The state of play in the Women’s WorldTour Part I: SD Worx still top of the pile despite reshuffle

It was touted as a year for levelling the playing field in the Women’s WorldTour. Following a major reshuffle of some of the biggest names in the sport during the off-season, the 2025 campaign began with a steep learning curve for fans and commentators, with many headline riders settling into new teams, giving a different look and feel to the women’s peloton.

The hype surrounding the reorganisation of the top talents in the bunch was bolstered by the return to the sport of two major names in Anna van der Breggen and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot. Both former world champions, the two veterans returned to the peloton having followed different pathways since their retirement, and though questions were posed over the form of the pair coming into the season, given their quality and status, they would doubtless play a role in shaping the season ahead.

Added to this, the proliferation of young talent rising through the ranks, and an increased profile for the women’s side of the sport bringing in more financial support and allowing a greater number of teams to field competitive squads for races, meant that all the ingredients were in place for what was widely expected to be the best season of women’s cycling to date. 

Crucially, it was an opportunity for many other teams to challenge the imperious dominance of Team SD Worx-ProTime, who, prior to 2025, had harboured an embarrassment of riches, with the best of all worlds contained within their ranks. They boasted the undisputed fastest sprinter in Lorena Wiebes, the best Classics rider in Lotte Kopecky, one of the world’s foremost time-triallists in Marlen Reusser, not to mention the most complete GC rider in Demi Vollering, only out-ranked at the top of the UCI standings by her teammate and world champion Lotte Kopecky, at the end of 2024.

So, with the Classics season over and one Grand Tour completed, has the season delivered on its promise thus far, and moreover, have SD Worx been toppled as the team to beat in the Women’s WorldTour? We take a closer look at the state of play, at the halfway mark in the season.

Despite a reshuffle, there has been no doubt that the most highly rated riders of the women’s peloton remain at the top of the tree so far in 2025. Lotte Kopecky won her third Tour of Flanders, Demi Vollering won the Vuelta Femenina, and Lorena Wiebes has won basically every sprint she’s ridden in anger. 

Nevertheless, there has been plenty of intrigue along the way, brought about by the rearranging of key pieces of the WWT puzzle. Marlen Reusser has discovered a new lease of life at Movistar. Following a difficult period, during which she battled mental health issues and long-covid, Reusser has rediscovered her mojo at the Spanish team, who continue to seek to do the impossible, and replace Annemiek van Vleuten. With the freedom to take on leadership in a highly motivated and well-balanced team, Reusser may not be able to claim to be heir to the throne of one of the greatest riders women’s cycling has ever seen, but she has regained her verve and resilience, and been competitive in stage races, finishing second at La Vuelta and most recently, dominating the Vuelta Burgos. Her rivals must ensure they do not underestimate her as the season continues to unfold.

The two returning veterans have arrived back on the scene in scintillating form and have proceeded to banish any doubts that may previously have surrounded their condition. Both have animated the races they’ve been a part of, riding for their teammates as well as for their own chances. Van der Breggen quickly established a rivalry with her former protegée Vollering, and took her first win in three years at La Vuelta Femenina. Ferrand-Prévot was captivating throughout the classics, recording a string of impressive results that culminated in a stunning and unexpected victory at Paris-Roubaix Femmes, to become the first French woman to win the race, one she wasn’t even scheduled to participate in.

There has been a shift in the depth of squads almost across the board, with several developing riders reaching new levels, and highly rated youngsters impressing, not overawed by beginning their pro careers alongside the more experienced riders of the bunch. Cat Ferguson (Movistar), Imogen Wolff (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Isabella Holmgren (Lidl-Trek) are among the young riders who have already made an impact, all taking victories in 2025.

Finally, within the racing itself, we’ve witnessed a few genuine surprises. Beginning with an unexpected breakaway victory at Omloop het Nieuwsblad, as the newly shuffled peloton tried and failed to work out who was now responsible for controlling races, allowing Arkéa-B&B Hotels’ Lotte Claes to power to the first pro victory of her career. Perhaps rather appropriately, this book-ended the Classics period with Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the traditional closer, the last of the trio of Ardennes classics that served as the perfect encore following a string of exciting and unpredictable Classics. Year in year out, the event produces thrilling racing and this year was no exception, with AG Insurance-Soudal’s Mauritian national champion, Kim Le Court, capping off a strong spring to take her first win of the season, becoming the third different winner in the block after Mischa Bredewold triumphed at Amstel Gold Race and Puck Pieterse conquered the Mur de Huy to win La Flèche Wallonne Femmes.

Though we’ve enjoyed some exciting racing so far this season, has there really been any kind of reckoning, when it comes to the pecking order among the teams?

It turns out that even in spite of losing Vollering and Reusser, SD Worx remain dominant. In the individual rankings, though Vollering reigned supreme in the first half of 2025, the next two spots in the standings are occupied by Kopecky and Wiebes, who have both scored significant victories this year. Though the team lost their GC leader in Vollering, Anna van der Breggen’s strong form has been a good substitute so far, and in addition, the responsibility granted to Mischa Bredewold in the wake of her colleague’s departure has yielded strong results, with the Dutchwoman claiming significant wins at Amstel Gold Race and Vuelta Burgos. The team have won the most races of any side, with 16 victories in 2025 from six different riders – even without Wiebes, they have sprints wrapped up, both Femke Gerritse and Marta Lach with bunch sprint wins to their names. Moreover, even with Wiebes, they are more than just a sprint team – the European champion comes to this week’s Tour of Britain with her eyes set not only on stage wins, but the general classification. 

Beyond the top team, plenty of others are in contention, and numerous have scored wins this season, with FDJ SUEZ profiting from their recruitment of the top rider in the peloton, while others have underperformed – Canyon//SRAM zondacrypto, the team of the reigning Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift champion Kasia Niewiadoma, have failed to win a race so far this season, despite strengthening their ranks with the likes of Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig and Chiara Consonni in the off-season.

Team SD Worx-ProTime may remain untoppled, but they will be looking over their shoulders, based on the evidence we’ve seen so far this season. Who are the pretenders to their throne, and can they score any significant blows in the latter half of 2025? Join us for part two, where we will take a deeper dive into the teams breathing down the necks of the Dutch superpower.