Catching up with rising racing star Cat Ferguson

I am feeling really privileged to be able to put a number on tomorrow: Movistar rider looks forward to Milan-Sanremo Donne and talks about her new life

I caught up with Movistar’s rising star, Cat Ferguson yesterday, on the eve of the Milan-Sanremo Donne. She was really looking forward to the race. Here’s what she had to say:

Being here in Genoa for the Sanremo is amazing! It’s such a beautiful location to have a race. The famous climbs – Cipressa and the Poggio are definitely as challenging as they were when I’ve watched the men’s race on TV over the years. 

It’s not just in the ascent you gain, but the descents are technically really challenging and I think tomorrow it’s going to rain also so I think that adds another element of technicality. so I think it’s definitely going to be an interesting race as it always is in the men’s and so now finally we have the women’s version, so I’m super-excited and feeling really lucky to be able to race tomorrow.

I think, technically I’m not amazing when you look at me in a cyclocross race but in a road race I’m okay in the wet, so I think the descents tomorrow will play to my strengths. I’m not a climber so I think for me I can a bit on the descents, even if it’s in terms of positioning before the climbs. So it’s definitely something I look forward to tomorrow.

Being from Yorkshire definitely helps in bad weather. I prefer a race to be nice and sunny and warm just because it’s nicer and there’s less things that can go wrong but I definitely know that when it does rain also it does play to my strengths and it can really demoralise my competition and for me it does not really do that and looking back at my performances I have actually had some of my best results in horrible weather and I think maybe I am more suited to when it is harder in every element of the race – the weather, the physical aspect. 

Growing up in Yorkshire has made me quite gritty and determined no matter the weather to always do my best and show my best. So if it rains it makes it feel much more like a fight tomorrow I think, to add to the story of the Sanremo. So it’s going to be such an exciting day.

Compared with the roads in Yorkshire the climbs in the Sanremo are not actually as steep as I thought they would be. The climbs where I’m from are normally a bit steeper – more gradient. But then after doing 100/150km definitely any climbs are challenging for me especially as I am definitely not a climber. But the roads do remind me of home because it’s very much sort of rolling up and down all the time and that’s what you get in Yorkshire. It’s not just one big climb or anything. So I think they suit me and I can compare them to what I get back home.

When I’m back home my favourite loop is one that goes near Malham Cove. There are some lovely roads around there and near Pen y Gent. So if I’ve got an endurance zone 2 ride that’s my favourite place to go. It’s not great if I have efforts or anything just because the climbs are so steep there’s no point doing your efforts because you have to do an effort just to get up the climb itself.

I would say the climbs back home are a similar sort of length to the 4km and 3km in Cipressa and Poggio, so definitely in terms of the distance of the climbs, it’s sort of what I’ve been used to.

I was really really surprised at the outcome at Trofeo Alfredo Binda race in many ways [Cat finished in the third place in what was her first ever WorldTour race]. It was never ever anywhere near the outcome I expected to happen. It was a total shock. During the race itself I was really struggling with many things, from just the basics of fuelling to positioning, I wasn’t believing in myself, not communicating with the team, everything like that. 

If you’d told me at that moment I was going to come third I wouldn’t have believed you. So I think to finish it off the way it did was incredible and it has definitely given me some confidence I think the race taught me a lot – not the way I thought it would teach me. The result doesn’t change anything going forwards as I still want to focus on my development rather than on results.

Nobody else is putting pressure on me to get these results. Of course it’s nice to be up there for myself, but I’m only 18 and I still feel really privileged just to be able to race like Milan-Sanremo, so for me the most important thing is doing my job for the team and proving to my team-mates that I’m here to help them and help them get their results first.

I joined Movistar as a stagiaire [in 2024] and I feel really lucky to have been able to do a couple of races as a stagiaire. It’s given me a bit of a head start for this year which has meant that I can feel relaxed when I do the WorldTour races – my first races. This was especially helpful after doing cyclocross and needing to have time off and more time to train. It’s meant that I could just come and hit the biggest races straight away after gaining a little bit of experience. I do feel really lucky to be on the Movistar team.

The energy and the atmosphere we have in the team is really lovely. I think the addition of Marlen [Reusser] and having Liane [Lippert] as sort of our leaders and then having the younger riders like me and Carys [Lloyd] who has also just joined the team is a really really nice balance and the contrast between the young and the old, experience and everything is just really something special and do feel like this year we are sort of a new team with a new approach and a really positive mindset.

