Heidi Franz has signed a contract to race with DNA Pro Cycling for the remainder of the 2023 season after resigning from the Zaaf Cycling Team on April 17. DNA Pro Cycling confirmed the addition of Franz to their roster on Friday.
The UCI has granted Franz an exemption to register with a new team ahead of the transfer window, which starts on June 1, due to the extenuating circumstance surrounding her departure from Zaaf Cycling Team.
"I'm incredibly excited to join the DNA family, we've been friends for so long! Joining this roster that already packs so much power and potential makes me more motivated than ever,” Franz said.
“I’m excited to contribute to DNA’s energy and success as they build from strength to strength, both in the US and overseas – it will be like adding fuel to a fire that's already burning bright!"
Zaaf Cycling Team is currently under investigation and embroiled in controversy after an exodus of riders amid allegations that it has not paid some riders and staff salaries.
Franz is one of eight riders that have already quit the team, which also includes Ebtissam Zayed Ahmed, Audrey Cordon-Ragot, Lucie Jounier, Mareille Meijering, Elizabeth Stannard, Michaela Drummond and Maggie Coles-Lyster.
Several of the departing riders have found new teams, with Cordon-Ragot signing with Human Powered Health, Jounier with Team Coop-Hitec, Meijering with Movistar, and Stannard with Israel-Premier Tech-Roland.
The Zaaf Cycling Team roster now includes only seven riders, which is below the minimum of eight riders that the sport governing body requires for a team to obtain a Continental women's team licence.
Now racing for DNA Pro Cycling, Franz will be based in Girona, Spain and is expected to focus on the team's international calendar as well as the US national road race championship.
Franz spent four seasons racing under the Rally Cycling and Rally UHC banners between 2018 and 2021 before spending one season with Instafund in 2022 and then signing with Zaaf Cycling in 2023.
She is an all-rounder and has won stages of Tour of the Gila and Joe Martin Stage Race while also finishing on the overall classification podium at both events. In Europe, she has finished second in a stage at the Tour de l'Ardeche, while this year, she was 10th and 11th place at UCI 1.1 races Costa de Almeria and Trofeo Oro, respectively.
Franz also represented Team USA at the UCI Road World Championships in Wollongong, Australia in 2022.
"We are thrilled to welcome Heidi to our team. Her remarkable development as a bike racer over the past few years has gotten her noticed," said Catherine Fegan-Kim, DNA's co-owner and sports director.
"Her drive and exceptional abilities will mesh well with our squad and international calendar, as well as support our ambitions for additional racing in Europe."
DNA Pro Cycling, based in the United States, has been an elite women’s cycling team for over 10 years and is a joint venture owned and operated by K4 Racing LLC and TREND Cycling Collective. The team is a UCI Women’s Continental Team and has riders from the US, Canada, Colombia, Mexico, and Great Britain.
