This year, the UCI World Cycling Centre’s UCI Women’s Continental Team, WCC Team, comprises 11 members from ten countries.
Three of the athletes, from Belarus, Switzerland, and Ukraine, were already with the WCC Team last year. They are joined by eight women from Rwanda, Uzbekistan, South Africa, Colombia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Afghanistan. The Afghan sisters Fariba and Yulduz Hashimi first came into contact with the UCI WCC in 2022 when they came first and second respectively in their National Championships, held exceptionally at the centre’s headquarters. The sisters have received help from IOC Solidarity funding to join the team at the UCI World Cycling Centre (WCC) in Aigle, Switzerland.
The aim of the WCC Team - launched in 2018 and granted UCI Women’s Continental Team status in 2020 - is to give its members access to high-level training and race experience so they can then graduate to a higher level with trade teams.
From Switzerland to Spain
Some members of the new young team already arrived in Aigle last December, enabling them to acclimatize, get to know their home for the next 12 months and prepare for the upcoming season, notably with bike fitting and familiarisation with their new training ground.
In mid-January, the entire team left for a six-week training camp in Spain, where their coach Anna Wiese focused on team building and assessing their levels of skills and fitness. Their intensive training schedule enabled them to grow as athletes, and as members of a close-knit team.
“We rented a big house, and living together like that is already a binding experience,” observes Anna Wiese. “They are from different cultures and have different daily routines, so this was a chance for them to get to know each other and for me to get to know them.”
From the outset, Anna Wiese encourages clear and direct communication between all the women.
“Communication is so important in a team both on and off the bike. They need to be able to have open discussions and give constructive feedback to each other. They must be able to communicate clearly and calmly.”
From a sporting point of view, they already made considerable progress both individually and as a team.
“All the team members have different skills and strengths, and their levels differ quite a bit. This camp gave me a chance to see how we can improve, and I truly believe that if they work well together, they will be a good team.”
First races as a team
While the six weeks in Spain were dedicated solely to training, their first racing experience together came at the four-day Trofeo Ponente in Rosa (UCI Class 2.2), in Italy.
“It went well, and I am happy how they worked as a team,” comments their coach. “There were no radios during the race but they tried to implement the strategy we had discussed beforehand.”
Several one-day races at Swiss national level will enable them to put racing experience in the bank in the lead up to their first 2.2 race, the Giro Mediterraneo Rosa from 19 to 23 April, followed by the Gran Premio della Liberazione (2.1) on 25 April.
The race plan is more or less established for the remainder of the year but for Anna Wiese each athlete must develop at her own pace.
“They are with us for one year and then we will see who is ready to move, to join another team, and who will stay with us. Not everything is doable in one year. We’ll see how they develop.”
2024 UCI WCC Team
Dziyana Lebedz (Belarus), 21
Jasmin Liechti (Switzerland), 21
Anna Kolizhuk (Ukraine), 19
Valentine Nzayisenga (Rwanda), 24
Shakhnoza Abdullaeva (Uzbekistan), 22
Lize-Ann Louw (South Africa), 22
Juliana Londoña David (Colombia), 19
Terézia Ciriaková (Slovakia), 18
Nika Bobnar (Slovenia), 20
Fariba Hashimi (Afghanistan), 20
Yulduz Hashimi (Afghanistan), 23