Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling

Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling

Team information
UCI code	WHT
Registered	Great Britain[1]
Founded	2012 (2012)
Disbanded	2018
Discipline(s)	Road
Status	UCI Women's Team
Bicycles	Colnago
Key personnel
General manager	Rochelle Gilmore
Team manager(s)	Allan Davis Kim Palmer
Team name history
2013–2015 2016–2018	Wiggle–Honda Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling
Jersey

Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling (UCI team code: WHT) was a British professional cycling team based in Belgium, which competed in elite road bicycle racing and track cycling events, such as the UCI Women's Road World Cup. The team closed at the end of 2018.

The team was the idea of the manager and rider Rochelle Gilmore,^[2][3] and was formed with backing from the Bradley Wiggins Foundation and British Cycling.^[2] The final main sponsors of the team were Wiggle and High5.^[2]

On 3 March the team achieved its first ever victory when Emily Collins won the Omloop van het Hageland one day race in Belgium. Collins Shelley Olds (Team TIBCO) and Emma Johansson (Orica–AIS) in a final sprint. On 18 May the team earned its first overall General classification win at the Tour of Zhoushan Island in China where Giorgia Bronzini took overall victory from the Hitec Products UCK pairing of Elisa Longo Borghini and Cecilie Gotaas Johnsen by 14 seconds and 1 minute 6 seconds respectively.^[4] The team's second overall victory came at the 2013 La Route de France, where Linda Villumsen won stage 7 and in doing so took overall victory from Emma Johansson by 5 minutes 52 seconds.^[5] The race will be remembered for the record breaking efforts of Bronzini who won six consecutive stages (1–6) breaking the all-time record for consecutive stage wins in a women's stage racing and meaning that the team won all 7 road stages.^[6] The team finished the season fifth in the UCI Rankings (1060 points) and seventh in the Women's World Cup rankings (166 points).^[7]

On 23 August 2013 it was announced that reigning Swedish national road race champion, Emilia Fahlin, would be joining the team for the 2014 season.^[8] Also joining the team for the 2014 season are Peta Mullens^[9] and current Spanish National Time Trial champion, Anna Sanchis.^[10] The team have also signed Joanne Tralaggan for the remainder of 2013.^[11]

On 24 August 2013 it was announced that Lauren Kitchen would be leaving the team, joining Hitec Products UCK for the 2014 season.^[12] Simon Cope left after Wiggle–Honda's inaugural season to direct continental team Madison Genesis in 2014.

The team took a total of 16 wins in 2014.^[13]

On 3 July 2014 it was announced that the co-founder of Le Tour Entier, Kathryn Bertine, had been signed by the team to ride La Course by Le Tour de France.^[14] On 15 October Jessica Mundy signed with the team with immediate effect^[15] On 5 November 2014 the team announced the signing of Rebecca Wiasak for the remainder of 2014.^[16]

On 30 September 2014 it was announced that Elisa Longo Borghini would join the team for 2015^[17] with Dani King signing a contract extension. On 7 October the team announced the signing of Anna Christian and two-time Giro Rosa champion Mara Abbott for the 2015 season.^[18] On 10 October, the team announced Team TIBCO–To The Top director Egon van Kessel would be taking on the role of the team's DS for 2015.^[19] On 13 October 2014 Audrey Cordon and Jolien D'Hoore joined the team and on 22 October Annette Edmondson joined the team.^[20] On 25 October 2014 the team announced the signing of current British National Criterium Champion, Eileen Roe with immediate effect and in time to compete in the Australian Criterium season.^[21] On 27 October 2014 the team announced the signing of Chloe Hosking on a one-year contract with Emilia Fahlin signing an extension.^[22] On 4 November 2014 Anna Sanchis and Amy Roberts signed one-year extensions.^[23] On 6 November 2014, Wiggle–Honda announced that Mayuko Hagiwara also extended her contract.^[24] On 10 November 2014 Giorgia Bronzini signed a contract extension with the team for 2015.^[25] On 4 December 2014 the team announced they had signed Georgia Baker for the remainder of 2014.^[26]

On 8 September 2014 it was announced that Laura Trott would leave the team and join Matrix Fitness Pro Cycling and on 9 September 2014 it was reported that Linda Villumsen will leave the team to join the UnitedHealthcare Women's Team for the 2015 season.^[27] On 30 September it was reported that Elinor Barker would leave to join Matrix Fitness–Vulpine with Joanna Rowsell leaving for Pearl Izumi Sports Tours International and on 1 October 2014 it was announced that Charlotte Becker would be leaving for Team Hitec Products.^[28] On 30 October Beatrice Bartelloni left the team, joining Alé–Cipollini for the 2015 season. On 23 November 2014 Anna-Bianca Schnitzmeier retired. On 16 December 2014 Emily Collins announced she would leave the team via Twitter.^[29]

