When Danielle De Francesco lined up with Zaaf Biking Workforce on the Tour Down Beneath in January to make her worldwide debut with the Spanish squad she rapidly stood out as a savvy signing. The Australian demonstrated that she was clearly one of many new batch of neo-pros to observe carefully, ending fourth on two phases and likewise snaring sixth general at her first Girls’s WorldTour race.
It’s no shock then that the 29-year-old, who can deal with the climbs in addition to ship a quick end, has now discovered a brand new house regardless of being put within the troublesome state of affairs of needing to discover a new contract mid-season.
For French crew, Arkéa Professional Biking, there was a silver lining on the cloud of Zaaf turmoil.
The previous triathlete turned her focus to biking two years in the past and, after profitable the Nationwide Street Sequence in Australia with ARA Professional Racing Sunshine Coast in 2022, rapidly inserted herself among the many finest riders within the worldwide peloton in 2023. Given the puncheur now sits at 84th within the UCI rankings she might be becoming a member of Arkéa as its top-ranked rider and doing it with time to settle in forward of the crew’s largest race of the season.
“My dream would after all be to participate within the Tour de France this summer time, and to assist the Arkéa Professional Biking Workforce to realize nice performances on this occasion, which has grow to be a reference within the skilled girls’s peloton, but additionally to place myself within the highlight. each time I might on the opposite occasions on the calendar that we should compete in,” mentioned De Francesco in a launch from her new crew.
Arkéa is among the many 5 groups awarded wildcard invites to race the Tour de France Femmes, alongside the robotically invited 15 Girls’s WorldTour squads and high two Continental groups.
De Francesco appears a positive choice, given her outcomes to date this season additionally embrace high 5 finishes on the Australian Nationwide Championships in each the highway race and time trial, in addition to fifth on the Cadel Evans Nice Ocean Street Race. She additionally took to the rostrum at a time trial on the Vuelta Extremadura Féminas and captured sixth place general on the race, gained by her new teammate Megan Armitage.
De Francesco went on the escape with Armitage as that occasion, and within the course of drew the eye of Franck Renimel, Arkéa sports activities director. Now she’s going to make her debut with the crew, who was so not too long ago a rival, on the Grand Prix du Morbihan on Saturday Might 6 on house territory for the squad.
“I actually wish to thank Arkéa Professional Biking Workforce for this excellent alternative provided to me,” mentioned De Francesco. “I am actually wanting ahead to debuting in my new colors, to being a full a part of this group, in Brittany as properly, on the Grand Prix du Morbihan.”
A variety of De Francesco’s former Zaaf teammates have signed with new groups, with riders given exemptions to maneuver outdoors the switch window given the extenuating circumstances. Audrey Cordon-Ragot signed with Human Powered Well being proper earlier than Paris-Roubaix, Lucie Jounier with Workforce Coop-Hitec and Mareille Meijering with Movistar. Franz has signed with DNA Professional Biking and Elizabeth Stannard with Israel Premier Tech.
New Zealand’s Michaela Drummond had additionally been hoping to line up on the Vuelta Femenina with crew Farto-BTC this week however wasn’t capable of. The Spanish Biking Federation have mentioned that authorized points are complicating rider transfers to different Spanish groups because the Federation is unable to permit riders to race with a brand new crew underneath its juristiction till they’ve formally ended their contract with Zaaf.
In signing with a French crew De Francesco has averted this problem because it doesn’t apply to groups based mostly outdoors Spain or WorldTour squads, as in these circumstances the registrations are accepted by different federations or the UCI.
