WNT–Rotor Pro Cycling

WNT–Rotor Pro Cycling
Team information
UCI code WNT
Registered United Kingdom
Founded 2014 (2014)
Discipline Road, Track
Status UK National (2014-2016)
UCI Women's Team (2017-)
Bicycles Orbea
Website Team home page
Key personnel
General manager Claude Sun
Team manager(s) Dirk Baldinger
Roman Entensperger
Team name history
2014–2016
2017
2018–		 Team WNT
Team WNT Pro Cycling
WNT–Rotor Pro Cycling

WNT–Rotor Pro Cycling (UCI code WNT) is a professional women's cycling team, based in Sheffield, Great Britain, which competes in elite road bicycle racing events such as the UCI Women's WorldTour.

History

Team WNT's origins started in 2014 as a small club team for the team to learn and establish the inner workings of a women's cycling team.[1][2][3] 2015 saw a big expansion and inclusion of high level riders into the team roster such as Charline Joiner, Lydia Boylan, and Hannah Walker.[4][5]

2017

Ahead of the 2017 season, WNT made another leap in the team's progression by applying for a UCI Women's team license, with former Scottish Cycling head coach Graeme Herd as their directeur sportif.[6][7] Expanding its roster outside the UK and Ireland, gaining Austrian Anna Badegruber and Luxembourger Elise Maes from Austrian team Vitalogic Astrokalb Radunion Nö as it stepped away from its UCI Women license in 2017.[8][9][10]

The team won its first professional race in its first outing as a UCI team in March 2017, on stage 4 of Setmana Ciclista Valenciana when Irish Champion Lydia Boylan soloed to victory. The teams second UCI victory came at the Lotto Thüringen Ladies Tour on stage 3, when Hayley Simmonds attacked in the closing kilometres, taking a solo victory of over a minute, and consequently moved into the yellow jersey. Hayley finished 3rd place on general classification behind Lisa Brennauer.

2018

2018 saw a farther internationalisation of the roster, with the additions of German Lea Lin Teutenberg and Dutch Aafke Soet.[11][12] Spanish bicycle component manufacturer, Rotor signed onto Team WNT as a second naming sponsor, setting the team to be the first to race full time on hydraulic shifting and braking groupset.[13] WNT-Rotor took on a greater Spanish influence with its switch from long time frame partner Specialized to Orbea. The team also joined as one of five UCI women's teams to transition to disc brakes in 2018, moving from its already new hydraulic Rotor rim brake groupset to debut the disc brake version at Dwars door Vlaanderen.[14]

Shortly after the team completed Setmana Ciclista Valenciana, it was announced that Graeme Herd would leave the team immediately, with Dirk Baldinger taking up Herd's role as DS.[15] Former Cervélo–Bigla Pro Cycling rider, Canadian Gabrielle Pilote-Fortin was a late signing for 2018 at the end of March.[16]

Half the team's then ten rider roster were selected to compete on the road and track at the 2018 Commonwealth Games; for Northern Ireland, Lydia Boylan, for Wales, Hayley Jones, for Scotland, Eileen Roe, and for England Melissa Lowther and Hayley Simmonds. While Melissa Lowther had been selected for both the time trial and road race, but due an administrative error by Team England, Lowther was barred from starting the individual time trial.[17] Hayley Simmonds earned a bronze medal in the Commonwealth Games individual time trial, behind recent ITT world championship medallist Katrin Garfoot and former time trial world champion Linda Villumsen.[18]

Aafke Soet earned WNT Rotor's first win of the 2018 season at the start of April by winning the last stage of the Healthy Ageing Tour in solo breakaway, the victory was also her first ever elite level win.[19] Soet would back up that road race win at her next race appearance, with the fastest time in the time trial event at Omloop van Borsele.

Sponsorship

WNT is a German-based cutting tools company, part of Luxembourg company Ceratizit Group. ROTOR and Hope Technology use WNT's tools to cut their components.[20] In 2017, WNT sponsored five women's UCI races; Festival Elsy Jacobs, Emakumeen Bira, Thuringen Rundfahrt, The Women's Tour, and Madrid Challenge.[21][22][23][24][25]

For the 2018 season ROTOR joined the team as a named sponsor, with the team running their 'UNO' hydraulic groupset.[26]

Major wins

2017
Stage 4 Semana Ciclista Valenciana, Lydia Boylan
Stage 3 Thüringen Rundfahrt der Frauen, Hayley Simmonds
Round 2 Stoke-on-Trent Tour Series, Katie Archibald
Round 6 Bath Tour Series, Eileen Roe
Round 7 Motherwell Tour Series, Eileen Roe
Round 8 Team Time Trial, Stevenage Tour Series, Katie Archibald, Emily Kay, Keira McVitty, Gabriella Shaw, Lydia Boylan
2018
Stage 5 Healthy Ageing Tour, Aafke Soet
Omloop van Borsele Time Trial, Aafke Soet
Young rider classification Emakumeen Euskal Bira, Aafke Soet

National champions

2015
Irish Road Race, Lydia Boylan
2016
Irish Road Race, Lydia Boylan
2017
British Track (Individual pursuit), Katie Archibald
British Track (Points race), Katie Archibald
British Track (Scratch race), Katie Archibald
British Track (Omnium), Katie Archibald
British Criterium, Katie Archibald
World Track (Omnium), Katie Archibald
Irish Road Race, Lydia Boylan
Irish Track (Scratch race), Lydia Boylan
European Track (Individual pursuit), Katie Archibald
European Track (Omnium), Katie Archibald
2018
Irish Track (Omnium), Lydia Boylan
European U23 Time Trial, Aafke Soet
Irish Track (Scratch Race), Lydia Boylan

