasingly, those distinctions are fading, and we are seeing an increasing number of powerhouses who can do it all. Kopecky climbs better every season,\u00a0 Vollering has become a more complete rider outside the mountains, Ferrand-Pr\u00e9vot has brought mountain-bike skills into Grand Tour racing, and Pieterse adamantly refuses to choose between disciplines.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even younger riders such as B\u00e4ckstedt and Bego are developing across multiple terrains from the beginning of their careers. The Tour de France Femmes reflects that evolution perfectly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Its routes now combine high mountains with technical descents, crosswind-prone flat stages, explosive uphill finishes and increasingly selective racing from the opening days. Winning the yellow jersey demands exceptional versatility.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>More than a yellow jersey<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the best things about women&#8217;s cycling today is that its in a state of flux. The sport isn&#8217;t waiting for one rider to replace Van Vleuten or Marianne Vos. Instead, it is entering an era where multiple champions, multiple disciplines and multiple generations are pushing each other forward simultaneously.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That makes the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.letourfemmes.fr\/en\/\">Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift<\/a> about far more than who stands on the top step of the podium in yellow. It&#8217;s where Vollering&#8217;s pursuit of another Tour collides with Kopecky&#8217;s ambition to keep expanding her repertoire, where Ferrand-Pr\u00e9vot&#8217;s extraordinary comeback meets Pieterse&#8217;s seemingly limitless potential, and where Niewiadoma&#8217;s fearless racing is tested by a generation that has never known a women&#8217;s peloton without fully professional teams.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Together, they are shaping a version of women&#8217;s cycling that is more competitive, more unpredictable and, perhaps most importantly, more exciting than it has ever been.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019ve been following women&#8217;s cycling for a while, you probably remember a time when the big races felt somewhat [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":99,"featured_media":205029,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[329],"tags":[477,9084,3771,5724,4037,6064,538,2264],"global-categories":[3366],"class_list":["post-205956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-road-cycling","tag-annemiek-van-vleuten","tag-cycling-rivalries","tag-demi-vollering","tag-lotte-kopecky","tag-pauline-ferrand-prevot","tag-puck-pieterse","tag-women-cycling","tag-womens-cycling","global-categories-cycling"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.3 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Five Rivalries That Could Define The Next Era of Women&#039;s Cycling - \u0160koda We Love Cycling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you\u2019ve been following women&#039;s cycling for a while, you probably remember a time when the big races felt somewhat predictable. 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