On Monday, the UCI Women’s Continental Team NEXETIS was presented to the public at the Aura event venue in Zurich. The term is a combination of the Latin ‘nexus’, the English ‘next’ and the Greek ‘ethos’. NEXETIS aims to take the next generation of female athletes to the next level and to celebrate sporting success with them. A well-balanced mix of uniqueness and team spirit, fair conditions for all involved and a responsible approach are of the utmost importance.

NEXETIS has its origins in the #fastandfemaleSUI funding project, which was set up in 2019. Two years later, the Tour de Suisse Women made its debut, and now Swiss Cycling is launching a UCI Women's Continental Team. “There is currently no place where our up-and-coming road cyclists can develop, specifically an international team that promotes Swiss women, gives them opportunities to compete and allows them the time to establish themselves in professional cycling. Because there is no such team and the step abroad after the junior period is clearly too big for most talents, we are now filling this gap”, says Thomas Peter, CEO of Swiss Cycling and chairman of the board of the Fastandfemale Team AG, which was founded specifically for NEXETIS.

NEXETIS is licensed in Switzerland and is equipped by Swiss partners but is an international team. Anna Wiese is the team manager. The Polish coach, who will lead the team, most recently held the same position at the Aigle-based World Cycling Centre and has extensive experience in road cycling. Edi Telser – the long-standing Swiss mountain bike national coach from South Tyrol is currently employed by Swiss Cycling as head coach of the women's national squad – takes on the role of sports director and works as a coordinator around the riders. The team currently includes eleven athletes from three nations. 

Jasmin Liechti won silver in the U23 time trial at the World Championships in Zurich. The former orienteer was also part of the squad that only had to admit defeat to the British foursome in the team pursuit at the U23 European Track Championships in Germany. Ginia Caluori, Lea Huber and Anina Hutter have so far mainly attracted attention in mountain biking, they will compete in both sports in the coming season. Noëlle Rüetschi and Nika Bobnar already have some international experience on the road, while Noelle Ingold and Larissa Tschenett are newcomers to cycling, who have so far primarily competed at the national level. 

The ensemble will be completed by three Japanese women; their names will be announced soon. The trio from the Far East came about through the connection to Daniel Gisiger; the long-standing Swiss national track coach has been part of the coaching staff of the Japanese national track team for almost two years now. 

NEXETIS is expected to compete for the first time at the beginning of March. The plan is to primarily take part in European one-day and stage races in the third and fourth highest categories. The provisional race calendar also includes the domestic World Tour races – the Tour de Suisse Women and the Tour de Romandie Féminin. In addition, the team will be present at selected gravel events.