Elizabeth Mary Deignan (née Armitstead; born 18 December 1988) is an English professional world champion

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

and

road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...

racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam . She was the 2015 World road race champion. Deignan is also the 2014 Commonwealth Games road race champion and a twice winner of the season-long

UCI Women's Road World Cup The UCI Women's Road Cycling World Cup was a season-long road bicycle competition for women organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale between 1998–2015. This competition consisted of a series (which has varied from 6 to 12 events) of rac ...

, winning the overall competition in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

and the final edition in

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

. At the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, Deignan won the silver medal in the road race. She has won the

British National Road Race Championships The British National Road Race Championships cover different categories of British road bicycle racing events, normally held annually. History Between 1943 and 1958, two separate bodies – the British League of Racing Cyclists The British ...

four times, in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017. In 2021, Deignan won the first ever

Paris–Roubaix Femmes Paris–Roubaix Femmes is a one day women's bicycle race on cobbled roads (or pavé) in northern France, held annually in early April. It is part of the UCI Women's World Tour. The equivalent men's race is a cycling monument, and after the Tou ...

to add to victories in the women's versions of

Tour of Flanders The Tour of Flanders ( nl, Ronde van Vlaanderen), also known as ''De Ronde'' (''"The Tour"''), is an annual road cycling race held in Belgium every spring. The most important cycling race in Flanders, it is part of the UCI World Tour and organi ...

and

Liège–Bastogne–Liège Liège–Bastogne–Liège, also known as ''La Doyenne'' ("The Old Lady"), is a one-day classic cycling race in Belgium.Cycling Weekly, UK, 13 March 1993 First run in 1892, it is the oldest of the five ''Monuments'' of the European professional r ...

, becoming the first woman to win a 'triple crown' of all women's Monument classics. Twice winner of

The Women's Tour The Women's Tour is a women's cycle stage race held in England and Wales, as part of the UCI Women's World Tour. The race is organised by SweetSpot, the company behind the men's Tour of Britain. History Its origins trace back to 2010 when ...

, the most important stage race for women in the UK, she has also won

Strade Bianche Donne The Strade Bianche Donne ''(Strade Bianche Women)'', also named Strade Bianche Rosa by Italian media, is an annual professional list of women's road bicycle races, women's road bicycle racing event in Tuscany, Italy. Roughly a quarter of the rou ...

La Course by Le Tour de France La Course by Le Tour de France was an elite women's professional road bicycle race held in France. First held in 2014 as a one-day race on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, it has been part of the UCI Women's WorldTour since 2016 as a one or two ...

and the

Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio is a women's professional road bicycle racing event held annually in the ''comune'' (municipality) of Cittiglio and nearby comunes located within the Province of Varese in the Italian region Lombardy. Sin ...

. Prior to her road career, Deignan won a total of five medals at the

UCI Track Cycling World Championships The UCI Track Cycling World Championships are the set of world championship events for the various disciplines and distances in track cycling. They are regulated by the Union Cycliste Internationale. Before 1900, they were administered by the UCI ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

and

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, including a gold medal in team pursuit in 2009 with

Joanna Rowsell Joanna Katie Rowsell MBE (born 5 December 1988) is a retired English cyclist on the Great Britain Cycling Team who competed on track and road. Her greatest successes were the gold medals won in the women's team pursuit at the 2012 London Olym ...

and

Wendy Houvenaghel Wendy Louise Houvenaghel (née McLean; born 27 November 1974) is a Northern Irish former racing cyclist from Upperlands, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, riding on both the road and track, but specialising in the latter. She has represente ...

Early life

Deignan was born in the

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

Otley Otley is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically a part of the West Ridi ...

West Yorkshire West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...

, where she attended Prince Henry's Grammar School, a state comprehensive school. She took up cycling in 2004 after British Cycling's Olympic Talent Team visited the school. She is a graduate of

British Cycling British Cycling (formerly the British Cycling Federation) is the main national governing body for cycle sport in Great Britain. It administers most competitive cycling in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. It represents Bri ...

's Olympic Podium Programme.

