Cycling’s Power Couples: Who Are the Wives of Professional Cyclists?
The most successful professional sportspersons can achieve so much in part due to their freedom to focus obsessively on their craft. The incredibly high standards in modern sports mean reaching the top is impossible without the help of others.
By taking care of certain duties and responsibilities and providing encouragement and emotional support, the partners of successful sportspersons facilitate their achievements. Being in an unhealthy or unsupportive romantic relationship negatively impacts performance.
Many of the most popular and dominant riders in the men’s side of the professional peloton are in long-term relationships, some of whom are also professional cyclists.
Have you ever wondered who the wives and girlfriends of top male cyclists are, and how they support their partners’ careers while also achieving their own goals? Find out below!
Cycling’s Power Couples
In this section, we’ve gathered six of the most renowned and celebrated riders along with their significant others, showcasing the blend of personal and professional triumphs.
This exploration highlights the mutual support and shared ambitions that propel them to the very top of cycling success.
Sepp Kuss’ Wife: Noemí Ferré Fernández
Until 2023, Sepp Kuss was a highly regarded domestique in one of cycling’s most successful teams, Jumbo Visma. This all changed when he won one of cycling’s most prestigious races, the Vuelta a España.
This monumental victory came less than one year after his wedding to Noemí Ferré Fernández. Spanish national Ferré Fernández is a former professional cyclist who raced for the Spanish UCI women’s team Massi-Tactic from 2019 to 2020 and holds a degree in psychology.
Ferré Fernández’s years of experience as a cyclist gives her first-hand knowledge of what it takes to succeed and reach the highest level. Although she’s stepped away from competing professionally, she has first-hand experience as a pro cyclist, putting her in the perfect position to support her husband and provide the encouragement needed to push through the mental and physical challenges he faces on the road to victory.
Tadej Pogacar’s Fiancée: Urška Žigart
One of cycling’s most powerful power couples has to be the Slovenian racers Tadej Pogacar and Urška Žigart.
Žigart and Pogacar first met at a training camp in Slovenia and clearly bonded over their passion for the sport. Their partnership and careers are going from strength to strength, having been engaged to marry in 2021.
Žigart is a professional cyclist riding for UCI Women’s WorldTour Team Jayco–AlUla. She is also a three-time Slovenian National Time Trial champion and has Silver and Bronze medals in the national road race.
This couple is very public about their mutual support and admiration, with Pogacar dedicating wins to Žigart and, most notably, withdrawing from one of the most important races of the year, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, following her mother’s death.
Remco Evenepoel’s Wife: Oumaïma “Oumi” Rayane
Remco Evenpoel is among the best and most decorated cyclists currently riding despite being just 23 years old. He and Oumi Rayane, his now wife, grew up together on the same street in their hometown of Schepdaal in Flanders, Belgium. They became friends in 2017 and began dating shortly after that. Just five years later, in 2022, they were married.
Rayane, an accomplished model for luxury brands like Dior and Chanel, has been public in her support for her husband’s ambitions and goals. In a 2023 interview, she described how she takes on many of the responsibilities of the household and provides moral and emotional support on difficult days. She selflessly adapts to “his way of life” as “cycling is the top priority.”
The strength of their bond and her support is evident in how she describes the Remco’s achievements on the bike as a joint pursuit, saying that sacrifices must be made “otherwise, we don’t get to the top.”
Jonas Vingegaard’s Wife: Trine Marie Hansen
Two-time Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard married Trine Marie Hansen in 2019. The pair met when Vingegaard started riding for team ColoQuick in 2016, where Hansen was the marketing manager.
They began dating during his two-year stint at the team and were married shortly after he moved to his current team, Jumbo Visma, for the 2019 season. Just a year later, Hansen gave birth to a baby girl.
While Vingegaard’s career has gone from strength to strength since joining Jumbo, Hansen has put her career as a successful marketing executive in cycling on hold to raise their child and support her husband’s goals. In one interview, she even shared that, “[her] dream is he rides all three Grand Tours in one year.”
Jonas’ clear admiration for his wife and acknowledgment of her sacrifice is evident through his displays of affection on camera at the finish line and on his social media.
Wout van Aert’s Wife: Sarah de Bie
Belgian cycling superstar Wout van Aert married Sarah de Bie in 2018 after dating for six years. De Bie, also a cyclist, has an impressive list of achievements, including being a published author of a children’s graphic novel, a podcast host, and a mother to two sons.
As any parent knows, raising children is no easy feat, especially when married to a cyclist. It’s even more impressive when that cyclist is one of the most in-demand from the media and active across both road and cyclocross disciplines. With that context, her professional achievements are even more impressive.
Aside from keeping the home and raising their children year-round (cyclocross fills up van Aert’s road cycling off-season), de Bie is frequently seen at the finishing line, supporting her husband in defeat and victory.
Recently, the couple has even together invested in the Belgian handmade candle company Mon Dada which will be a nice addition to his already high professional cyclist salary.
Mark Cavendish’s Wife: Peta Todd
Mark Cavendish and Peta Todd were married in 2013, after dating for three years. When they met in 2010, Todd was a model for the English newspaper publication The Sun.
Todd, the mother to five children, was also a radio show host and contributor and has received an award for her outstanding contribution to charity following her work with the Help for Heroes organization from 2008 to 2010.
Todd has supported her husband through his public struggles with mental health and acceptance of the career end of one of cycling’s most prolific winners. With the help of psychologists and his wife, Cavendish was able to bounce back from depression, a professional dip, and troubles at home to equal the Tour de France win record in 2022.
Conclusion
Professional cycling is a grueling sport that demands more from its competitors than most others. A nine to ten-month season with an average of 65 race days (or up to 90 for the most active riders), countless hours of travel, training camps, and media duties mean there is little time for raising children, keeping house, and spending time with loved ones. Given these demands, having a supportive partner and a stable home environment is essential for athletes to continually perform at their best.
In many cases, cyclists date and marry other cyclists or people they’ve met in the industry. With their knowledge and experience of what it takes to succeed, these partners can more effectively support and guide each other in the process of achieving their goals, such as is the case with Tadej Pogacar and Urška Žigart.
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