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As the festive season continues, we at Pro Cycling Stats take a look at the changes in the women's professional peloton for 2025. And it's shaping up to be quite interesting, with plenty of shifts ahead of the new season. Get ready!

Let’s highlight a few key transfers. We’ve already touched on Vollering. After securing the Dutch star, FDJ-Suez wasted no time building a team around their new leader. The French squad managed to convince [Juliette Labous] to join their ranks. A consistent performer at the top level, Labous finished in the top ten of every WWT stage race she participated in last season. Riding in Vollering’s wake, Labous could very well deliver a significant haul for the ambitious team in the coming year.

With [Wollaston] and [Chabbey], FDJ-Suez added two riders who could elevate any roster to A-team status. Complemented by rising stars [Rayer] and [Gery], 20 and 18 years old, the team’s long-term ambitions are clear.

After missing out on signing Vollering, UAE Team ADQ moved swiftly to secure another big name: [Elisa Longo Borghini]. The Italian had a stellar season last year, arguably the best of her already impressive career. Longo Borghini brings along trusted teammates [Brodie Chapman] and [Elynor Bäckstedt] to the Emirates. Additionally, sprinting talent [Sofie van Rooijen], often referred to as "the next [Lorena Wiebes]," will race for UAE Team ADQ in 2025 and 2026. The Dutch rider is expected to fill the void left by [Chiara Consonni].

Consonni, the Italian sprinter, is heading to [CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto], which also managed to lure [Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig] away from FDJ-Suez.

Our assumption is confirmed. A major shake-up in the peloton, where the top teams seem to be more evenly matched. In 2025, the first echelon no longer includes just SD Worx - Protime, but also FDJ-Suez, UAE Team ADQ, and Lidl-Trek. CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto is also aiming to join this elite group.

This could lead to a significant shift in race dynamics. While in 2024 other teams often looked to SD Worx as the clear favorite, now many more teams will have the confidence to take the initiative. An exciting development!

Below a list of the teams that strengthened themselves the most, showing the same shift. The departure of Vollering from SD Worx - Protime towards FDJ-Suez explains the number one and 15 on the list. Another team that stands out is [Human Powered Health]. The American team did a good job signing [Blanco], [Coles-Lyster], [Cipressi], [Schweinberger] and most importantly: [Thalita de Jong]. De Jong returned to top shape last year.

If you expand on the lists where we compare team strength above, something else stands out. In 2024, there were 15 professional women's teams. In 2025, that number will rise to 22. We hadn’t even touched on this yet. In 2025, the UCI will introduce a whole new tier of professional teams between the Women’s WorldTour and Continental teams: the Women’s ProTeams. This means the structure of the professional women’s cycling pyramid will now mirror that of the men's.

Seven teams have secured a ProTeam license: [Arkéa - B&B Hotels Women], [Cofidis Women Team], [EF-Oatly-Cannondale], [Laboral Kutxa - Fundación Euskadi], [St Michel - Preference Home - Auber93 WE], and [VolkerWessels Women]'s Pro Cycling Team. This also means a new influx of professionals into the women’s peloton. For 2025, the professional peloton grows to 350 riders. That's well over twice the size of the [Tour de France Femmes]-peloton!