This is our team for Tour de France Femmes
Katrine Aalerud going all out up a climb. Photo: Getty Sport
Uno-X Mobility heads to Tour de France Femmes with Katrine Aalerud as our GC leader, a clear top 10 ambition and a team built to support, stay united and take the right opportunities.
The seven-rider line-up gives the team both structure and versatility, according to Anna Badegruber, Head of Sport Women.
“We have a team that is fully committed to the team plan, that has put in the work, knows each others strengths and weaknesses and is ready to show what we are capable of“ Badegruber says.
The main goal is clear: Aalerud leads the team in the general classification, with top 10 overall as the target. Around her, we bring a team that can support her in different areas. We have pure final climbing support, riders with strong engines for the flatter and hilly sections, as well as riders who can take opportunities on certain stages.
“Katrine is our leader for the GC, and top 10 is the goal,” Badegruber says. “Next to the GC we want to play different cards and take our changes to go for stage opportunities“.
Sigrid Haugset with a big smile before racing
Our lineup for Tour de France
🇳🇴 Katrine Aalerud
GC leader. Goal: top 10 overall.
🇳🇴 Marte Berg Edseth
Hilly and late support, with a road captain role.
🇳🇴 Sigrid Ytterhus Haugset
Late climbing support, with options for stage opportunities from different race scenarios.
🇮🇹 Laura Tomasi
Early and flat support, helping position Katrine and keep the team safe.
🇳🇱 Teuntje Beekhuis
Flat support and an important engine for the team.
🇮🇹 Alessia Vigilia
Flat support and an important engine for the team.
🇳🇱 Anouska Koster
Support across flat and hilly terrain.
*Mie Bjørndal Ottestad has had to be withdrawn from the line-up due to a recent training crash.
Sports directors: Anna Badegruber, Martin Vestby and Nicolas Marche
Anna Badegruber, Head of Sport Women Photo: Getty Sport
A clear leader
Selecting seven riders for the biggest race of the season is never easy, but Badegruber says the core of the team was clear.
“It is always hard to choose seven out of 20 riders as every rider wants to be part of the Tour de France Femmes team - the biggest race in the calender. For us it was clear that we have Katrine as our GC leader and that we need to build the best and strongest Team that we have around her to support the GC Goals and go after stage results.“
Haugset has been strong all year, and together with Edseth, she will have a key role in helping Katrine in the climbs. The team also needs riders with the engine to support on the flatter parts and riders that can cover the hilly sections of the race, which is one of the reasons behind the line-up
“Several of the riders that we have in the tour squad have already raced together throughout the other 2 Grand Tours and have build a strong bond and group. The line up is balanced between early flat support, late and hilly support and last climbing support. This gives a good foundation for Katrine to be supported throughout the whole race.“
Mie Bjørndal Ottestad was originally set to start the Tour de France Femmes but has been forced to withdraw after sustaining a concussion in a crash during a recent training ride. Due to the recovery process required following a concussion, she will not be able to start the Tour.
Aalerud and Haugset after taking it all out up a climb.
Racing smart — and racing to be seen
The main goal is top 10 overall with Aalerud. At the same time, the team wants to create opportunities and stay visible in the race.
“Top 10 and aiming for a stage win,” Badegruber says of the main goals. “Of course we race smart and think of GC, but we also want to create opportunities and be seen in the race. We were close with Sigrid in the Giro, and we chase that again.”
Several stages are marked as days with opportunities, especially stage 3 and stage 6. But Badegruber says the key is to stay switched on every day.
“This Tour is a really hard edition were the main goal is to be switched on every single day to keep Katrine Safe for the GC and be on top of everything every day to be able to take stage opportunities.“
Built for reduced groups
The course is very different from the men’s race. With nine days of hard racing, we expect hard and hectic stages from the start, and Badegruber expects many of the opportunities to come from reduced groups.
“It is really hard stages, and most of the days it could be is a reduced group that comes to the line where we want to be in,” she says. “We have clear stage targets, and whether it comes from a breakaway or not is to be decided.”
Teuntje Beekhuis getting ready for racing
Our focus will be to keep Katrine safe and ready for the fight in the GC. Next to that, we are eager to chase stage results.
If the stage win comes, Badegruber has a clear picture of what it could look like.
“I believe that it would come from a reduced group, where ideally we would be able to go solo from there and bring it to the line.“
Belief in the biggest result of the season
Uno-X Mobility enters Tour de France Femmes with belief, clear roles and the ambition to take the team’s biggest result of the season.
“We are growing as a team, we have developed very well, and I see it coming,” Badegruber says. “I believe we are on a very good track, with some changes in training and race programme. We believe in a good result.”
The preparations have included recon of the courses, and the final details will now be done at home.
“I think we have done everything we can,” Badegruber says. “We have done really well, the riders are in good shape, and we have seen the courses.”
Tour de France Femmes will demand focus from the first stage to the last. For Uno-X Mobility, the mission is clear: protect Aalerud in the GC fight, take the chances when they come and race with the yellow and red visible in the moments that matter.
Marte Berg Edseth during the Giro. Photo: Getty Sport
About the race
The fifth Tour de France Femmes runs from 1 to 9 August, starting in Lausanne, Switzerland, before entering France on stage 3 and finishing in Nice. Across 1,175 kilometres, the route offers chances for strong engines, breakaway riders and GC contenders — with three flat stages, three hilly stages, two mountain stages and one individual time trial.
The biggest climbing tests come late, with the summit finish on Mont Ventoux on stage 7 and a final stage around Nice, where Col d’Èze is tackled four times.
About Uno-X Mobility Cycling
Uno-X Mobility Cycling is a professional cycling team that combines a passion for racing with a vision for the future of mobility. The team, owned by Reitan Retail, primarily focuses on developing Norwegian and Danish talent, providing them with opportunities to compete at the highest international level. Through our commitment to young athletes, the promotion of future of mobility, and close collaboration with our partners, we aim to make a positive impact both within and beyond the sport of cycling. Uno-X Mobility's mission is to develop and promote solutions for the future of mobility.
For more information, contact:
Henning Askjer Lefsaker, Head of Communications.