On 2 January Chloe Hosking scored the team's first win of the 2015 season by taking Stage 1 of the Bay Classic Series – this also marked Hoskings first victory since joining the team.^[30] Hosking would then go onto the claim the overall win in the race, with Bronzini taking another stage win for the team. The team's next win came at the Omloop van het Hageland where current Belgian national champion and new signing – Jolien D'Hoore claimed her first win and the team's first on European soil. The team would then go onto an enjoy a rich run of results, with D'Hoore winning Boels Rental Ronde van Drenthe,^[31] Bronzini claiming Acht van Westerveld,^[32] new signing Audrey Cordon winning Cholet Pays de Loire Dames^[33] and another new signing Elisa Longo Borghini winning the Tour of Flanders.^[34] In April, D'Hoore went on to win the first stage of the Energiewacht Tour.^[35]

Less than 24 hours after claiming the 2015 Australian National Road Race championship, the team announced they had re-signed Peta Mullens for the 2015 season.^[36]

The team took a total of 35 wins in 2015, more than any other women's cycling team that year.^[13] In August 2015, it was announced that Emma Johansson would join the team on a two-year deal for the 2016 season.^[37] On 1 September 2015 the team announced that Amy Pieters would be joining them for the 2016 season,^[38] followed shortly afterwards by the news that Lucy Garner was signed as well.^[39]

Donna Rae-Szalinski replaced Egon van Kessel as directeur sportif at Wiggle High5 mid-season through 2016, Donna coming in from directing Rochelle Gilmore's Australian NRS team High5 Dream Team.^[40]

At the end of 2017 the team saw large changes in the team members. Of the fifteen rider roster, three riders retiring Claudia Lichtenberg, Emma Johansson, and Anna Sanchis; and an additional four riders transferring out to other teams Giorgia Bronzini, Jolien D'Hoore, Mayuko Hagiwara, and Amy Roberts, as well as assistant directeur sportif Martin Vestby. Wiggle High5 would sign on eight new riders for 2018; Katie Archibald, Rachele Barbieri, Elinor Barker, Lisa Brennauer, Martina Ritter, Macey Stewart, Kirsten Wild, and Eri Yonamine.

Wiggle High5 started 2018 with the one of the largest UCI Women's rosters, with eight returning riders and eight new signings. In between the end of the Australian summer races in January and the start of the European spring races at the end of February, it was revealed the team had terminated the employment of their head directeur sportif Donna Rae-Szalinski. Leaving the team also was technical director and then incoming DS Alex Greenfield, head mechanic Tim Haverals, and remaining soigneur Laura Weislo. The team brought in Allan Davis who had started working with new UCI Continental men's team Brisbane Continental Cycling Team in 2018, as Wiggle High 5's DS while legal proceedings are underway with Rae-Szalinski.^[41][42] Ahead of taking her first duty at the Tour of Chongming Island at the end of April, the team announced Kim Palmer as incoming assistant directeur sportif; who like former DS Rae-Szalinski had led the now disbanded High5 Dream Team, and various Australian national team squads.^[43][44]

With Cycling Australia pulling support for national development teams that were usually where Amy Gillett Foundation Cycling Scholarship recipients would race with, near the end of April it was announced that Grace Brown was selected as the 2018 scholarship holder and would start racing overseas with Wiggle High5 starting with the mid-May Tour of California.^[45]

On 25 July 2018, Rochelle Gilmore announced that the team would not run in 2019 in an announcement video on their YouTube channel.^[46][47]

The first departure of the team was Grace Brown, returning after her Amy Gillett Scholarship period to race domestically with Team Holden Gusto. As the largest UCI Women's team, and with the team shutting down by the end of the year, the first rider announcing their new team for 2019 was Elisa Longo Borghini.^[48] Later in August, Hitec Products–Birk Sport announced Lucy Garner would be switching teams from Wiggle High5.^[49] Then a week later, WNT–Rotor Pro Cycling announced both Kirsten Wild and Lisa Brennauer would join in 2019 on two year contracts.^[50][51] In early September, FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope announced Emilia Fahlin would join the team for 2019.^[52]

Rider Date of birth[53]  Katie Archibald (GBR) (1994-03-12) 12 March 1994 (age 30)  Rachele Barbieri (ITA) (1997-02-21) 21 February 1997 (age 27)  Elinor Barker (GBR) (1994-09-07) 7 September 1994 (age 30)  Lisa Brennauer (GER) (1988-06-08) 8 June 1988 (age 36)  Grace Brown (AUS) (1992-07-07) 7 July 1992 (age 32)  Audrey Cordon (FRA) (1989-09-22) 22 September 1989 (age 35)  Amy Cure (AUS) (1992-12-31) 31 December 1992 (age 31)  Annette Edmondson (AUS) (1991-12-12) 12 December 1991 (age 32)  Emilia Fahlin (SWE) (1988-10-24) 24 October 1988 (age 36)

Rider Date of birth  Lucy Garner (GBR) (1994-09-20) 20 September 1994 (age 30)  Grace Garner (GBR) (1997-06-19) 19 June 1997 (age 27)  Julie Leth (DNK) (1992-07-13) 13 July 1992 (age 32)  Elisa Longo Borghini (ITA) (1991-12-10) 10 December 1991 (age 32)  Martina Ritter (AUT) (1982-09-23) 23 September 1982 (age 42)  Macey Stewart (AUS) (1996-01-16) 16 January 1996 (age 28)  Kirsten Wild (NED) (1982-10-15) 15 October 1982 (age 42)  Eri Yonamine (JPN) (1991-04-25) 25 April 1991 (age 33)

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