Career

2005–2009: Track years

Deignan won a silver medal in the

scratch race A scratch race is a track cycling race in which all riders start together and the objective is simply to be first over the finish line after a certain number of laps. UCI regulations specify that a scratch race should be held over 15 km for ...

at the Junior World Track Championships in 2005, she was under-23 European Scratch Race Champion in 2007 and 2008, and came second in the Points Race in 2007. In the 2008–09 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics, she took a total of seven gold medals after competing in three of the five meetings. Deignan was a member of the gold medal-winning team pursuit squad at the

2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships The 2009 UCI Track Cycling World Championships are the World Championship for track cycling. They took place at the BGŻ Arena in Pruszków, Poland from 25 to 29 March 2009. Nineteen events were on the programme, with the women's omnium being ad ...

, her second appearance at a senior world championship event. She also competed in the scratch race, where despite being brought down in the closing stages of the race, she jumped back on to claim the silver medal. She completed the championships with a full set of medals, winning bronze in the points race whilst riding with her right wrist numb and strapped up – she was only able to move her forefinger and thumb.

2009–2011: Move to road

Alongside her breakthrough in the velodrome, Deignan was also making progress in road racing: in 2008 she was part of the team which delivered

Nicole Cooke Nicole Denise Cooke, MBE (born 13 April 1983) is a Welsh former professional road bicycle racer and Commonwealth, Olympic and World road race champion. At Beijing in 2008 she became the first British woman to win a Gold Olympic medal in an ...

to the road race gold at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Varese Varese ( , , or ; lmo, label= Varesino, Varés ; la, Baretium; archaic german: Väris) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 has reached 80,559. It is the c ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, and the following year she joined the cycling team and rode a number of top level road races. She won the under 23 category of the

and the silver medal in the senior category after some controversy. That season she also took a stage of the

Tour de l'Ardèche Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed ...

and won the youth classification of the Giro d'Italia. During the winter of 2009–10, Deignan returned to the track, taking two golds at the Manchester round of the

2009–10 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics The 2009–10 UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics is a multi race tournament over a season of track cycling. The season ran from 30 October 2009 to 24 January 2010. The World Cup was organised by the Union Cycliste Internationale. The World Cup k ...

and two silvers at the

2010 UCI Track Cycling World Championships The 2010 UCI Track Cycling World Championships were the World Championships for track cycling in 2010. They took place at the Ballerup Super Arena in Ballerup, Denmark from 24 to 28 March 2010. Participating nations 38 nations participated * (3 ...

. In 2010, she rode for . That year she won three more stages of the Tour de l'Ardèche and a silver medal in the road race at the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

. Deignan decided to stay with the franchise in its new guise as throughout 2011.

2012

Following the discontinuation of the women's team, Deignan rode for the team in 2012. Deignan built the whole of her campaign around the

, taking

spring classics The classic cycle races are the most prestigious one-day professional road cycling races in the international calendar. Some of these events date back to the 19th century. They are normally held at roughly the same time each year. The five most ...

wins at the

Omloop van het Hageland The Omloop van het Hageland (Tielt-Winge) is an elite women's professional road bicycle race held since 2007 in Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europ ...

and

Gent–Wevelgem Gent–Wevelgem, officially Gent–Wevelgem – In Flanders Fields, is a road bicycle racing, road cycling race in Belgium, held annually since 1934. It is one of the classic cycle races, classic races part of the Flemish Cycling Week, run in late ...

: at the Games themselves, she would go on to win the silver medal in the road race at the Olympics, behind

Marianne Vos Marianne Vos (; born 13 May 1987) is a Dutch multi-discipline cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam . After winning a junior European and World Championship in road racing, she continued her success in senior cycling by becomin ...

, in so becoming the first Briton to win a

medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

at the 2012 Games.

2013

Having had to move teams in the past two seasons due to teams disbanding, Deignan signed for the team for the 2013 season. Her 2013 season was affected by a recurring stomach illness which was eventually diagnosed as a symptom of a

hiatal hernia A hiatal hernia or hiatus hernia is a type of hernia in which abdominal organs (typically the stomach) slip through the diaphragm into the middle compartment of the chest. This may result in gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or laryngoph ...

. Even with her well documented medical concerns, Deignan emerged victorious at the

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

– claiming her second white, red and blue jersey.

