Last year Pauline Allin was still in the saddle as a pro rider. Now, after seven years riding for UCI Teams - most recently with American UCI Women’s Continental Team Cynisca Cycling - the 29-year-old French athlete is moving into the seat of team coach.
It is a new chapter in the cycling career of a young woman who loves a challenge. Over the years, Pauline Allin has competed in the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes, Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift, and the Giro d’Italia Women.
Her 2025 challenge is to take charge of the UCI Women’s Continental Team, WCC Team*, which is based at the UCI World Cycling Centre (WCC) in Aigle, Switzerland. A particularity of the team is that its 10 members come from as many countries and four continents. Another particularity is that the riders all live together in the same boarding house and train together throughout the season. For their new coach, that is a huge plus.
“That is very rare in a team and it’s a chance! We will use that to create a real unity and progress together. Some of them were already in the team last year, but for those who are new and come from countries where cycling isn’t very developed, there is a risk that they see cycling as an individual sport. At a high level, cycling is a team sport, and they will learn that through team training. And through having fun. That is so important. If you’re having fun, the rest will follow.”
As the team members gradually arrive at the UCI WCC this month, their coach is preparing the upcoming season, organising a training camp for February and planning the season’s racing calendar which will include a mixture of regional and national events in Switzerland and France as well as some international UCI events.
Pauline Allin looks forward to using her own experience as a rider in her new role: “I was still in the peloton last year so I know the races, I know the routes, and I know the riders. That is definitely an advantage.”
In parallel with her cycling career, Pauline Allin also worked as a coach – two years in French Division 1 (Team U Cube 17) and three years at the Pôle Espoir Lycée Xavier Bichat in Nantua, France.
She sees her new coaching role as a precious opportunity: “I get to rub shoulders with so many different cultures. And it's a great challenge because some of them arrive with little experience and I will be introducing them to the sport at a competitive level. I'm lucky because this job is all about passion. When you love cycling, being able to do this is a real treat.”
*The UCI WCC first registered a women’s team with the UCI in 2019 with the aim of providing young women from the world over the chance to race against the very best. Over the years some team members have been able to sign contracts with professional teams, and others have returned home to help develop cycling in their own countries as athletes, role models or even coaches. The 2025 line-up – although some are still awaiting visas - includes six returning athletes from 2024 plus four new members. They come from Afghanistan, Belarus, Colombia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Slovakia, South Africa, Switzerland and Ukraine.