UPV Women's Cycling Team 2024

Their legs will have covered thousands of kilometres by the end of the year. Probably more than their private cars (if they have one). But for now, they are fresh and a bit nervous. The UPV Women's Cycling Team is finalising preparations for a new season, the second in its history, in which it has made a qualitative leap after obtaining the UCI National Team seal. Last year's third place in the national ranking was a surprising breakthrough that has sparked optimism for the new campaign. This was evident at its launch on 19 January in the facilities of the Vera campus.

The UPV team has 53 cyclists - plus eight members of the coaching staff - in the four categories ( Cadet, Junior, Master, Elite and Under-23) with which it will face the national and international calendar. The first will be the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, which starts on 4 February. It will be followed by another fourteen stops, including the Copa de España or the Vuelta a la Comunitat Valenciana, as well as the Vuelta a Portugal, which will be the climax in September.

This year, the stakes are even higher, with several riders set to live up to the high expectations. Among them are the INGLES track champion and member of the Spanish national team, Laura Rodríguez Cordero, the Challenge Elite champion of the Valencian Community, Naomí Martínez Sánchez, as well as Isabel Ferreres (regional Elite road champion) or the 2022 World Champion in the Masters 40-45 category, Nicolien Luijsterburg.

Most relevant results in 2023

The UPV Women's Cycling Team achieved important victories and successes last season, such as winning the Valencian Community Championships in the Elite category and the Castilla La Mancha Cup in the Under-23 category, among others. The good results achieved by the riders in the different events on the calendar meant that it took third place in the national team ranking, only surpassed by the Laboral Kutxa and Movistar Teams, both in the international category.

Unexpected" result

The Universitat Politécnica de Valencia (UPV) women's cycling team is celebrating its second year of existence with remarkable growth on the national and international scene. The excellent results of its first season were "unexpected", as David Sánchez, the team's director in the highest category ("Elite" and "Under-23"), acknowledges. "We started the project with just six girls, and now we have 53. This is a great achievement, thanks to the good work and support of the UPV and other sponsors".

This good result has undoubtedly encouraged other cyclists to bet on this project. This is the case of Dutch rider Nicolien Luijsterburg. The 2022 world champion in the Masters 40-45 category is "particularly enthusiastic" about the new stage she is about to embark on, which will see her make the leap to the Elite professional category. Luijsterburg hopes to achieve her best results in the Spanish Cup races, especially those with high finishes.

Similarly, Spanish track champion and member of the Spanish Elite team, Laura Rodríguez Cordero, has set her main objectives for the Spanish Cup races: "Why not? I will try to be in the first positions in some races.

Natural progression

David Sánchez has his feet on the ground when setting the objectives of the UPV Women's Cycling Team. As a director, he assumes that the yellow and black UPV jersey will not go unnoticed in the pack, but he insists that the team's progression must be "natural, without wanting to skip stages".

For him, it is a great responsibility and challenge to represent Valencia (the UPV women's team is the only Valencian team in these competitions), to represent the UPV and to have their jersey on some of the most important TV channels, such as Eurosport. "There are a lot of people with illusion behind this team, which was a small piece of bread a short time ago, and now it is becoming something huge".

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