Audrey Cordon-Ragot has had her patience tested on a number of occasions in recent months but looks to have reached the limit of it, with the French champion reportedly having submitted her resignation from Zaaf Cycling Team on March 22 after completing the Tour de Normandie Féminin.
“Since the beginning of the year, I was not paid, nor have I been reimbursed for my travel expenses. Beyond the financial aspect, the conditions in which we were evolving were really not worthy of a professional team. I could not continue under these conditions,” Cordon-Ragot told Le Télégramme (opens in new tab) on Sunday.
Cordon-Ragot’s new season with Zaaf Cycling had delivered a promising start when it came to results, beginning with a third place in the sprint at the UCI 1.1 Costa De Almería, moving onto another podium at Omloop van het Hageland, as well as fourth at Le Samyn des Dames before pressing on to take fourth on GC at Tour de Normandie Féminin after a second place in Flamanville on stage 2.
Three days after the French stage race, however, the UCI and Spanish Cycling Federation confirmed to Cyclingnews that investigations had been launched into the Zaaf Cycling Team based on allegations that some of the riders and staff under contract had not been paid for their work with the new UCI Women’s Continental team.
Cyclingnews has contacted the Zaaf Cycling Team to clarify the team’s financial situation, along with the allegations that it has not paid some riders and staff and allegations of a lack of professionalism, but the team has not yet responded.
Cordon-Ragot said she tried to be patient with the non-payments at first but left the team for “my mental well-being” after not seeing any progress, even after many reminders were made.
“As the team was new, I was understanding, I told myself that they just needed a little time to get their bearings. And then, the financial worries led to other worries: at the level of the staff, we were understaffed. At one point, I said stop,” she told the French media outlet.
Cordon-Ragot had spent four years at Trek-Segafredo before departing in order to headline the planned new B&B Hotels women’s team for 2023, but then the B&B Hotels-KTM squad collapsed, citing a lack of sponsorship. She, along with Maggie Coles-Lyster and Heidi Franz, then signed with the Spanish-registered Zaaf Cycling Team.
“After everything that happened to me last year, I didn’t want to fight anymore. I think I deserve better,” said…
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