Lizzie Deignan

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Lizzie Deignan

Revised: August 2021

Disciplines
Team Pursuit, Omnium and Road Race
Current Team
Team Trek-Segafredo
DOB
18/12/1988
From
Otley
Based
Belgium
Social Links
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Lizzie's Profile

Biography

A visit by British Cycling’s Apprentice programme to Deignan’s school in Otley, Yorkshire, in 2004 revealed her potential and, at the relatively advanced age of 15, one of the sport’s most successful careers was underway.

Initially, she showed particular talents in circuit racing and on the track where she won gold in the 2007 UEC Under-23 European Track Championships scratch race, the first of many international successes after two productive years at national level.

Injuries disrupted her progress throughout the winter of 2007-08 but, by the end of 2008, Deignan was showing her incredible ability on the track, winning double gold at the UEC Under-23 European Track Championships and an astonishing seven gold medals in three UCI Track Cycling World Cup meetings in Manchester, Melbourne and Copenhagen.

That dominant form continued at the 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Pruszkow, Poland, where she claimed the world title in the team pursuit with Joanna Rowsell Shand and Wendy Houvenhagel, collected silver in the scratch, despite crashing late in the race, and bronze in the points race with a badly-injured hand.

However, Deignan’s talent on the road was also beginning to shine through. In 2008, she had played a part in Nicole Cooke’s gold medal ride at the UCI Road World Championships and, the following year, riding for the Lotto-Belisol team, won a stage of the Tour de l’Ardeche and best young rider classification at the Giro d’Italia Femminile.

More golds on the track

The winter of 2009-10 again brought yet more golds at the UCI Track Cycling World Cup Manchester in the team pursuit and scratch and silvers in the team pursuit and omnium at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Copenhagen.

But by the summer of 2010, riding for the Cervelo Test Team, it was obvious that Deignan was developing into a major power on the world road racing stage, with a silver medal in the New Delhi Commonwealth Games, three stage wins at the Tour de l’Ardeche and a creditable ninth at the UCI Road World Championships in Geelong, Australia.

The road would remain Deignan’s focus thereafter, with 2011 bringing her first national title and, as she geared towards the 2012 Olympics, more stage race success at the Thuringen Rundfahrt der Frauen and a seventh at the UCI Road World Championships.

Riding for the AA Drink-Leontien.nl team, Deignan built her year around the Olympics and recorded early season wins at one-day races the Omloop van het Hageland and Gent-Wevelgem. London 2012 would end in success for Deignan, on the opening weekend of competition, as she made it into a four-rider break in wet conditions and eventually won silver on the Mall, behind Marianne Vos, to claim the first of many British medals at the Games.

Armitstead moved onto the Boels Dolmans Cycling Team for the post-Olympic year, one which was plagued by a hernia problem, although she still managed to claim her second British road race title, from fellow London Olympic medallists Laura Kenny and Dani King and performed well in stage races La Route de France and the Boels Ladies Tour.

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Selected Career Highlights to Date

Results

2021

Tour de Suisse
1st, general classification
1st, points classification
1st, mountains classification

2020

GP de Plouay-Lorient Agglomeration Trophee
1st

La Course by Le Tour de France
1st

Liege-Bastogne-Liege
1st

2019

Ovo Energy Women’s Tour
1st, general classification
1st, points classification

2017

GP de Plouay-Lorient Agglomeration Trophee
1st

La Course by Le Tour de France
2nd

Tour de Yorkshire
1st

2016

Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio
1st

Boels Rental Hills Classic
1st

World Championship Team Time Trial
1st

Aviva Women's Tour
1st, general classification
1st, best British

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
1st

Strade Bianche
1st

2015

Ladies Tour of Qatar
1st general classification
1st, points classification

Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio
1st

Boels Rental Hills Classic
1st

The Parx Casino Philly Cycling Classic
1st

GP de Plouay-Bretagne
1st

UCI Road World Championships, Richmond (USA)
Gold, road race

2014

Omloop van het Hageland-Tielt-Winge
1st

Boels Rental Ronde van Drenthe
1st

International Thuumlringen Rundfahrt der Frauen mountains
1st, classification

Commonwealth Games, Glasgow (UK)
Gold, road race

2012

London Olympic Games, London (UK)
Silver, road race

Omloop van het Hageland-Tielt-Winge
1st

2011

International Thüringen Rundfahrt der Frauen points
1st classification

2010

UCI Track Cycling World Championships, Copenhagen (Denmark)
Silver, Team pursuit
Silver, Omnium

Commonwealth Games, Delhi (India)
Silver, Road race

2009

UCI Track Cycling World Championships, Pruszkow (Poland)
Gold, Team pursuit
Silver, Scratch race
Bronze, Points race

UCI Track Cycling World Cup, Copenhagen (Denmark)
Gold, Scratch race
Gold, Team pursuit

UCI Track Cycling World Cup, Manchester (UK)
Gold, Team pursuit
Gold, Points race

2008

UCI Track Cycling World Cup, Manchester (UK)
Gold, Points race
Gold, Scratch race
Gold, Team pursuit

UCI Track Cycling World Cup, Melbourne (Australia)
Gold, Scratch race
Gold, Team pursuit

UEC European Track Championships, Alkmaar (Netherlands)
Gold, Under-23 scratch race
Gold, Under-23 team pursuit
Silver, Under-23 points race

Boezinge-Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen
1st

2007

UEC U23 European Track Championship, Cottbus (Germany)
Gold, Scratch race
Silver, Points race

2005

UCI Track Cycling Junior World Championships, Vienna (Austria)
Silver, Scratch race