2014

In April 2014 it was announced that Deignan had renewed her contract with until the end of 2016. Deignan enjoyed a career-best year, starting with a win at the

. A week later she also won the first

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

race of the season, the

Ronde van Drenthe Ronde van Drenthe ( en, Tour of Drenthe) is an elite men's and women's professional road bicycle racing event held annually in the Drenthe, Netherlands and sanctioned by the Royal Dutch Cycling Union. Since 1998 there is also a women's event, kn ...

, after teammate

Ellen van Dijk Eleonora Maria "Ellen" van Dijk (; born 11 February 1987) is a Dutch professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam . Besides road cycling she was also a track cyclist until 2012. Van Dijk is known as a time ...

closed a significant gap for her in the final kilometres of the race. At the third World Cup race, the

, she finished second behind van Dijk. Deignan took part in the inaugural

in Paris on 27 July 2014, but crashed with to the finish. A week later she won the women's road race at the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

. Armitstead, overhauled

Emma Pooley Emma may refer to: * Emma (given name) Film * ''Emma'' (1932 film), a comedy-drama film by Clarence Brown * ''Emma'' (1996 theatrical film), a film starring Gwyneth Paltrow * ''Emma'' (1996 TV film), a British television film starring Kate Be ...

with to go to win her first major gold medal. Deignan won the UCI Women's Road World Cup with a race to spare on 24 August 2014. An 8th-place finish in the

Open de Suède Vårgårda Open de Suède Vårgårda is an elite professional women's road bicycle event held annually in the Vårgårda Municipality of Sweden. Created in 2006, the Open de Suède Vårgårda was part of the UCI Women's Road World Cup until 2015 and sanc ...

was enough to secure the overall title.

2015

For the 2015 season, Deignan stated again her intention to build towards the UCI Road World Championships. She claimed the first overall win of her career taking the Ladies Tour of Qatar stage race, as well as winning two stages. Deignan then went on to take victories at the one day

races

and

Philadelphia Cycling Classic Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, along with the

Holland Hills Classic The Holland Hills Classic was a women's elite professional road bicycle racing, road bicycle race held annually between 2004 and 2016 in Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg, the Netherlands. The race was categorised as a 1.1 UCI category race, and was ...

. In June, Deignan was forced to pull out of

after colliding with a group of photographers seconds after winning the first stage of the tour in Suffolk. However, ten days later she had recovered sufficiently to win convincingly the

for the third time taking her to the top of the UCI world rankings. In August, she sprinted to victory in the final World Cup race of the season, the

GP de Plouay Gp or GP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming * Gameplanet (New Zealand), a New Zealand video game community * GamePolitics.com, a blog about the politics of computer and video games * ''GamePro'', a monthly video game magazine * ...

, to retain her World Cup title ahead of her main challenger,

Anna van der Breggen Anna van der Breggen (born 18 April 1990) is a Dutch former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2009 and 2021 for Team Flexpoint, , and . She won the gold medal in the women's road race at the 2016 Summer Olympics ...

. To cap her best season to date, on 26 September, Deignan won the World Championships road race in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, USA, beating van der Breggen in a sprint from a small group of nine riders at the finish line, becoming the fourth British woman to win the world road race title after

Beryl Burton Beryl Burton, OBE (12 May 1937 – 5 May 1996) was an English racing cyclist who dominated women's cycle racing in the UK, winning more than 90 domestic championships and seven world titles, and setting numerous national records. She se ...

Mandy Jones Amanda Ellen "Mandy" Jones is a British former racing cyclist born in 1962 who won the women's world road race championship in 1982. Biography Jones joined the West Pennine Road Club to ride on Sunday outings. She rode her first race in 1974 ...

and

2016

Deignan's stated aim for the 2016 season was the road race at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

, and she started the season as she had finished off the previous one, securing a number of one day race wins, as well as a General classification victory, breaking any curse of the rainbow jersey. Deignan took four victories in the inaugural

UCI Women's World Tour The UCI Women's World Tour is the premier annual female elite road cycling tour. History In order to increase the coverage of Women's cycling the UCI held a summit in December 2014 between the UCI Women’s Working Group and the UCI Women's ...

;

Strade Bianche The Strade Bianche is a road bicycle race in Tuscany, Central Italy, starting and finishing in Siena. First held in 2007, it is raced annually on the first or second Saturday of March. The name ''Strade Bianche'' (Italian for ''White Roads'') st ...