Team roster 2018

Rider Date of birth
 Anna Badegruber (AUT) (1997-01-14) 14 January 1997
 Lydia Boylan (IRL) (1987-07-19) 19 July 1987
 Natalie Grinczer (GBR) (1993-11-15) 15 November 1993
 Hayley Jones (GBR) (1995-09-26) 26 September 1995
 Elise Maes (LUX) (1992-01-27) 27 January 1992
 Gabrielle Pilote-Fortin (CAN) (1993-04-26) 26 April 1993
Rider Date of birth
 Eileen Roe (GBR) (1989-09-24) 24 September 1989
 Hayley Simmonds (GBR) (1988-07-22) 22 July 1988
 Aafke Soet (NED) (1997-11-23) 23 November 1997
 Winanda Spoor (NED) (1991-01-27) 27 January 1991
 Lin Teutenberg (GER) (1999-07-02) 2 July 1999

Team roster 2017

Ages as of 1 January 2017.

Rider Date of birth
 Katie Archibald (GBR) (1994-03-12)March 12, 1994 (aged 22)
 Anna Badegruber (AUT) (1997-01-14)January 14, 1997 (aged 19)
 Lydia Boylan (IRL) (1987-07-19)July 19, 1987 (aged 29)
 Rebbeca Carter (GBR) (1990-09-01)September 1, 1990 (aged 26)
 Natalie Grinczer (GBR) (1993-11-15)November 15, 1993 (aged 23)
 Hayley Jones (GBR) (1995-09-26)September 26, 1995 (aged 21)
 Emily Kay (GBR) (1995-09-07)September 7, 1995 (aged 21)
 Josie Knight (IRL) (1997-03-29)March 29, 1997 (aged 19)
Rider Date of birth
 Elise Maes (LUX) (1992-01-27)January 27, 1992 (aged 24)
 Keira Mcvitty (GBR) (1995-09-30)September 30, 1995 (aged 21)
 Rebecca Rimmington (GBR) (1983-01-14)January 14, 1983 (aged 33)
 Eileen Roe (GBR) (1989-09-24)September 24, 1989 (aged 27)
 Gabriella Shaw (GBR) (1992-06-22)June 22, 1992 (aged 24)
 Hayley Simmonds (GBR) (1988-07-22)July 22, 1988 (aged 28)
 Hannah Walker (GBR) (1992-08-16)August 16, 1992 (aged 24)

References

  1. ↑ "Team WNT – Sponsorship". WNT UK. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  2. ↑ "The Cycling Podcast Féminin, Episode 19". The Cycling Podcast. 19 December 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  3. ↑ "WNT Development Team 2014 national point scorers". British Cycling. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  4. ↑ "Team News – Women's Team WNT Step Up". Velo UK. 27 November 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  5. ↑ "Team Launch for Team WNT". Velo UK. 23 March 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  6. ↑ "Team WNT apply for UCI Licence for 2017 season". The Bike Comes First. 27 September 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  7. ↑ "Team WNT has appointed Graeme Herd as Director Sportif". WNT Rotor. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  8. ↑ Arthurs-Brennan, Michelle (9 January 2017). "Team WNT Pro Cycling Announce Roster & Gain UCI License". Total Women's Cycling. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  9. ↑ "Austrian all-rounder adds more international flavour to Team WNT". WNT Rotor. 9 November 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  10. ↑ "Team WNT goes home for latest signing". WNT Rotor. 24 October 2016. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  11. ↑ O'Shea, Sadhbh (15 February 2018). "Lea Lin Teutenberg: Carrying on an iconic family name in pro cycling". Cycling News. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  12. ↑ "Former European Junior Time-Trial Champion signs for 2018". WNT Rotor. 26 September 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  13. ↑ Robinson, Joe (22 November 2017). "WNT-Rotor women's team to be testing ground for Rotor Uno groupset". Cyclist. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  14. ↑ "WNT - ROTOR Pro Cycling". Facebook. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  15. ↑ "Team News: Dirk Baldinger Joins WNT as DS". Velo UK. 28 February 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  16. ↑ Tremblay, Philippe (28 March 2018). "Gabrielle Pilote-Fortin lands last minute gig with WNT-Rotor Pro Cycling". Canadian Cycling Magazine. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  17. ↑ "Team England statement - Melissa Lowther". Team England. 10 April 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  18. ↑ Wynn, Nigel (10 April 2018). "Harry Tanfield and Hayley Simmonds claim silver and bronze in Commonwealth Games time trial". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  19. ↑ "UNO victory for Aafke Soet after a sensational performance". WNT Rotor. 10 April 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  20. ↑ "A DREAM BECOMES REALITY AT HOPE, WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM WNT". WNT Ireland. 18 September 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  21. ↑ "Roe and Maes return for 2018". WNT Rotor. 26 October 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  22. ↑ "Sponsors". Bira WWT. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  23. ↑ "WNT Sponsor". Lotto Thueringen Ladies Tour. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  24. ↑ "Partners". The Women's Tour. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  25. ↑ "Partners". Madrid Challenge by La Vuelta. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
  26. ↑ "Rotor UNO to make professional peloton debut in 2018 - Cyclingnews.com".
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