We are pleased to announce the finalists in the Pro-Rider of the Year category brought to you by La Fuga for the Total Women’s Cycling Awards in association with Velo Vixen.
These women are all exceptional athletes. They have displayed professionalism, determination and discipline to excel at the sport they love, often in the face of adversity. At Total Women’s Cycling, we are dedicated to raising the profile of women in this sport, and celebrating their accomplishments.
The winners of each category will be announced at the Total Women’s Cycling Awards ceremony at The London Bike Show in February 2015 – stand by for more info.
Voting will open soon, so make sure you have your say on which finalists in each of the 11 categories deserve to be crowned winner. Don’t forget to spread the word online!
Vote for your Pro-Rider of the year here.
Lizzie Armitstead
Olympian Lizzie Armitstead has had an incredible year of racing. Her performance has been building for some time, but 2014 is the year it all came together. She sprinted to gold in the 2014 Commonwealth Games Road Race in Glasgow, ahead of Emma Pooley, and her consistent performance over the Road Cycling World Cup gave her the overall victory with one race spare.
Pauline Ferrand-Prevot
Few will forget Pauline’s reaction to winning the UCI World women’s road race in 2014. As she burst into tears on the finish line, simply unable to comprehend that she would be wearing the World Champ’s jersey, there was not a dry eye in TWC Towers.
In addition to this incredible achievement, the 22 year old, Rabo Liv rider came 2nd in the Giro Rosa and bagged National Championship titles for Cyclocross, Time Trial, Road Racing and Mountain Biking over the past 12 months. Now that’s what we call an all-rounder.
Dani King
She’s an Olympic Champion, a multiple World Champion, and a World Record Holder. That Wiggle Honda team rider Dani King is an accomplished rider is beyond dispute. She has been awarded an MBE for her services and skills, and spun to victory in the British National Track Championships with her teammates for the Team Pursuit national title.
Marianne Vos
She’s been called the most talented cyclist in the world, male or female, and 2014 has certainly been an incredible year for Marianne Vos. Some of the iconic achievements have included becoming the first ever winner of the new La Course by La Tour De France, sprinting to victory on the Champs Elysee. She also sped to victory along crowded streets to rapturous applause on the final day of the Friends Life Women’s Tour, taking the win at the inaugural edition of that race too. She has campaigned for equality in women’s cycling as part of La Tour Entier.
Elinor Barker
Hailing from Wales, Elinor Barker represents both Great Britain and Wales at track cycling events, and rides for Wiggle Honda on the road. Part of the British Cycling Olympic Development program, she retained her Track Cycling World Champion title in 2014 when alongside teammates Katie Archibald, Laura Trott and Joanna Rowsell took gold in the Team Pursuit.
Katie Archibald
Scottish Cyclist Katie Archibald is a European, World Cup and World Champion in the field of Team Pursuit track cycling. In 2014 she was selected to join the British Cycling Olympic Development program, recognising her great potential for the future. She represented Scotland in the 2014 Commonwealth Games, receiving a bronze medal in the points race, and placed 2nd in the British National Time Trial Championships. In 2014 she was part of the team with Barker, Trott and Rowsell that won the Team Pursuit title at the UCI Track Cycling World Cup.
Manon Carpenter
Hailed as the next big thing in downhill mountain biking, 2014 was the year that Manon Carpenter aimed to win a World Cup round. She didn’t just win one, she won 3, clinching the World Cup title overall. She then also rode to victory at the World Championships in Norway, effectively ‘doing the double’ – winning both Championship titles in one year, and the right to wear the rainbow stripes of a World Champ.
Tracy Moseley
After a long career in downhill mountain biking, which saw her crowned World Champion, and World Cup Champion, Tracy Moseley (aka TMo) switched to the new discipline of Enduro in 2013, and was crowned the first ever Enduro World Series Champion. In 2014, she battled to retain the title, with some incredibly close racing between Anne Caro Chausson of France, and in the end it came down to the final stage of the final race of the season.
