Top 10 World Tour Riders to Watch In 2024

 Team: Canyon//SRAM Racing
Nationality: Germany
Riding style: TT/GC

The current U23 ITT world champion is always someone to look out for. However, this name might not spring to mind, currently only ranked 131^st in the world. Last year was full of highs, and lows. Winning stage 5 of the Giro d’Italia Donne 2023 in front of Annemiek van Vleuten and Juliette Labous. Unfortunately, she crashed on stage 6, taking her out of the race.

With four pro wins at the age of 20, she’s a future star. And the youngest rider on this list. We’d all love to be 20 again, any bike feels comfortable at that age. If you’re over 60 we recommend following this guide to buying your next bike. Niedermaier has all the combined components of a Grand Tour winner in the making, but will we have to wait long? We haven’t found any information on her 2024 race calendar, but it’s sure she’ll be at least one Grand Tour this year. 🫣

Cédrine Kerbaol

Age: 22

Team: CERATIZIT-WNT Pro Cycling Team

Nationality: France

Riding style: TT/GC

The list wouldn’t be complete without the Tour de France Femmes White Jersey winner, Cédrine Kerbaol. For more, read our interview with Kerbaol from after the Tour. Time trialling, climbing and explosivity are all qualities she possesses, making her one exciting rider.

Keep an eye out for Kerbaol, but she’ll be hard to miss. Always located around the front on the peloton, or off the front winning solo, for example at the 2023 Tour de Normandie Féminin. With one win already this year, 2024 is bound to be a thrilling year!

Neve Bradbury

Age: 21
Team: Canyon//SRAM Racing
Nationality: Australia
Riding style: Climber

After turning pro as a first year U23, Bradbury would have learnt a lot while racing with Canyon//SRAM for the last three years, and it’s starting to show! Having completed two WorldTour stage races already in 2024, Bradbury has secured two GC podiums. After finishing 3^rd overall at the Santos Tour Down Under in January, she raced the UAE Tour Women where she finished 2^nd!

This is one of the best starts to 2024 by any pro, so now other riders will be looking out for her. But will she be able to lead the team at any Grand Tours? It will be tough at the Tour de France Femmes with Katarzyna Niewiadoma on the team; however, it’s not impossible.

Maike van der Duin

Age: 21
Team: Canyon//SRAM Racing
Nationality: Netherlands
Riding style: Sprinter

The only pure sprinter on our list, Maike van der Duin, is not the most well-known rider. However, the 21-year-old had eight top 10s and three podium places at WorldTour races in 2023! In 2022, while riding for the Continental Team formerly known as Le Col – Wahoo, Maike van der Duin finished within the top 10 three times during the Tour de France Femmes.

Unfortunately, in 2023, she fell ill just before the Tour. However, the 2024 Tour de France Femmes suits her well, with three flat sprint stages. Maike van der Duin is currently recovering from a fractured ankle sustained in a training crash, but there’s no doubt we will see her back soon. If you’ve had a pause from cycling, read our guide to getting back on the bike after a long break.

Experienced Riders to Watch in 2024:

Of course, the young guns are exciting, but it wouldn’t be fair to miss out the riders who are frequently seen making race-winning moves. From GC contenders to sprinters, below are arguably the five best and most exciting women’s riders. From the current world champion to the winner of the 2023 Tour de France Femmes, you'll notice one thing: most of them ride for Team SD Worx – Protime!

Demi Vollering

Age: 27
Team: Team SD Worx - Protime
Nationality: Netherlands
Riding style: GC

Although it says “GC” under “Riding style”, it’s fair to say she can win a bike race over a wide range of terrains. We can’t say 2023 was the breakthrough year for Vollering, though it was the year she took control. When compared with 2022, Vollering earnt nearly double the number of UCI points, and with the retirement of Annemiek van Vleuten, who will be able to get the better of her?  The answer could be her teammate, Kopecky.

Lotte Kopecky

Age: 28
Team: Team SD Worx - Protime
Nationality: Belgium
Riding style: All rounder

Debatably the best all-round cyclist in the world, including men! She’s a mix of Pogacar and Van der Poel. To understand, just check out her results: 2^rd GC Tour de France Femmes (only one stage not in the top ten), 2023 women’s world champion, and numerous other one-day and stage race WorldTour wins.

She has already set the scene by winning GC at the UAE Tour Women. Kopecky was seen winning on the Queen mountain stage as well as leading out teammate sprinter Lorena Wiebes. Could 2023 hold new objectives for Kopecky, and could she challenge Vollering for the GC at the Tour de France Femmes?

Katarzyna Niewiadoma

Age: 29
Team: Canyon//SRAM Racing
Nationality: Poland
Riding style: GC

Current gravel world champion, the rider from Poland currently leads WorldTour team Canyon//SRAM Racing. There is a strong squad around her with a lot of young talent. The question that stands, is she and the team strong enough to rival SD Worx - Protime?

 She has been riding well in races such as Setmana Ciclista Volta Femenina de la Comunitat Valenciana and Strade Bianche Donne, but not at the level we’d expect to see an improvement on her 3rd place at the 2023 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.

Lorena Wiebes

Age: 24
Team: Team SD Worx - Protime
Nationality: Netherlands
Riding style: Sprinter

The current most dominant sprinter, and yes, you guessed it, she rides for SD Worx - Protime. You could argue her job is made easier when you have the likes of Lotte Kopecky dropping you off at the front with 200 metres to go. Even so, there’s no doubt she’s the strongest sprinter. 74 pro wins at the time of writing this article, 2 of which at this year’s UAE Tour Women. And if you want to improve your sprinting, read our guide to winter strength training!

It's an interesting mix of power at SD Worx – Protime. Difficult decisions must be made, for example, who are they riding for and how many domestiques do they need for each rider. At the 2023 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, the team had to somehow protect Vollering, Kopecky and Wiebes, not an easy task. 

Marianne Vos

Age: 36
Team: Team Visma | Lease a Bike
Nationality: Netherlands
Riding style: One Day Race/Sprinter

The all-time number one ranked women’s cyclist has had a great start to the season. She outsprinted Lotte Kopecky to win the 16^th edition Omloop Het Nieuwsblad WE. It was an exhilarating race where both Kopecky and Vos were the clear strongest, however, Kopecky was unable to drop Vos on any of the short sharp climbs before the final sprint.

The signs were there in Valencia, with two 2nd place finishes that must have given her confidence. With this form, let's see what she can achieve this year in the classics. Having one of the best sprints in the world, all she needs to do is get to the finish in the front group, and it looks like she's very capable of doing exactly that.

Overall, we believe that 2024 is shaping up to be a dramatic season for women's cycling. Having spoken to pros, they all agree that the level of the women's peloton is rapidly rising each year. With more teams and higher wages, there are more opportunities in the sport. Consequently, we get to watch more exciting racing with bigger and stronger fields in races.

And after reading this, you may be wondering how SD Worx - Protime is so strong. Do they have the biggest budget? The best riders? The best bikes? It's likely due to their roster, but they do have excellent equipment choices. So, if you're interested, check out the Specialized bikes on our website.