Team Rupelcleaning-Illi Bikes told the media this week some fantastique news about their plans for 2021. They have registered the team in Ireland as a UCI Continental Women’s Team, a very international line up with national champions, upcoming young riders, and some very high-level experienced riders. Due to UCI rules, the team has to have a majority of Irish licensed riders in their ranks and they made sure they had some of the most talented Irish girls in their midst. With Alice Sharp, Kelly Murphy, Mia Griffin, Lara Gillespie, and Gaby Homer, they certainly made an excellent choice of a mix of youth, proven and talented riders. This must be a first for Irish Cycling to have 5 women in a UCI continental status road team. What a victory for Irish Women’s Cycling!! and the Belgian connection makes it even sweeter…so well done girls xx
Team Announcement “We have come a long way since we started our adventure back in 2008 with the founding of a men’s club team. 2 years ago we took a new road and made our first appearance in the women’s peloton. A tasty debut year that even resulted in the unexpected overall win in the Belgian Cup. Today we are very proud to announce that we will take the next step in 2021. Starting next year, the @illibikesct will be known as ‘Team Rupelcleaning’, a Belgian-Irish UCI Women’s Continental Team”
Our 5 girls in the team