Internationally, women’s cycling is experiencing a remarkable upswing, driven in part by the success of the Tour de France Femmes and the Vuelta Femenina. In Luxembourg, this dynamic is still tentatively reflected in the figures, but the signs are encouraging.
Women’s cycling has been returning to the spotlight for several years now and is becoming increasingly popular. Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (France), Demi Vollering and Lorena Wiebes (Netherlands) and Elise Chabbey (Switzerland) shone on the roads of the Tour de France Femmes this summer, highlighting the values of cycling. This spotlight is attracting young talent, which is reflected, among other things, in an increase in the number of female licensed cyclists – especially in France. But what is the situation in Luxembourg, which is also a country with a great cycling tradition?
It should be noted that no female cyclists from Luxembourg took part in the last Tour de France. Is this a cause for concern? “The major tours currently feature mainly French and Dutch female cyclists, with no Luxembourgish participation. This absence can initially be explained by Luxembourg’s small population. The pool of potential talent is smaller than in other countries. Another factor is structural in nature: in the Netherlands, cycling culture is deeply rooted in everyday life and the cycling infrastructure is particularly well developed,” emphasises the Luxembourg Cycling Federation (FSCL).
Nevertheless, all is not lost for Luxembourg, as the country has talent and commitment. “Luxembourg was represented at this year’s Giro d’Italia by Nina Berton, who also competed in the 2024 Tour de France. Unfortunately, there were no Luxembourgish riders at the start in France this year, nor were there any in the men’s race. However, that doesn’t mean that this won’t be the case again in the future,‘ explains the FSCL, adding: ’It is very likely that we will see athletes such as Marie Schreiber or Nina Berton again in the major tours in the coming years. In addition, women’s cycling has fortunately diversified to such an extent that there are now many other races that are better suited to the strengths of our current generation of riders, such as the spring classics. In this area, too, Luxembourg has been able to count on a top-class representative in recent years in the form of Christine Majerus.”
Incidentally, Luxembourgish women have nothing to hide. Marie Schreiber (22), 2025 U23 Cyclo-cross World Championship silver medallist, won a round of the Cyclo-cross World Cup in Hulst in 2024. Elena Lopes, on the other hand, shines in U19 track cycling at international level.
For several years now, the FSCL has been working to create suitable conditions for promoting women’s cycling. Examples of this include the partnership between the FSCL and the Austrian Cycling Federation (Cycling Austria) to form mixed national teams in the junior and U23 categories, the organisation of training camps for female cyclists, and the support provided by Fränk Schleck, the current national coach for women.
The figures show a slight increase in the number of female licence holders. Between 2020 and 2025, the number of female licence holders in Luxembourg rose from 66 to 74, which is still a modest increase, but indicates growing interest, especially among the youngest. In 2025, the ‘Jeunes’ (U11) category will have 29 riders, compared to 18 in 2020. The same applies to the ‘Minimes’ (U13) category, which will have 9 riders instead of 6 in 2020.
This progress is significant and could point to a more promising future for women’s cycling in Luxembourg.
In contrast, the ‘Elite’ and ‘Elite with contract’ categories are declining slightly, from 16 to 9 between 2020 and 2025. The same is true in the ‘Juniors’ (U19) category, where the number of riders has stagnated at 4, highlighting the difficulties of maintaining a female presence at the highest level. The ‘Masters’ category (born in 1985 or earlier), on the other hand, has seen an increase from 1 to 7 riders between 2020 and 2025.