Trofeo Alfredo Binda Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio is a women's professional road bicycle racing event held annually in the ''comune'' (municipality) of Cittiglio and nearby comunes located within the Province of Varese in the Italian region Lombardy. Sinc ...

and the overall title at

. Deignan also took victories in the

and

Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, previously Omloop Het Volk, is a one-day road cycling race in Belgium, held annually in late February. It is the opening event of the Belgian cycling season, as well as the first race of the year in Northwestern Europe, and ...

. At the Games, she finished just outside the medals in fifth place.

Missed drugs tests

In 2016, Deignan avoided a ban from cycling that would have prevented her from competing in the

. The charges against her were that she missed three drugs tests within a 12-month period (20 August 2015, 5 October 2015 and 9 June 2016), an offence that could have led to a four-year ban. However, at the

Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; french: Tribunal arbitral du sport, ''TAS'') is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland and its co ...

, Deignan argued that the first missed test was not a fault of her own but rather that of the testing authorities. She accepted the other two instances. The CAS agreed with her on the first count, and it was declared not to have been a missed test, clearing her to compete. The decision has drawn criticism from various quarters. In a 5 August 2016 interview, she said she believes that people will doubt her status as a clean sportsperson forever. World

squash Squash may refer to: Sports * Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets * Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling * Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...

champion

James Willstrop James Willstrop (born 15 August 1983) is an English professional squash player living in Yorkshire, England. He was born in North Walsham, Norfolk, England. Career Willstrop has a large build for a squash player, being and . He trains at P ...

wrote in defence of Deignan, arguing that the complexity of testing procedures can easily lead to missed tests and noting that she had 16 clean tests in 2016.

2017

Deignan endured a difficult start to her 2017 season: after finishing third at Strade Bianche, she fell ill, which hampered her training. However, her form picked up for the

Ardennes classics The Ardennes classics are three cycling classics held in mid-April in the Belgian Ardennes and southern Limburg in the Netherlands: Liège–Bastogne–Liège, La Flèche Wallonne and Amstel Gold Race. First held in 1892, 1936 and 1966 respectiv ...

, finishing second to team-mate van der Breggen in the

Amstel Gold Race The Amstel Gold Race is an annual one-day classic road cycling race held in the province of Limburg, Netherlands. It traditionally marks the turning point of the spring classics, with the climbers and stage racers replacing the cobbled classics r ...

La Flèche Wallonne Féminine La Flèche Wallonne Féminine is a professional women's bicycle road race held each year in Wallonia, Belgium, in April. It is part of the UCI Women's World Tour, cycling's season-long competition of top-tier races, in which it is the third-olde ...

and

. She subsequently took her first win of the season on home ground at the

Tour de Yorkshire The Tour de Yorkshire is a road cycling race in the historic county of Yorkshire, England which first took place in May 2015. It is promoted by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) and is rated as a 2.HC event as part of the UCI Europe Tour. ...

in April, crossing the line solo almost a minute ahead of her nearest rivals. She took another solo win at the British National Championships on the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

in June, attacking from a small group with two laps of the finishing circuit remaining alongside

Katie Archibald Katie Archibald, (born 12 March 1994) is an elite Scottish and British racing cyclist, specialising in endurance track cycling events in which she represents Great Britain and Scotland. A member of the Great Britain 2016 Olympic champion and ...

and

Hannah Barnes Hannah Mary Barnes (born 4 May 1993) is a British racing cyclist, who rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam . She is the sister of fellow racing cyclist Alice Barnes, who rides for . Career Born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, Barnes grew up in Bladon, ...

: the trio caught and passed race leader

Elinor Barker Elinor Jane Barker (born 7 September 1994) is a Welsh road and track racing cyclist, who last rode professionally on the road for UCI Women's Team . Representing Great Britain in international competitions, Barker is an Olympic champion, a two- ...

with to go, with Deignan breaking away immediately afterwards to take her fourth senior national road race title. The following month she finished second at

, finishing behind winner

Annemiek van Vleuten Annemiek van Vleuten (born 8 October 1982) is a Dutch professional road racing cyclist, who rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam . Van Vleuten is a two-time winner of both the road race (2019 and 2022) and the time trial (2017 and 2018) at the UCI ...

on the

Col d'Izoard Col d'Izoard () is a mountain pass in the Alps in the department of Hautes-Alpes in France. It is accessible in summer via the D902 road, connecting Briançon on the north and the valley of the Guil in Queyras, which ends at Guillestre in the sou ...

