UCI RACING AWAITS GENERATION TEAM IN CHAMBÉRY

After three confidence-boosting rounds of the Copa España Feminas Cofidis, including Joëlle Messemer’s win at Gran Premio Igartza, the CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto Generation team will line up for their first UCI race of the season, the Grand Prix Féminin de Chambéry, this Sunday.

The team, making the trip to the mountainous Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France for this race of 118.4 kilometres, is Joëlle, Diane Ingabire, WorldTeam rider Ricarda Bauernfeind, Maddie le Roux, Jule Märkl, Florence Nakagwa and Emily Dixon.

This will be Maddie’s fourth appearance in Chambéry, marking her most starts at any European event. Meanwhile, Ricarda has had success in Chambéry in the past, leading a chase group to finish fourth, just behind a fragmented breakaway that claimed the podium spots. She joins the Generation team after racing Friday’s Brabantse Pijl in Belgium, continuing her steady return from a challenging injury spell.

“I rode Chambéry with the Generation team in 2022, almost at the beginning of my time with Canyon. Now, after this whole injury period, it somehow feels like another new beginning. I’m really looking forward to the race, even though it’s going to be a tough one, but I really like the dynamic within the Generation team and I’m just excited.”

“The course is very demanding with the climbs, the descents are technical, and the roads are quite narrow. So positioning is really important to be there at the key moments when the attacks start. We have a big team, a lot of riders, and I think we can really help shape the race.”

“Since Trofeo Binda, I think I’ve made some good progress. I’m not quite back to full fitness yet, but I’m definitely on the right track. I can tell that I’m still missing some race intensity, so I’m really glad to have the opportunity to race with the Generation team and I’m using it to work my way back into form.”

The event promises to be a challenging one, with over 2000m of elevation packed into a route that includes multiple laps of the same circuit, testing both the physical and mental fortitude of riders. The course begins with three small laps of 8.6km through a built-up, industrial area before moving on to five larger 17km laps, which meander through picturesque rural villages on narrow, winding roads. The race finishes with one final 8.6km loop.

This year’s larger circuit has been slightly altered, shortening a downhill and flat section in the middle of the lap and bringing the key climbs closer together. Although action can unfold at any point on this dynamic, ever-changing course, two climbs will likely prove decisive. The first is a 1.5km climb at 6% (with a maxium gradient of 13% towards the top), followed by a 1km climb at 6.5% (max gradient 9.5%).

Each lap, whether small or large, concludes with a 500m stretch at 7%, starting with gradients exceeding 15% before tapering off towards the finish line. It’s safe to say this race is as attritional as they come, with riders often trickling in one by one as the course takes its toll.

The Grand Prix Féminin de Chambéry also serves as the first round of the Coupe de France Femmes Professionnelles, with the CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto Generation set to continue in the series at a triple-header of racing from May 8-10, including the Pointe du Raz Ladies Classic, La Classique Morbihan, and the Grand Prix Du Morbihan Femmes, all of UCI 1.1 Classification. Before that, the team will also line up at Festival Elsy Jacobs à Luxembourg, racing across May 3–4.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Grand Prix Féminin de Chambéry | UCI 1.1 | Sunday April 20 | 118.4km | 2027m elevation | Start 13:00 CET – fastest finish 16:12.

No live coverage confirmed yet — stay tuned on X via #GrandPrixFéminin, and follow CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto’s social channels for all the latest updates from the team.