Fenix-Deceuninck ascend to Women's WorldTour for 2023
Belgian squad beats AG Insurance-NXTG and Ceratizit-WNT for 15th spot
Fenix-Deceuninck – formerly known as Plantur-Pura – will be the 15th team in the Women's WorldTour next season, the UCI has confirmed.
2023 will bring the final expansion of the top division of women's racing, which has grown from nine teams in 2021 to 14 last year and now to 15 from January 1.
The Belgian team, sister squad to new men's WorldTour team Alpecin-Deceuninck, beat fellow applicants AG Insurance-NXTG and Ceratizit-WNT to the Women's WorldTour place, with their high place in the world rankings likely the deciding factor in the UCI's decision.
They finished 12th in the rankings on 2,884.33 points, 483 points up on Ceratizit-WNT in 14th, while AG Insurance-NXTG lay in 19th on 1,360 points. Fellow women's Continental team Valcar-Travel & Service finished higher up but did not apply for a Women's WorldTour spot.
Fenix-Deceuninck continue with a young, promising roster for next season and a team full of cyclocross stars.
Former 'cross world champions Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado and Sanne Cant are joined on the squad by rising stars such as Julie De Wilde and Puck Pieterse, while new signings for 2023 include Greta Marturano (Top Girls Fassa Bortolo), Evy Kuijpers (Human Powered Health), and Sophie Wright (UAE Team ADQ).
The team will now join the likes of SD Worx, Jumbo-Visma, Trek-Segafredo, and Canyon-Sram in the top tier of women's cycling and thus have automatic invitations to Women's WorldTour races throughout the year.
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AG Insurance-NXTG and Ceratizit-WNT will continue as Continental teams going forward. Also revealed in the UCI's announcement were several team name changes for the new season, including Liv Racing-Teqfind, FDJ-Suez, UAE Team, and Israel-Premier Tech-Roland.
Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Before joining the team, she had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur. She writes and edits at Cyclingnews as well as running newsletter, social media, and how to watch campaigns.
Dani has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France, Road World Championships, and the spring Classics. She has interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Mathieu van der Poel, Demi Vollering, and Remco Evenepoel, and her favourite races are the Giro d'Italia, Strade Bianche and Paris-Roubaix.
Season highlights from 2024 include reporting from Paris-Roubaix – 'Unless I'm in an ambulance, I'm finishing this race' – Cyrus Monk, the last man home at Paris-Roubaix – and the Tour de France – 'Disbelief', gratitude, and family – Mark Cavendish celebrates a record-breaking Tour de France sprint win.