: she stated that she was "surprised" by her performance, having never enjoyed success on a mountaintop finish before. In August she took her first World Tour win of the season at the

GP de Plouay – Bretagne The Grand Prix de Plouay – Lorient Agglomération is an elite professional women's road bicycle race held in Plouay, France. It is organized annually since 2002, on the day of the men's race and on the same circuit. The race consists of fou ...

, breaking away from rivals alongside

Pauline Ferrand-Prévot Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (born 10 February 1992) is a French multi-discipline bicycle racer, who rides for UCI Elite Mountain Bike team BMC MTB Racing in cross-country cycling. and has signed for Ineos Grenadiers for 2023. Ferrand-Prévot has al ...

on the final climb, before outsprinting Ferrand-Prévot to cross the finish line first. She became the third woman to win the race twice, alongside Vos and Pooley. However, the remainder of her season was disrupted shortly afterwards after being struck with

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a rup ...

whilst competing in the

Holland Ladies Tour The Holland Ladies Tourhttp://www.hollandladiestour.nl/ Official site is a women's elite professional road bicycle racing stage race held annually in September since 1998 in the Netherlands. It's a tour with 6 or 7 stages. For sponsorship reasons ...

2021

Deignan was chosen to be part of the UK's cycling squad at the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympics where she contested the road race with Anna Shackley as a team mate. The race finished with an unexpected winner in

Anna Kiesenhofer Anna Kiesenhofer (born 14 February 1991) is an Austrian professional cyclist and mathematician, who rides for UCI Women's Team Israel Premier Tech Roland. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow in mathematics at the École Polytechnique Fédéral ...

of Austria, with Deignan finding the conditions humid and difficult. She finished 11th in the race. In early October she went on to win the

with a solo breakaway of more than , a victory described by commentators as one of the greatest Roubaix rides of all time. Deignan therefore became the first woman to win a 'triple crown' of all women's Monument classics, having won the

2016 Tour of Flanders for Women The 2016 Tour of Flanders for Women was the 13th running of the women's Tour of Flanders, a women's bicycle race in Belgium. It was held on 3 April 2016, as the fifth race of the inaugural World Tour season over a distance of , starting and finis ...

, and the 2020 Liège–Bastogne–Liège Femmes.

2022

In February, Deignan announced that she would sit out the 2022 season, as she was pregnant with her second child. She also announced she had signed a contract extension with to return to racing in 2023.

Personal life

She married fellow professional road racing cyclist

Philip Deignan Philip Deignan ( ga, Pilib Ó Duígeannáin; born 7 September 1983) is an Irish former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2005 and 2018 for the , , , and squads. A former Olympian, Deignan won a stage in the 200 ...

in Otley on 17 September 2016, and their first child, Orla, was born in September 2018. She splits her time between Otley and

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

. Deignan has been a

pescetarian Pescetarianism (; sometimes spelled pescatarianism) is the practice of incorporating seafood into an otherwise vegetarian diet. Pescetarians may or may not consume other animal products such as eggs and dairy products. Approximately 3% of adult ...

for ethical reasons since the age of ten.

Major results

Track

;2005 : National Junior Championships ::1st MaillotReinoUnido

Points race ::2nd Silver medal blank

500m time trial ::3rd Bronze medal blank

Scratch race : 2nd Silver medal blank

Scratch race,

UCI Juniors World Championships The UCI Juniors World Championships were a set of UCI World Championships events for junior bicycle cyclists in 2005 to 2009. In 2010 it was divided into: *The Junior men's road race at the UCI Road World Championships *The UCI Juniors Track World ...

;2006 : 2nd Silver medal blank

Scratch race,

National Championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...

