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.
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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 Powered Health as she brings 16 years of experience to the squad, last riding on the WorldTour in 2022 with Jumbo-Visma.
“I’ve been in the pro peloton for a while so I know the races, especially in the spring so I can read the race situations pretty well and this helps the rest of the team learn how to spend and conserve energy. Positioning is also a strength of mine and I can use this to help in the spring and to make life easier for sprinters,” Kasper said.
“This is a new experience for me and I’d like to share my knowledge to help the young riders move up at the WorldTour level.”
The 35-year-old has finished second overall at the Ladies Tour of Qatar and won a stage of the Thüringen Ladies Tour and Czech Tour de Feminin. She has finished in the top 20 at all three editions of Paris-Roubaix Femes.
“This is always the highlight of the year for me as having a women’s Roubaix helped make my career longer. The Ronde van Drenthe also suits me, but it’s all about the weather conditions. I go well when it’s windy and in bad weather and it’s really chaotic. I really like that.”
After six seasons with the FDJ-SUEZ programme, the 25-year-old Grossetête looks for a focus in one-day races. She finished 12th at this year’s Ronde van Drenthe in March and fourth at Grand Prix International d'Isbergues in September. Last year she has four top 10s in one-day races and finished third in the mountains classification at the Simac Ladies Tour.
“I wanted a new challenge, a new beginning and a new atmosphere. I needed a change in my career,” said the young French rider, who looked forward to the spring Classics the most. “A nervous bunch, small roads, up and down, technical roads, this is what I love about cycling.”
Team performance manager Kenny Latomme noted both riders had the versatility to play big roles across different racing scenarios, and that Kasper would provide immediate impact as a team leader.
“Maëlle brings great experience from being on a top WorldTour team and will be a real help in the final of races. She can also be in a front group and go for her own result,” he said in a team press release.
“Romy has seen it all and will be crucial for the Classics and the lead out. The leader of the team does not always have to get the results, but takes away the stress and the pressure from the others by guiding the team.”
