A new British team, Hess Cycling, has begun its journey toward a stated goal of becoming a Women's WorldTeam and competing at the Tour de France Femmes as soon as 2025.
The team is currently in its first season as a women's Continental team and is registered in Luxembourg. However, they have submitted an application and fee to British Cycling to formally race under British licence in 2024 as part of a long-term strategy to expand and compete at the highest level.
The team have already announced Holly Ramsey as their first new rider to the 2024 roster. She finished second in the British National Youth and Junior Track Championships 2023 in the junior women's Pursuit.
“I’m thrilled to join Hess Cycling as the team sets out on its journey to become the leading British women’s professional cycling team. The environment the team are looking to create is exactly the right one for me to continue to develop as a rider and I look forward to joining up with my fellow riders," Ramsey said.
"For years, I’ve looked up to British women racing on a Continental and World Tour level as role models and to now compete alongside them is going to be massively exciting.”
Although the team will have a core focus of developing young British riders, they plan to soon announce a roster of riders that currently compete at WorldTour level and include a series of national champions, according to a press release.
Hess Enterprises Limited financially backs the team. It is a family-owned group of companies operating out of London within luxury goods, beverages, sports, entertainment and skin care, according to a team press release.
Rolf Hess, founder and chairman of Hess Enterprises and Hess Cycling, aims to build a collective of like-minded groups that wish to grow women’s sport and cycling.
“Today is the start of our journey to elevate Hess Cycling to become Britain’s leading professional women’s cycling team. Over recent years, women’s cycling is seeing a rapid growth in media exposure, commercial viability and financial sustainability," Hess said.
"Women’s football, rugby and cricket are all booming and we believe there is no reason why cycling should not follow this path. Over the last 12 months we have worked to build the management team and commercial structures and we look forward to supporting the cycling community here in Britain and further afield.”
