Everything about Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig

Who is Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig?

Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig, born August 23, 1995, is a Danish professional cyclist. She is known for her climbing abilities and combativeness in big races. Ludwig has won the Danish road championship several times and also achieved podium finishes in prestigious races such as the Tour of Flanders and La Course by Le Tour de France. She rides for FDJ-SUEZ and is one of the top riders in the women's peloton, with impressive performances in both one-day races and stage races, including the Tour de France Femmes.

Name: Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig
Date of birth: 23 August 1995
Birthplace: Frederiksberg, Denmark
Turned pro: 2014
Height: 1.68m

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Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig riding in landscapes

Born on August 23, 1995 in Frederiksberg, Denmark,Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig has become one of the most popular riders in the peloton, as well as one of the most successful due to her talents as a puncheur, climber and classics rider. She currently rides for the French FDJ - SUEZ team where she has a contract until 2024.

Her pro career began in 2014 with Danish Team Rytger. During this year and 2015, she rode internationally at both under-23 and elite levels, not achieving breakthrough results but asserting herself in the peloton. In 2016 , she signed with Team BMS BIRN, an all-Danish team where she began to achieve strong results. A long season saw her succeed at the national time trial championships, as well as the Tour de Feminin where she won 2 stages and the overall classification. She also made her debut in the cobbled classics, won several classifications and finished 9th at the European Championships this year.

This caught the attention of several teams and Cervélo-Bigla Pro Cycling was her next destination. Here she started riding on a higher quality calendar, but she succeeded immediately with the overall victory in the Setmana Ciclista Valenciana, in addition to a 9th place in Strade Bianche and a 3rd place in the Trofeo Alfredo Binda. Among other good results, Ludwig again became Danish ITT national champion, finished 2nd at the European Time Trial Championships and won the youth classification in both the Giro d'Italia and the Giro Toscana - where she finished 2nd.

In 2018 she remained consistent, finishing 4th at the Setmana Ciclista Valenciana, 10th at Strade Bianche, 7th at the Trofeo Alfredo Binda and winning the Danish time trial championships. She also finished 6th at the Giro d'Italia, 4th at La Course by Le Tour de France, 3rd at the Giro dell'Emilia and 4th at Chrono des Nations. In 2019 , she would become one of the top classics riders, finishing 5th in Strade Bianche, 3rd in both Trofeo Alfredo Binda and a top 10 finish in all three Ardennes Classics.

She then won the GP de Plumelec, placed 4th in the Tour de Bretagne and finished 3rd in La Course by Le Tour de France in Pau. In 2020 , Ludwig would transfer to the FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope team. It was a good move for both parties, although her season did not start until late July, she rode to victory in the Giro dell'Emilia, to this day one of her greatest. She also finished 7th in Strade Bianche, 4th in the Giro d'Italia, 8th at the World Cup and climbed to 2nd in Flèche Wallone.

In 2021 , she had another consistent spring, finishing 3rd in Trofeo Alfredo Binda, 5th in Strade Bianche and top 10 results in the Tour of Flanders, Amstel Gold Race, Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. She won a stage and finished 6th in the Vuelta a Burgos and rode to 2nd place in La Course by Le Tour de France, beaten only by Demi Vollering at the hilltop finish in Landerneau. She finished 10th at the Tokyo Olympics, 5th in the Ladies Tour of Norway and 8th at the World Championships.

In 2022 , she became Danish champion in road races after a solo attack. At the beginning of the season she finished 2nd in the Volta Comunitat Valenciana, 5th in Strade Bianche, 9th in the Trofeo Alfredo Binda and 6th in the Tour des Flandres, in addition to a 5th place in the Vuelta a Burgos. She has been successful in the Grand Tours, taking 6th in the Giro d'Italia, 5th in the Ceratizit Challenge by La Vuelta and 7th in the Tour de France Femmes where she won the 3rd stage to Epernay.

However, Ludwig picked up a very important victory in the summer by winning the queen stage and the overall classification in the World Tour Tour of Scandinavia. At the World Championships in Wollongong, she also managed to sprint to 5th place. In 2023 Ludwig finished early in third place at Strade Bianche, but it would not be until the second part of the season that she would perform toward the top again. The FDJ - SUEZ rider rode to a sixth place in the Giro Donne and a seventh place in the Tour de France Femmes.

Her best form came at the end of the season. After the Tour de France Femmes, she turned on full speed and put in a very strong performance at the World Championships in Glasgow - as in Strade Bianche, she finished third behind Lotte Kopecky and Demi Vollering. Right after that she won two stages and finished second in the Tour of Scandinavia, and eventually managed to win the Giro dell'Emilia as well.

2024 was a less good year for the Dane but it did not mean that it was a missed year. She won a stage at the Tour Down Under right in January and scored a few other modest results throughout the year. Nevertheless, her performances earned her a signing with Canyon // SRAM to team up with Tour de France Femmes winner Katarzyna Niewiadoma.