2016 Women's Pro Cycling Pre-Season All-Star Team

     

It's a new year for the women's peloton and we have no way of knowing for sure who will be the most successful riders this season. Marianne Vos has missed a year with injuries. It remains to be seen if the most dominant cyclist of her generation can return to her normal spot on the top of the podium. Emma Pooley is talking about moving back to cycling from endurance running in an effort to make the Rio Olympics. In fact, for some of the very best female cyclists, making it to Rio de Janiero is more important than the season as a whole and might have an effect on the make-up and results of some very important races. Some riders are perhaps in the twilight of their careers, others have yet to reach their potential. These are the ladies that we think have will real success in 2016.

Floortje Mackaij, the rider that Liv-Plantur is counting on for the future.

 Even with the uncertainty of the coming year for Marianne Vos, Rabo-Liv still has the firepower needed to dominate women's cycling. Anna van der Breggen, at the peak of her career, supplies some of the ammunition.          

If Marianne Vos has been the queen of women's cycling, super consistent Emma Johansson has been the princess. The Swedish star moves to the Wiggle High 5 team for 2016, making noises that she may soon retire.

                      Megan Guarnier, riding for Boels-Dolmans, is the 2015 world championships bronze medalist.

 
Canyon rider Alena Amialiusik represented Belarus in the London Olympics and will probably ride in Rio as well.

 
Finnish road racing champion Lotta Lepisto will be carrying the mail for Bigla.

  
Hard-charging Valentina Scandolara will be one of the leaders of the new Cylance team.

 
Now riding for Orica-AIS, American Tayler Wiles seems to be ready for a breakout season.


A native of Belgium, where cycling is the national sport, Jolien d'Hoore is a national champion on the road and the track.

 
Triple Canadian champion Leah Kirchmann moves over to Europe to sprint for Liv-Plantur.

 
Now with the Wiggle High-5 team, Elisa Longo Borghini has been a force to be reckoned with on the international peloton since she was 20 years old.

 
Rabobank, maybe in their last year of sponsoring a ladies team, still has Dutch star Lucinda Brand.

 
Rising Italian pro Elena Cecchini has moved to Canyon-SRAM.

 
World Champion and probable Olympic favorite Elizabeth Armitstead of the Boels-Domans team.

 
Pauline Ferrand-Prevot, 2014 world champ, mountain bike and cyclocross star and a general in the Rabobank army.