I think lots of the girls on the team have acted in a sort of sisterly or motherly role to me which is so lovely and I really do have a lot to learn, even just from things like weighing all my food and learning how to put a radio on. They really have accepted me and welcomed me and found me not to be the annoying little 18-year old asking loads of questions and everything!

I do feel really lucky to be surrounded by the girls and Claire Steels has been like a mum to me on the team. She’s British as well, so it’s lovely to have that in common with her. Again it feels definitely like a bit of a family which is super-nice. When I was on the junior team my dad actually ran it, so I’ve been used to family environments on teams. So to be able to carry that on and have that atmosphere and feeling in a WorldTour team I think is really special.

I said good bye to my parents and my dog and everything and live in Andorra now. I’ve been there for three weeks now, and am really really loving it despite the weather not actually being great right now. I am really loving the independent life.

I live on my own but other team-mates and other girls live nearby so it’s nice to be able to train with others.

I’m not used to having so much time for training because before I would be at school and then going to training. But now I just train. So I do have a lot of time at the moment. So I am spending more time trying to learn Spanish, having online lessons with a tutor. I’m hoping by the end of the year I’ll be able to speak it better, though as a typical British person, I’m very very much not naturally good at languages so it’s taking quite a lot of work!

There’s a real buzz around the race. Our team is staying in a hotel where there are quite a few other teams. It just feels quite special as it’s the first time for me doing a monument race, but it also feels strange because it’s the first time for everyone else doing this race. I am lucky to join women’s cycling at this time. It’s the best women’s cycling has ever been – which in some way is a little bit sad that it’s taken this long for us to have almost equal opportunities as the men’s peloton. But then again I feel extremely privileged to be able to join at this time when there is so much opportunity.

I don’t expect to be the protected rider in the race - I’ll find out at the team meeting tonight. I expect my job more to be about positioning the team and maybe going with any of the main attacks in the race I think.

A good outcome for me is to feel like the team is happy with me and how I’ve done my job. It might sound like a bit of a strange goal, but it’s what this year is about for me. It’s about learning and carrying out the job the team gives me to the best of my ability. If that’s just getting a bottle from the feed or getting a bottle from the car or positioning someone into a climb.

That’s what I’m going to commit to tomorrow – whatever they tell me to do. So the goal is very qualitative tomorrow. It’ll be about whether I feel I’ve completed my job well and I’ve taken that extra step in learning and developing. This can hopefully help my career in a couple of years when I will hopefully change focus to be a more results based rider.

So I am feeling really privileged to be able to put a number on tomorrow. So it will be a race to remember forever despite how the race goes.

Related posts

Milan-Sanremo Donne: Pre-race catch-up with Elisa Balsamo

Women's WorldTour stories: Trofeo Alfredo Binda by Kim Le Court Pienaar

Women's WorldTour stories: Strade Bianche by Mavi Garcia

Women's WorldTour stories: Omloop Het Nieuwsblad by Alice Towers

Milan-Sanremo Donne - Pre-race catch-up with Elisa Balsamo

It would be a dream come true! Previewing the Milan-Sanremo Donne with Elisa Balsamo

Lidl-Trek rider Elisa Balsamo is buzzing after doing a hat-trick of victories at the Trofeo Alfredo Binda Women's WorldTour race, up near Lake Maggiore, Italy.

Photo: Lidl-Trek

Now she has headed 200km South to the Ligurian coast to gear up for the Milan-San Remo Women. The return of this cycle race to the women's calendar has been greeted with much excitement and anticipation - not least for Italian riders like Elisa.

With her team-mate Ilaria Sanguineti, who is from Sanremo, the Lidl-Trek team have been studying all aspects of this course meticulously. From the start in Genoa, via the key ramps at Capo Mele, Capo Cervo, Capo Berta, onwards to Cipressa, and to the last decisive point of the race, Poggio di San Remo just outside the stylish riviera town, the riders have got to know every inch of tarmac over the last three months.

Furthermore, the team's sports director Ina-Yoko Teutenberg competed in the race in 2000, before the 20-year hiatus in 2005.

Like the previous incarnation of the race, the Primavera Rosa, the route goes along the Ligurian coast. But in this revived race, the athletes will compete over 156km from Genoa to the stylish riviera town rather than the 118km that the racers did from Varazze a quarter of a century ago. Nevertheless, the competition will be every bit as competitive as when the 25-year old Ina was edged into second place by Diana Ziliute in a bunch sprint.