: National Junior Championships ::2nd Silver medal blank

Points race ::2nd Silver medal blank

Individual pursuit ::3rd Bronze medal blank

Scratch race ::3rd Bronze medal blank

500m time trial ;2007 : UEC European Under-23 Championships ::1st UEC Champion Jersey

Scratch race ::2nd Silver medal europe

Points race ;2008 : UEC European Under-23 Championships ::1st UEC Champion Jersey

Scratch race ::1st UEC Champion Jersey

Team pursuit ::2nd Silver medal europe

Points race : UCI World Cup Classics, 2008–09 ::1st Gold medal blank

Points race,

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

::1st

Scratch race,

::1st

Team pursuit,

::1st

Scratch race,

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

::1st

Team pursuit,

;2009 :

UCI World Championships The UCI world championships are annual competitions promoted by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to determine world champion cyclists. They are held in several different styles of racing, in a different country each year. Championship winne ...

::1st

Team pursuit The team pursuit is a track cycling event similar to the individual pursuit, except that two teams, each of up to four riders, compete, starting on opposite sides of the velodrome. Race format Both men's and women's events are competed over ...

::2nd

Scratch race A scratch race is a track cycling race in which all riders start together and the objective is simply to be first over the finish line after a certain number of laps. UCI regulations specify that a scratch race should be held over 15 km for ...

::3rd

Points race A points race is a mass start track cycling event involving large numbers of riders simultaneously on track. It was an Olympic event for men between 1984–2008 and for women 1996–2008. Starting in 2012, the points race is one of the omnium even ...

: UCI World Cup Classics, 2008–09 ::1st Gold medal blank

Scratch race,

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

::1st

Team pursuit,

: UCI World Cup Classics, 2009–10 ::1st Gold medal blank

Team pursuit,

::1st

Points race,

;2010 :

::2nd

Omnium An omnium (from Latin '' Omni'': of all, belonging to all) is a multiple race event in track cycling. Historically the omnium has had a variety of formats. In recent years, road racing has also adopted the term to describe multi-day races that fe ...

;2011 :

::1st

Points race ::1st MaillotReinoUnido

Scratch race ;2015 : Revolution Series ::1st Points race, Manchester ::1st Points race, Glasgow ::3rd Scratch race, Glasgow

Road

;2006 : 1st MaillotReinoUnido

National Criterium Championships : 1st WCRA Criterium Championships ;2007 : 1st MaillotReinoUnido

National Criterium Championships : 5th

Omloop van Borsele Omloop van Borsele ("Circuit of Borsele") is an elite List of women's road bicycle races, women's professional road bicycle race held annually since 2002 in Borsele, Netherlands. Since 2012 in women's road cycling, 2012, the event also contains a ...

: 6th Road race, UEC European Under-23 Championships ;

: 1st

Road race, National Under-23 Championships : 1st Jersey white

Young rider classification, Giro d'Italia : 2nd Road race, National Championships : 3rd Overall

::1st

Points classification ::1st Stage 6 : 8th

: 8th

Chrono Champenois The Chrono Champenois is a European individual time trial bicycle race held around Bétheny in France, in the Champagne region. The race has been organised as a 1.2 event since 1989 for women's and since 1998 there is also a men's race which is ...

: 9th

Tour de Berne Tour de Berne is an elite professional road bicycle racing event held in Berne, Switzerland with races for men and women. Men's event The men's event began in 1920 and has previously been a UCI 1.2 rated event on the UCI Europe Tour. Women's ...

;2010 : 1st MaillotReinoUnido

Road race, National Under-23 Championships : 1st Stage 1 Tour de l'Aude : 2nd Silver medal blank

Road race,

: 2nd Road race, National Championships : 4th Overall

La Route de France The Route de France Féminine is a women's cycle race. First held in 2006, it was rated 2.2 by the UCI for the 2006 and 2007 edition, and 2.1 since. The race was cancelled in 2011, but returned the next year. With the ending of the Grande Boucle ...

::1st Stage 6 : 4th Overall

::1st

Points classification ::1st Stages 3, 4 & 5 : 5th Emakumeen Saria : 7th Overall

Ster Zeeuwsche Eilanden The Ster Zeeuwsche Eilanden also known as Rabo Ster Zeeuwsche Eilanden due to former sponsorships reasons is a 3 days elite women's road bicycle stage race held in the province of Zeeland, Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau ...

: 7th

Grand Prix Elsy Jacobs The Festival Luxembourgeois du cyclisme féminin Elsy Jacobs formerly known as the Grand Prix Elsy Jacobs is an international women's road bicycle race held in Garnich, Luxembourg. Since 2008 this event is on the UCI women's elite cycle racing c ...

