Fenix Cycling Team

The start of 2026 Baloise Ladies Tour kicked off with a 3.9-kilometre ITT through the Dutch city of IJzendijke. And Millie Couzens was among the fastest to complete the course. With 4 minutes and 45 seconds, she finished the prologue second. 

The 22-year-old British rider held the hot seat until Zoe Bäckstedt (Canyon Sram) beat her time by 5 seconds. The podium was completed by Fleur Moors (Lidl-Trek). 

Charlotte Kool also finished fifth and is now the leader of the best Dutch rider classification. A great start for FENIX-Premier Tech, which is now second on the team’s classification.

For Anna Vanderaerden, 2026 is going to be a year to remember! On Sunday, she was crowned Belgian Road Champion in the U23 category, after crossing the finish line fourth in the Elite race.  

“I am incredibly happy with the result,” said Vanderaerde in a post race interview. “It was a sprint where everyone was completely exhausted. I know I have a sprint on my legs, but at a National Championship, everything obviously has to go right. Because the race was very hard, I was completely wrecked when the sprint started. But I still managed to secure that fourth place… After numerous second places at National Championships, I wanted to score this time. Look at me standing here now.” 

The 20-year-old rider of Fenix-Premier Tech Development Team stepped on the highest step of the podium next to her teammate Olivia Vercruysse, who took second place. 

For the second consecutive year and third time in her career, Christina Schweinberger proved she is the fastest Austrian rider. On Saturday, the 29-year-old FENIX-Premier Tech rider completed the 23.8km time trial course in 31 minutes and 25 seconds, beating by eleven seconds five-time winner Anna Kiesenhofer. 

“It was a really cool course that had its challenges, especially in terms of race strategy. The heat and the headwind added to the difficulties. I’m happy that I’ll be wearing the jersey for another year and that I’ll even get to wear it in the time trial at the Tour de France,” said Schweinberger after the race. 

On Sunday, Schweinberger stepped once again on the podium after finishing second in the National Road Championship while her teammate Carina Schrempf secured the bronze.

Lotte Claes proved to be the fastest rider in Belgium during the elite women’s individual time trial at the National Road Championships. Flying through the 20.7 km long course in 29 minutes and 5 seconds, she outperformed Sandrine Tas (Lotto Intermarché Ladies) by 12 seconds and Margot Vanpachtenbeke (Lidl-Trek) by 28 seconds. 

“I’m so happy with this victory! Everything just went perfect: good weather, good legs, fast bike and the best staff ever. They all worked together to keep us as cool as possible until the start. Thanks you all!” wrote Claes on an Instagram post. 

The FENIX-Pemier Tech rider is also the first to beat seven-time consecutive winner Lotte Kopecky, who finished fourth. 

Charlotte Kool spectacularly won the GP Mazda Schelkens amid a chaotic and fast-paced sprint, which also saw her teammate Mylène de Zoete cross third the finish line.  

 “We were the team everyone was looking at. I think we controlled the race very well as a team, we were always on top of it. It took quite a lot of energy in the hot weather. But to be the first and the third is very special,” said Kool in a post-race interview. “I think, as a team, we are very good in the chaos and that was clear today. We chose the right lines and came out of the last corner with a lot of speed.”  

 De Zoete made as powerful lead out that, combined with Kool magnificent sprint, led to a double podium. A well-deserved result for the riders of FENIX-Premier Tech who set the pace and controlled the peloton throughout the race. 

A bittersweet second place for Puck Pieterse at La Flèche Wallonne Femme, which saw Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez) win after attacking 500 meters from the finish at the Mur de Huy. 

 “This climb is all about being well-positioned at the bottom and going all out. When you start the Mur, you know it’s the most painful four minutes of the year. For sure it doesn’t look pretty, especially the last bit, when you start sprinting!”, said Pieterse, who had won the race in 2025. 

  “I had to follow my own pace, I didn’t want to stand still at the middle of the ascent. When I started my sprint, at first, I was hesitant and I came close, so I thought maybe there’s something possible… But Demi was just a bit faster. I pushed to the max today on the Mur, so I can only take a good feeling with me to Sunday,” added the 23-year-old FENIX-Premier Tech rider referring to her next race Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes. 

In 2027, the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift will make history once again. For the first time ever, the French Grand Tour will include a team time trial and will take the seven-rider teams on an 18-kilometer-long circuit around the heart of London. It will also start in the United Kingdom, making it the second time its Grand Départ has taken place outside French soil. 

For the presentation, Marion Rousse, director of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, invited British FENIX-Premier Tech rider Flora Pekins alongside Cat Ferguson (Movistar Team). 

“I am genuinely so excited for the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift to come to London, where I grew up riding my bike. It’s going to be such a special moment. I can’t wait to showcase to the cycling world what London has to offer,” said Perkins. “I also know this is an opportunity to share my love of cycling and racing with the people of London. I hope that girls in particular come out and see this race and realize that racing bikes is one of the best things ever, and they can do it too.” 

A special day for Charlotte Kool, who won Scheldeprijs Women 2026 after finishing second the last three editions. “It was about time. Today it finally happened,” said the FENIX-Premier Tech rider shortly after crossing the finish line. 

Following an impressive lead out by teammates Millie Couzens and Mylène De Zoete, Kool went full throttle in the last 200 meters beating Nienke Veenhoven (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Elisa Balsamo (Lidl-Trek). “I’m really happy with it and we had a really good team effort to win,” added Kool. 

Puck Pieterse crossed third the Tour de Flanders’ finish line, 42 seconds after Demi Vollering (FDJ United–Suez) and following a sprint with Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Team Visma | Lease a Bike). It is her first podium of the 2026 road season. 

“This is one of the most beautiful podiums, perhaps even a bit higher than certain victories. Think of a World Cup in cyclocross,” said Pieterse in a post-race interview. In the previous two editions, she finished sixth and ninth. “It is good for confidence, and it really makes you dream.”   

 The 23-year-old FENIX-Premier Tech rider described as “incredible” the crowds at Oude Kwaremont and Paterberg. “If you look at the climbs here, I was always right there with the best. That gives me a lot of confidence for the Ardennes classics.”