In her ninth season as a professional, Heidi Franz leveraged her performance at the UCI Gravel World Championships, where she was one of just two top-15 finishers not riding for a UCI WorldTour or women’s ProTeam, to secure a contract for 2026, marking her sixth team in the past five years.
Franz, who raced for Cynisca Cycling before the team folded this year, will be joining St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93, a France-registered women’s ProTeam.
In November, the French squad, founded as an amateur team in 1948 and stepping up to the professional ranks in 1994, announced the addition of PremierTech as a sponsor, as well as a surprising roster signing in Alison Jackson, the reigning Canadian road champion and winner of the Paris-Roubaix Femmes in 2023.
Franz (30) raced the 2025 season as a co-leader for the American Continental Cynisca Cycling, where she won a stage at the Volta a Portugal Feminina and took home the QOM jersey from the Tour Féminin International des Pyrénées.
“I consider myself to be so, very lucky to be joining this amazing team, one with so much history, potential, strength, and professionalism. For my whole career, I have aspired and worked hard to be part of a group of like this one. It’s an incredible opportunity for me to continue my career- growing as a rider, while also sharing my experience. I can’t wait to race the biggest races in the world with this strong team and have some fun doing it!,” Frank said in an Instagram post by the team.
Roxane Fournier, St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93 directeur sportif, added, “Heidi deserves to have a structure that allows her to express her full potential, and we are convinced that this is the ideal place for her development and full fulfilment.”
To date, St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93 have raced each edition of Tour de France Femmes, and are expected to do so again in 2026.
Also making the move to the St-Michel is Caroline Wreszin, who turned heads in 2021 when she claimed top-10 finishes in two long-distance gravel events on her racing debut. Hailing from Los Angeles, Wreszin raced for Skatch Labs and for Team USA in a few European events in 2025, as she transitioned to the road. The 24-year-old has expressed her hopes of representing her country at the 2028 Olympic Games in her hometown.
“Thrilled to step into the 2026 season with the team,” Wreszin shared on social media. “After an exciting transition from off-road to the European peloton in 2025, I’m eager to keep learning from the team and contribute to a group with big ambitions and an innovative culture. Looking forward to the year ahead!”
Another rider who raced with Cynisca Cycling for two years, Allison Mrugal, is set to join the Mayenne Monbana My Pie ProTeam, which has taken over the Winspace Orange Seal structure for the next three years. The 29-year-old, who placed sixth at the Loire Ladies Tour in 2025, will join her former teammate Natalie Quinn on the French squad.
Catch up on all the cycling transfers – all the latest news and announcements for the 2026 season.