The veteran may want to see if she can go one better with one of her protegees. Here's what Elisa had to say in the virtual pre-race press briefing this week:

Elisa Balsamo's thoughts on Milan Sanremo Donne

It’s really good that it’s [Milan-Sanremo Donne] coming back and I’m really looking forward to it. For me, racing in Italy is always nice. It’s also not so far away from my house, so my family can join and I really like this place.

I think this is a big achievement to have this race back. In the last five years we were really fighting for a full calendar. We are missing just a few races, but this one is an important one in the calendar, and I’m really happy that we have it again. I think that everyone will want to win because you can make history in Sanremo, especially after 20 years. So I think it’s going to be a big fight.

I’m feeling good and I also think that you never know what can happen in these kind of races. It’s more or less like [Trofeo] Binda as you don’t know if it will be a bunch sprint, a small bunch, a breakaway, or a solo, and I think it’ll be the same in Sanremo even if the profile of the race is really different. 

My parents really liked cycling so when I was really young we were always watching it on the TV but it was like a kind of a nice day in front of the TV because the race was really long! I was so excited to watch the fight on Poggio or Cipressa and you didn’t know if there would be a sprint or a little bunch, a crazy downhill. So since I was a child I was always watching this race. 

One recent memory that sticks out in my mind was from two years ago when watching the descent of Mathieu Van der Poel on the Poggio, when he went to the front and pushed on ahead at top speed. I watched it and was amazed – and thought, wow, bloody hell! I can’t believe it. He just attacked and didn’t even seem to have a single doubt - not even for a second. He just went off straight ahead and that really struck me because in the end the Sanremo can even be won by a millisecond in this aspect when you just decide to go full pelt on a downhill. You look for a split second, jump ahead and you've taken 50 metres that no one is able to bridge to. For me that was a most impressive thing.

It is great to have Ina as our DS [Director Sportive] because she has raced almost every race we are doing now and so I think it is just nice because she can give a lot of suggestions and advice. We are lucky to have Ina with us.

She was also riding with us today [Tuesday] and yesterday, so I think she can give us important feedback also on the climbs and yes of course she is a really strong rider. Ina's opinion is that they are climbs that are suited to a classics rider and also to a sprinter who can go over climbs that aren’t too long. She said if you can manage to hold on then it’s all about believing in yourself and being able to give that extra push. So she told me I should believe in myself on Saturday. 

I know the roads and the climbs quite well. I came here with Ilaria [Sanguineti] in December as she lives really close to Sanremo and knows the area really well as she trains on these roads almost every day, so she gave advice around the descents. Ilaria knows everything about these roads - every single nook and cranny, especially on the Poggio. She knows all the secrets! She said I should be particularly careful if it rains as it would be very slippery. We also had some days where I visited here, and I have seen the climbs again today. So I think we will be ready.

The downhills are quite technical. Our team worked with a person for the technical part of the training in the training camp in December and January. But we also have this guy here with us and he can help us to improve in the downhills. I think it is really important because we could see the men’s race was also won in the downhill of Poggio some years. So it is not only about being fast in the climbs but also good in the downhill.

We have seen the weather forecast and it could be quite bad with the rain, but then again there’s nothing we can do about it. So for me, there’s no point in letting it get to me as we have no control over that. Of course I would have preferred sunshine but ….we’ll see.

Everybody learned from Nieuwsblad what happened [None of the big teams was willing to chase down the breakaway which accrued 14 minutes and the top riders missed out on a win, with Demi Vollering, arguably the strongest rider in the race, placing third - more than three minutes behind the surprise winner.] but also everyone really wants to win Sanremo. There can be a breakaway, but of course all the peloton will work together to not have 10 minutes to the breakaway and then everyone will fight on the climb so I am quite sure that at least five or six teams can work together to keep the breakaway close. It’s such an important race and everyone wants to fight for the win, so I’m quite sure that it’s [Nieuwsblad scenario] not going to happen. 

I think that there will be attacks from Cipressa. There are a lot of strong teams and strong climbers and classics riders and I think Cipressa will be really hard from the bottom to the top, but they will try to attack. But it is still a long distance between Cipressa and Poggio, and maybe we could come back together and a small group will form. Then on the Poggio they will attack. 

I think that the climbs are hard but not crazy climbs so they are good climbs for a classics rider or a sprinter that is able to survive on the climbs. In my opinion Capo Berta is a little bit underestimated. It is 2km and is quite steep, but in reality it is a bit too far from the finish to make much difference. So to attack on the Capo Berta could mean that the team is better placed to be able take a lead and hold on through to Cipressa and right up to Poggio. But I think that would be a bit difficult because we are teams of six, which is one rider less than the men and I think that riding with one rider less wouldn’t make a significant difference to the race in that aspect. However, if the race is going at a good pace you could form a small group going over Capo Berta and it could make a small difference to the peloton 

My perfect scenario is a small bunch sprint but I know that before that I need to survive the climbs. Also I think the downhill is quite technical so I really hope for a small bunch sprint.

