Women's news shorts: Wiggle-Honda manager Gilmore to write exclusive blog for Cyclingnews

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Wiggle-Honda manager Gilmore to write exclusive blogs for Cyclingnews

One of the most prominent women in cycling, Rochelle Gilmore, will detail her experiences in the sport through her new and exclusive blog on Cyclingnews.

Gilmore has made quite a name for herself in cycling. She is former professional athlete in track and road, racing for more than a decade, having raced for the Australian national team, Team S.A.T.S, Safi-Pasta Zara-Manhattan, Menikini Selle Italia Gysko and Lotto Ladies Team.

Her career highlights include victories in stages at the Route de France and Giro d’Italia Femminile, a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games, three gold medals at the World Cup and two silver medals at the World Track Championships.

She set up and runs the Wiggle Honda team and has become a leader for Australian and women’s international cycling. Follow Gilmore as she builds on the success at Wiggle Honda and helps transform women’s cycling in 2016.

Check out her first Cyclingnews blog installment Ticking Boxes!

Moolman-Pasio makes history as first South African in UCI ranking top 10

Bigla Pro Cycling’s Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio made history as the first-ever South African to finish in the top 10 of the UCI rankings. She moved up into sixth-place overall after winning the Momentum 947 Cycle Challenge in Johannesburg last Sunday. It was the final UCI-sanctioned race on the elite women's calendar of the 2015 season.

“I'm super happy to finish the year ranked 6th in the world, I couldn't have asked for a better ending to what has been a great year with Bigla,” Moolman-Pasio said. “I have been striving to break into the top 10 world ranking for a few years now, and to finally have made it, I'm incredibly grateful. It is not easy as a rider from the Southern Hemisphere to make a career of cycling in Europe, and I hope this achievement can inspire other South African's and African's to realise that with hard work and determination anything is possible. I certainly didn't do this on my own, and I'm incredibly grateful to all of those who have played a role in helping me reach this goal over the years.”

Anna van der Breggen (Rabo-Liv) topped the ranking ahead of runner-up Lizzie Armitstead (Boels-Dolmans), Jolien D’hoore (Wiggle-Honda) third, Emma Johansson (Orica-AIS) fourth and Elisa Longo-BOrghini (Wiggle-Honda) fifth.

Going forward, Moolman-Pasio will put her focus on the Rio Olympic Games in 2016, and she feels like she has gained the confidence needed heading into such an important season.

“Finishing in the top 10 world ranking in the year preceding the Rio Olympics is great for my motivation and confidence. I feel that my consistent performance through the year and the lessons that I have learnt along the way will be a great boost going into 2016, as I continue to strive to push boundaries and grow as an athlete and person,” she said.

Cant extends UCI ranking lead after Koksijde World Cup victory, moves into World Cup lead

Sanne Cant (Team Ciclismo Mundial) has moved into the World Cup lead and increased her UCI ranking after winning the World Cup in Koksijde on Sunday. Cant has dominated the season so far, with victories in all four rounds of the Superprestige, but this was her first World Cup win this season.

Katerina Nash (Luna) won the first round at CrossVegas and Eva Lechner (Team Colnago-SudTirol) won the second round in Valkenburg. Lechner went into Koksijde with a slim lead but she only managed to finish the race in ninth and so slipped into second in the World Cup ranking.

The next round of the World Cup is held at the citadel in Namur, Belgium on December 20.

UCI Cyclo-cross ranking after Koksijde

UCI World Cup standings after Koksijde