Hannah Barnes leaves Canyon-SRAM to captain new Uno-X women's team

Hannah Barnes will depart from Canyon-SRAM after signing a contract to race with the new Uno-X women's team in 2022 and 2023. 

Barnes will take on a leadership role as a veteran of the sport, offering her extensive racing experience to help with the development of the team in their first two seasons.

"This is a very exciting time for Uno-X and I am thrilled to be part of the women's team from the beginning," Barnes said in a press announcement on Tuesday.

"I look forward to sharing my experiences and knowledge with my new teammates and contribute to a successful introduction to the women's peloton."

Barnes started racing professionally with UnitedHealthcare in 2014 but has been a staple at the Canyon-SRAM programme since 2016. Barnes is a versatile rider, strong in the sprints, on climbs and in time trials. 

Her career achievements include winning a stage at the Giro d'Italia Donne and three stages at the former Tour de San Luis. She has also won the overall title at Setmana Ciclista Valenciana and was third overall at the OVO Energy Women's Tour.

A strong Classics rider, too, she has finished in the top 10 at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Gent-Wevelgem and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

"Hannah is an international star. Her palmares is widely recognized and I think Uno-X will be good for her. Of course she will be one of our captains and I expect her to play a very important part of our history in 2022," said Jens Haugland from Uno-X.

Although Barnes was anticipating to compete at the postponed Tokyo Olympic Games alongside Lizzie Deignan for Team Great Britain, she was not selected largely due to an injury that kept her from being in her best form this season.

Uno-X will launch their women's programme for the first time next season and they aim to acquire a Women's WorldTeam licence in 2022. Barnes' current Canyon-SRAM teammate Hannah Ludwig has also signed a two-year contract with the new team. 

The team also announced signing Anne Dorthe Ysland and Mie Bjørndal Ottestad, both from Norway, and Anniina Ahtosalo from Finland.