TAN TO RIDE HIGH ON TOUR

Road cyclist ‘super thrilled’ to ink pro deal and will compete in UCI world tour

- Laura Chia

In yet another feather in the cap for local cycling, national road cyclist Chelsie Tan has become the first Singaporean to secure a professional contract with a team in Europe.

Tan, 31, will race for Australian professional outfit Team BikeExchange in the International Cycling Union (UCI) Women’s World Tour next year on a one-year contract, the team announced yesterday.

BikeExchange, previously known as GreenEdge Cycling, are currently 10th in the women’s team world rankings.

It has been over two weeks since she received the news but Tan, who joined the national team in 2018, still cannot believe it.

She told The Straits Times: “It still hasn’t sunk in and I’m just speechless actually. But I’m super thrilled and excited to race. I want to be useful to the team and prove that this chance is earned, not given.

“Singapore cycling has been having good news for the past few months so it’s quite promising that Singapore, although we’re such a small dot (on the map), has big opportunities available for us to live big dreams so that the world can see us.”

The inaugural UCI Women’s World Tour started in 2016 and typically kicks off in March each year. This term featured 18 races, while next year’s is set to have 22, including the women’s Tour de France, which returns after a 32-year absence.