With a new sponsor, the Le Col Wahoo team (formerly known as DROPS Le Col s/b Tempur) was officially launched today, with DROPS Le Col founders Tom Varney and Bob Varney continuing as directors as the team aims to become a top UCI Women's World Tour team The team is aiming to become one of the top teams in the UCI Women's World Tour.

"We are delighted that both Le Col and Wahoo will be working together to support the development of the team and help it move forward towards its goal of becoming the best in the world," said Tom Varney.

"Both Le Col and Wahoo are leaders in their respective fields, and we believe their support will be essential for the team and our athletes to compete on the World Tour in 2023."

Le Col will triple its existing investment in the team and provide aerodynamics expertise to improve elite performance.

"For 2022, we are taking our partnership and support with the teams to the next level," said Yanto Barker, founder of Le Col.

"We are developing the most advanced cycling kit possible and working with the team's key riders to ensure that this technology allows riders to ride faster and further. We also aim to inspire the cycling community and encourage more women to participate in bicycle racing."

Meanwhile, Wahoo has demonstrated its commitment to women's cycling by becoming the first headline sponsor of a professional cycling team.

Wahoo CEO Mike Saturnia describes their involvement as follows. "Alongside the original mission of the Drops professional cycling team, Wahoo's goal is to develop better athletes in all of us, and nowhere is that more evident than in this partnership.

"Women's races are some of the most exciting bike races for viewers and deserve a larger platform to showcase the talent and skills of our riders. We are committed to helping the team qualify for the Tour de France Femme in 2022 and share the ambition of becoming a WorldTour team in 2023. Together, we can bring women's cycling to a wider audience and inspire a new generation of female cyclists."

The new structure of Le Col Wahoo aims to build on the success enjoyed by its predecessor, DROPS Le Col s/b Tempur, last season. Most notably, the team supported Jos Roden, who broke the UCI women's hour record in September. Roden also won the overall at the Tour de Feminin Clasna Lipa, and Emily Moberg had an impressive fourth place finish at the Scheldeprijs. With new sponsorship and the continued development of young riders such as April Teisey, Le Cor Wahoo hopes for similar results in 2022.