Imogen Cotter leaves Fenix-Deceuninck for new team in Britain

After a bumpy couple of years following a career-threatening crash in SpainImogen Cotter is leaving Fenix-Deceuninck Continental for a new team in Britain, Hess. The former Irish road race champion had signed for Plantur-Pura for 2022, the women’s squad of the Alpecin-Fenix men’s Pro Conti team at the time.

However, before she got a chance to even meet up with the team for pre-season training, she was struck by an oncoming driver on the wrong side of the road in Girona, missing almost the full season. The team then formed two different women’s line-ups for 2023, a World Tour outfit and a Continental squad, with Cotter signing for the latter.

And while she got back into the peloton more fully this year, she continued to be impacted by lingering crash injuries. However, the chance for a fresh start now presents with Hess; something Cotter today said she was really looking forward to.

“I’m so grateful for the opportunity with Hess, and I’m really motivated for the next step in my cycling career with the team. I can’t wait to see what we will achieve together,” she said.

Hess Cycling Team is an expanding UCI Continental team with big plans and said it was excited to sign Cotter for the 2024 season. It described the 30-year-old as “a rider who shares their story authentically, showing you that pro cycling is more than the wins and losses”.

“With a background in running and swimming, it was in a spinning class with her dad that introduced Imogen to the world of cycling at the age of 16,” the team said. “After a period of competing in triathlons, it was in 2017 where Imogen turned to cycling full-time, starting on track for the first 18-months before the switch to road cycling in 2019.

“In her first year of road racing, Imogen finished runner-up, before becoming the Irish National Road Champion in 2021. But her story is more than the result, it’s a story of perseverance, which she shares her journey and insights with her community on her blog and platforms.”