Movistar women under review: Van Vleuten's money seems to have been spent in two ways

2024 was - after the cycling retirement of Annemiek van Vleuten - a year of transition for the Movistar women, who primarily hoped to rely on Liane Lippert, Emma Norsgaard, and Arlenis Sierra in the classics. The German, in particular, seemed ready to take the next step after a strong 2023, but a stress fracture to her hip sustained while running in November ultimately meant she couldn't start racing until May. In other words, after the classics.

This meant that the 'pressure,' especially in the Flemish races, was on Norsgaard and Sierra, who lacked that little extra to compete with the best. They finished in the top twenty just about everywhere, with some ups and downs in races like Gent-Wevelgem and Brugge-De Panne, but there was no icing on the cake. In the Walloon races, they failed to make an impression.

The return of Lippert and the arrival of top talent Cat Ferguson in the fall helped save the day. Ferguson won two Belgian races and Lippert competed for prizes in Classic Lorient, the World Championship, and Tre Valli Varesine before ending her season early due to flu.

In the grand tours, things were completely different from 2023: from a former grand tour winner like Van Vleuten to girls who could just compete for the top ten. No offense to Marielle Meijering, for example, who rode an excellent year with an eleventh place in the Giro and fifteenth place in the Vuelta.

In addition, Lippert competed for stage wins in the Tour, while she could actually win a stage in the Giro. But other than that, nothing really stood out: from top-ten finishes in races like the Basque Country and Burgos to a final victory in the Vuelta a Extremadura, which is the least you can expect from a WorldTeam.

We already mentioned it: after Van Vleuten's farewell, the contrast for the ladies of Movistar could not be more striking. So there is no real basis for comparison and no real standouts. Thus, our (former) editorial staff comes to a final score of 5.3, slightly below the mark but with room for improvement.

The money lost to Van Vleuten seems to have been used up one year later. Movistar has brought in Cat Ferguson, the top talent in women's cycling. The 18-year-old British rider won the World Championship double in Switzerland in September and immediately won two Belgian races during her training period with the Spanish team.

Besides that, Movistar attracted Marlen Reusser, the SD Worx-Protime fast rider. However, the Swiss has been struggling with her health for pretty much all of 2024, so it is unclear at this point to what extent that will be resolved before the 2025 cycling year begins. Finally, the team attracted Ana Vitoria Magalhaes (Bepink-Bongioanni) and Carys Lloyd (Tofauti Everyone Active).

On the other hand, Emma Norsgaard is leaving Movistar after four years for Lidl-Trek. The Danish won a stage in the Tour and Le Samyn on behalf of the team, among other things.

Incoming: Marlen Reusser (SD Worx-Protime), Ana Vitoria Magalhaes (Bepink-Bongioanni), Cat Ferguson (Shibden Hopetech Apex) and Carys Lloyd (Tofauti Everyone Active)

(Provisional) outgoing: Emma Norsgaard (Lidl-Trek)

Movistar looks set for a better year than 2024 if all goes well. First, they hope that Liane Lippert can start the season fit and play her role in the spring classics as a leading lady. With any luck, Marlen Reusser will also be able to make her contribution to the Flemish races.

Of course, we also mention top talent Cat Ferguson, who will also be racing on behalf of the team in December. Let's not forget that she is only 18, and we can't expect anything from the British at that age.

From a Dutch perspective, Marielle Meijering's and Floortje Mackaij's performances are interesting. Meijering is only starting her second season in the WorldTour at age 29 but already showed a lot of great things in her first season. Mackaij, on the other hand, had perhaps the worst year of her career, so she will be looking to improve.