I also looked at the finish straight. As a sprinter It's a really important thing to recon the last few metres of a race like that. I must say it was a bit chaotic, as it was very crowded - it's hard to imagine that road [Via Roma] being empty! The road goes slightly uphill at the end and that's fine for me.

For sure I will be the leader for a sprint. But we also have Niamh [Fisher-Black] who was good in Strade [Bianche] so she is the climber of the team and she can also be an option but I think honestly we have to race as a team and stay together as much as possible. You never know, of course, what will happen, but I think we are a strong team.  

Coming back after two really bad crashes was not easy, but I am really happy that I am here, that I feel good and yes I feel that I was a little bit unlucky in the last two years but I was always fighting so I am just happy to be back, to feel good and to be here with my team. 

I would say that I was fortunate at Binda because of the pace of the race and I was looked after by my team very well. We had Lizzie [Deignan] in the breakaway and so we were able to keep me going at a more relaxed pace. The fact that there was the breakaway ahead meant the first few laps were done, let’s say, with hardly any attacks and at a more constant pace, which was helpful for me. Then in the final laps when the pace went up I felt good, so that confirmed that we had worked well together.

It’s really hard for the organisation to close all the roads here as the roads are so busy and I can understand that it’s hard to organise long races also for us. But I think 160km is a good distance and am just happy that it [Milan-Sanremo] is in the calendar.

Photo: Lidl-Trek

To be honest I don’t really agree when people say women's classics races should be longer or stage races should have more stages. I think that the spectacle of the race is not linked to the races being longer or the Tours having more stages. Maybe the Grand Tours could be a little bit longer, for example over 10 days. But I don’t think you should confound the fact that a race could be more interesting because of its length. They are two separate things. A race could be hard, and be interesting even if it is just 140, 150, 160km. At the end of the day it’s for the riders to make the difference. In my opinion having races that are so long risks losing the suspense and losing a bit of the spectacle that a race could otherwise bring.

I am sure that the road will be full of crowds on the climbs and on the finish straight because in Italy we love cycling and so everyone around here will come to see the race. 

For me personally, winning the Sanremo would be a dream – especially as an Italian cyclist. It would be a wonderful thing. So for me it’s a big objective because it is the first Sanremo in a long time. Winning this would be even better than winning a stage of the Giro because I really love the Classics. I really love one-day races. I’ve already lived the emotion of winning a Giro stage and wearing the Maglia Rosa. So winning the Sanremo is another different emotion I would like to live.   

Related posts

Women's WorldTour Stories - Omloop Het Nieuwsblad by Alice Towers

Women's WorldTour Stories - Strade Bianche by Mavi Garcia

Women's WorldTour Stories - Alfredo Binda by Kim Le Court Pienaar

Milan to Rapallo - The Long Saturday - Part 4 & Conclusion

After more twists and turns and drops I reached a T-junction with a main road. At this point there were streetlights and even a few cars. Not being entirely sure where I was, I consulted the map and found that I was in Cicagna. On the map it did not look far from the coast, but talking to the locals I realised I still had some way to go. And, guess what? More climbing!!

I popped into a bar where there were alot of people singing, dancing and merrymaking. It looked like the folks were having a salsa evening and people were speaking in Spanish. They were a little bemused to see a cycle tourist walking into their joint! "You want to go to Rapallo? Seriously, my friend. It's too far for you to travel. You've got a 10km climb up a steep hill and at this time of night going up that steep twisty road with no proper lights would be dangerous! Stay here, have a party. We have a spare room."

I still felt keen to stick to the plan. Anyway, my legs were too tired to do any salsa dancing and dancing in cycle racing shoes would look ridiculous, and may even be more dangerous! The woman then ended up having a debate with another reveller who seemed a bit drunk, but was suggesting that I ride 20km down to Chiavari and then ride up a shorter easier climb to Rapallo. I didn't really know who I should believe, but in any case I was fed up of cycling. It was after midnight. If I could find a taxi that would be the best solution for me.

