French Champion Audrey Cordon-Ragot extended her contract with Human Powered Health to race through 2024, while compatriot Maëlle Grossetête and Germany’s Romy Kasper join the team for next season and continue at the Women’s WorldTour level.
The two new riders have plenty of WorldTour experience and deep skill sets to add firepower to Human Powered Health, while Cordon-Ragot looks forward to a fresh start in a full season with the US-based squad.
“It was obvious to re-sign with the team, simply because I have confidence in the management. In 2023, they were there for me, they got me back after a difficult period in my career. This mutual trust was the main criteria for which I stayed,” Cordon-Ragot said in her own media statement Tuesday, quotes published by L’Equipe.
The difficulties to which Cordon-Ragot referred included a major health scare in 2022 and a last-minute transfer to Human Powered Health last April. The double French champion was allowed to end her contract with the troubled Zaaf Cycling Team ahead of the transfer window, due to unpaid salaries, and joined the US-based Human Powered Health team just two days before Paris-Roubaix.
She finished 35th at Paris-Roubaix, but settled in quickly with her new team and took second two weeks later at Omloop van Borsele, then fourth overall at Bretagne Ladies Tour and third at Antwerp Port Epic Ladies.
It was a year ago that the French champion suffered a stroke prior to the UCI Road World Championships. She recently posted to Instagram that she is ready to close that chapter and move ahead with aspirations targeting a second Olympic Games, the 2024 edition in her home country.
“One year later and I’m still standing, strong, and alive. I’ll be forever a victim and forever a survivor. Of course I don’t forget, I’m taking care of myself and I can’t deny that experience changed the woman I was,” were part of her sentiments stated on social media. “Today I want to talk about the athlete, about my good or bad performances, about my personality without always bringing everything back to this accident.”
After finding her legs in the spring this season, she went on to complete the Giro d’Italia Donne and Tour de France Femmes, then took fourth in the time trial at the European Championships.
Grossetête and Kasper bring experience to the team to support Cordon-Ragot when needed but also strike with their own strengths. Kasper, in particular, will also play a leadership role at Human…
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