If the quietly promising Valentina Cavallar wasn’t already on cycling fans’ radars before, she certainly will be in 2026, after becoming one of just two new recruits to one of the peloton’s most important teams, SD Worx-Protime.
Following a rapid ascension from non-cyclist to future Grand Tour contender, Austria’s Cavallar joined the Dutch squad at the start of this year, and is one of the most interesting – yet still not very well known – prospects in the bunch.
Her clear talent had earned her a multi-year contract with Arkéa-B&B Hotels, but when that team folded, the door opened to step up to the Women’s WorldTour – and it was none other than women’s cycling’s original super team that secured her signature. Cavallar joined SD Worx-Protime for 2026, and has a three-year contract there, where she’ll be one of their next big climbing hopes.
Just a few days into the new year, Cavallar made her first appearance for the team at their launch in Antwerp. Cyclingnews sat down with other media for a roundtable discussion with the young Austrian, to discuss her entry into the sport, the challenges in the peloton, and her dreams for the future – which are already big.
Q: You were in the Olympics as a rower and now you’re in one of the best cycling teams in the world, how did that happen? When did you know it was time to change sports?
VC: I started rowing at 13 and I was rowing until 2022. I have been a passionate rower for 10 years, so a really long time, but we always trained a lot on the indoor bike. It was not on the road, mainly indoors, as endurance trainer. I was at the Olympics in 2021, and the year afterwards I still tried to pursue my rowing goals because yeah, I was at the Olympics, but I was only in the B finals, so it was not a super success for me personally and I was also…
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