FDJ-SUEZ-Futuroscope tapping into Marta Cavalli’s full potential – 2023 Team Preview

Marta Cavalli’s remarkable season was cut short by a horrific crash at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift and, in some ways, left the cycling world wondering just how much untapped potential has yet to be seen. FDJ-SUEZ-Futuroscope are probably also pondering all the possibilities that a now fully-recovered and healthy Cavalli will bring to the team during in 2023. At 24 years old, Cavalli is one of the strongest and most versatile riders in the Women’s WorldTour.

A telling start to her career at the development team Valcar Travel & Service, where she finished in the top 10 at the Tour of Flanders, led to her first top-tier contract with then-called FDJ Nouvevlle Aquitaine Futuroscope in 2021. She quickly became a rider to watch among her peers and competitors. Read MoreThe 10 most dramatic moments in pro cycling in 2022 ‘I’m physically 100%’ – Marta Cavalli fully recovered from Tour de France Femmes crash Cavalli carries confidence into new two-year contract with FDJ-SUEZ-Futuroscope In 2022, her best season to date, Cavalli won two of the three Ardennes Classics; Amstel Gold Race and Flèche Wallonne, finished fifth at Paris-Roubaix, sixth at Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

Not just a Spring Classics specialist, Cavalli’s second place overall at the Giro d’Italia Donne, behind Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar), also marked a significant progression in her stage racing career and a sign that she is a major GC contender. She went into the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift as a co-leader alongside Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig but was forced to abandon the race on stage 2 into Provins. She sustained head and lower body trauma in the crash, and it took four months to reach a complete recovery.

She has already shown signs of returning to full strength, having raced in October at Giro dell’Emilia, Tre Valli Varesine and Tour de Romandie. However, she says she will need the winter months to continue preparations for the new season, where she intends to begin at the UAE Tour, followed by Strade Bianche and the Ardennes Classics. As for the Grand Tours, Cavalli hasn’t decided if she will focus on the Giro d’Italia Donne or the Tour de France Femmes, or both.

Cavalli has shown exceptional growth as a rider in the Spring Classics and stage races, but a season without injury could reveal her full potential on the Women’s WorldTour in 2023 and beyond. Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig wins stage 3 at the Tour de France Femmes 2022 (Image credit: Getty Images) FDJ-SUEZ-Futuroscope was built with a vision of becoming to the top French team in the world, and more recently around Danish Champion Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig with a goal of winning the Tour de France. Her awe-inspiring victory on stage 3 into Épernay was one of the most dramatic moments of the 2022 season, especially after FDJ-SUEZ Futuroscope’s disastrous start to the race that saw both co-leaders Uttrup Ludwig and Cavalli crash.

Seventh overall at the Tour de France Femmes and sixth overall at the Giro d’Italia Donne were strong performances, considering Uttrup Ludwig had a sub-optimal early season due to illness. She finished with a bang, however, following her stage win at the Tour with an overall victory at the Tour of Scandinavia. Uttrup Ludwig is a consistent performer and, combined with co-leaders Cavalli and Grace Brown, give the team multiple options in a range of different types of races throughout the year.

A core group of returning riders Clara Copponi, Marie Le Net, Evita Muzic, Jade Wiel, Victorie Guilman, Maëlle Grossetête, Emilia Fahlin, Eugénie Duval, Stine Borgli and under-23 time trial world champion Vittoria Guazzini, and two new signings Loes Adegeest and Gladys Verhulst, give the team a solid foundation ahead of 2023. Other storylines to follow in 2023 Gladys Verhulst (France) (Image credit: Getty Images) Grace Brown ended the year with consistently strong performances that include a win in the time trial and 2nd in the road race at the 2022 Australian Championships, seventh at Tour of Flanders, second at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, a stage win and second overall at the Women’s Tour, a stage win at the Challenge by la Vuelta, and a gold medal in the time trial at the Commonwealth Games. But perhaps one of her most stunning performances was the silver medal she earned in the time trial at the UCI Road World Championships in Wollongong.

Watch for Brown to, once again, consistently give her best in her roles as co-leader and support rider on the Women’s WorldTour. FDJ-SUEZ-Futuropscope lost Brodie Chapman to Trek-Segafredo in 2023, but they have signed two new riders; Gladys Verhulst from Le Col-Wahoo and Loes Adegeest from IBCT. The two riders bring new strength to the team, with Adegeest securing many of her best career results in 2022, including a fifth overall at the Lotto Belgium Tour and a stage win and second overall at the Tour de l’Ardeche.

Verhulst had a breakout year, winning Veenendaal Classic and finishing second at the French Championships. She also had nine top 10s. .