The folks were friendly and they offered me a mojito, which made a change from the energy drinks I'd gotten a bit sick of. The guys were from Colombia and they were having an end of summer party. They were impressed at my cycling challenge, though the woman seemed worried about me. She probably thought I was half crazy! Maybe I was! The revellers wished me a safe journey, but not without warning me again not to take the direct road to Rapallo.

A few streets away I found an old man's local bar, and asked them about taxi ranks. Initially they said there was no firm in Cicagna, but if I headed 18km down the main road to Chiavari I would find taxi companies there and they could take me to Rapallo. I really wasn't in the mood to do any cycling. I had had enough of turning pedals. I asked if they had a telephone number of a firm but no one did.

The guys must have read the pained expression on my face when I realised I may have to do more riding. In the end, they called over another man who was a taxi driver but was not on duty that night. He agreed to take me to Rapallo. His usual catchment area was Genoa, but he would be able to take me to Rapallo. At that point Higg rang me, hoping to ask me how my ride had been. "You haven't arrived there yet??" He said, shocked. "But it must be going to 1 o'clock in the morning over there!"

"Er, yeah. But it's ok, I've found a guy who is going to give me a lift to the hotel." I explained to him.

He was mystified. "But what are you doing out riding at this time of the night, and who is this man?"

I was trying to talk to him but the taxi driver was asking me what time I wanted to leave. He was having a coffee and wanted to finish that before leaving. The bar man was also asking if I wanted a coffee, and the pals of the taxi driver were curiously asking about where I was from, how far I'd ridden etc. I couldn't properly answer Higg's questions while trying to make pleasantries in Italian with the blokes in the bar. Higg was a little annoyed at not being able to get proper answers from me, and being in London, powerless to help me out. The the last thing he heard from me, was when I told him I had to go, as I needed to load my bike into the taxi man's car.

The sight of a bona fide taxi cab gave me reassurance that this guy was not a crazy or a pervert, so I was happy to get in.

Rapallo was not far away - about 13km. However, it was quite a climb to get there. The taxi driver, who was called Giovanni, agreed that this would have been a pretty tough and dangerous climb to do at that time of night. It was different to the previous climb I had done from Montebruno. This climb to Rapallo was steeper to climb and to descend. It was narrower, twistier and the road surface was poor. I was quite relieved to be now sailing up this climb effortlessly!

Rapallo - not a bad view to wake up to

We talked about different elite bike races in the area, and Giovanni mentioned the Milan-Rapallo cycle race that takes place in late September - a race I hadn't realised existed. Apparently it is roughly 210km, so not quite as long as the Milan-Sanremo but equally challenging. Again, the riders face a few climbs near the finish though they are tougher than the Poggio and Cipressa ascents of the Classica di Primavera.

I am sure that riding this section over to Rapallo during the day would have given some beautiful views of the sea below. The area looked quite dramatic, with lots of rocky outcrops mixed with palm trees and other interesting vegetation - at least that's what I could only vaguely make out at 1.30am!

Finally, I arrived at my hotel in Rapallo, forever grateful to Giovanni, who made sure I got there safely. The receptionist at the hotel was pleased and quite relieved to see me. "We knew you would arrive." (which probably meant they'd privately been worried about what had happened to me!)

I was pleased to see my bed, and the room looked very comfortable - exactly what I needed. From what I saw of Rapallo at almost 2 o'clock in the morning the place had a Riviera feel about it. I went to bed, looking forward to what I would see in the morning - but not without texting Higg to let him know I had reached my destination safely. My long Saturday was finally over!

Conclusion

Overall, I enjoyed my ride, but as you have probably gathered, it was a little bit long! I made a few mistakes in the mapping out of my ride. I did not have a GPS and I had not researched the route properly beforehand. I completely miscalculated the distance - which was almost 210km - and the amount of climbing, which was God knows how many metres! My lack of fitness had not helped either.

Thankfully, I had set out with a back-up pack in case of the unexpected (as I usually do). The fact that I did this ride on a sunny day in September when the days were still reasonably long meant that conditions were not too miserable!

Finally, the people I talked to along the way were very helpful, friendly and kind. That made all the difference to this trip.

I would not set out to go through these inconveniences again, and maybe I should put a "don't try this at home label". However, when I look back at it I think it was quite an interesting and somewhat fulfilling adventure. It doesn't do much harm to test yourself sometimes. And I did not come out too badly in the end. Though next time, I think I will do some Salsa dancing in Cicagna!


Related posts
Milan to Rapallo - The Long Saturday - Part 1

Milan to Rapallo - The Long Saturdaay - Part 2

Milan to Rapallo - The Long Saturday - Part 3