: 9th Road race,

;2011 : 1st MaillotReinoUnido

Road race, National Championships :

Thüringen Rundfahrt der Frauen Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

::1st

Points classification ::1st Stage 6 : 1st Stage 1 Tour of Chongming Island Stage race : 2nd

Tour of Chongming Island The Tour of Chongming Island International Cycling Race is an annual elite women's road bicycle racing stage race held in Shanghai, China, named after Chongming Island. The Tour previously consisted of two races: a stage race and a one-day race. ...

World Cup : 3rd

Open de Suède Vårgårda TTT Open or OPEN may refer to: Music * Open (band), Australian pop/rock band * The Open (band), English indie rock band * ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969 * ''Open'' (Gotthard album), 1999 * ''Open'' (Cowboy Junkies album), 2001 * ''Open'' (Y ...

: 4th

: 6th

GP Ciudad de Valladolid GP Ciudad de Valladolid is a women's professional road bicycle racing event held annually in Valladolid, Spain. It was first run in 2010 and serves as a race of the UCI Women's Road World Cup The UCI Women's Road Cycling World Cup was a season ...

: 7th Road race,

: 7th

GP Stad Roeselare The GP Stad Roeselare is an elite women's road bicycle race held annually in Roeselare, Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordere ...

: 10th

;

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

: 1st

::2nd

Road race ::10th

Time trial In many racing sports, an athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athlete or team sets off at ...

: 2nd Road race, National Championships : 3rd Novilon Euregio Cup : 4th Overall

: 4th

Gooik–Geraardsbergen–Gooik Gooik–Geraardsbergen–Gooik was an elite women's professional one-day road bicycle race held between Gooik and Geraardsbergen in Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in ...

: 4th

Durango-Durango Emakumeen Saria Durango-Durango Emakumeen Saria is a women's bicycle race held in Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "F ...

: 6th Overall

: 8th

: 10th

;

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

: National Championships ::1st MaillotReinoUnido

Road race ::2nd

: 2nd

Ridderronde Maastricht Ridderronde Maastricht is an elite men's and women's professional road bicycle racing event held annually in Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeaster ...

: 3rd Overall

::1st

Sprints classification ::1st Jersey white dots on red

Combination classification : 6th Overall

: 7th Overall Energiewacht Tour :: Jersey blue

Combativity award, Stage 2 : 7th

: 9th

;

: 1st

Overall UCI World Cup : 1st Gold medal blank

Road race,

: 1st

: 1st Otley Grand Prix : 2nd Overall

Thüringen Rundfahrt Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

::1st

Points classification ::1st Jersey black

Mountains classification ::1st Stage 1 : 2nd

: 2nd

La Flèche Wallonne La Flèche Wallonne (, French for "The Walloon Arrow") is a men's professional cycle road race held in April each year in Wallonia, Belgium. The first of two Belgian Ardennes classics, La Flèche Wallonne is today normally held mid-week betw ...

: 2nd

: 3rd Road race, National Championships : 3rd

Drentse 8 Ronde van Drenthe ( en, Tour of Drenthe) is an elite men's and women's professional road bicycle racing event held annually in the Drenthe, Netherlands and sanctioned by the Royal Dutch Cycling Union. Since 1998 there is also a women's event, kn ...

: 3rd

RideLondon RideLondon is an annual festival of cycling held in London. Intended as an annual legacy of the London 2012, London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, it was first held in 2013. The format consists of a series of cycling events on closed roads ...

Grand Prix : 3rd

: 7th Road race,

: 8th

;2015 :

::1st

Road race ::2nd Silver medal blank

Team time trial A team time trial (TTT) is a road bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock (see individual time trial for a more detailed description of ITT events). The winning team in a TTT is determined by the comparing the times of ( ...

: 1st

Overall UCI World Cup : 1st MaillotReinoUnido

Road race, National Championships : 1st Jersey gold

Overall

Tour of Qatar The Tour of Qatar was an annual professional cycling stage race held in Qatar. First organized in 2002, the event was part of the UCI Asia Tour until 2016. The 2017 edition was to have seen the event upgraded to the UCI World Tour for the first ...

::1st

Points classification ::1st Stages 3 & 4 : 1st

: 1st

: 1st Stage 1

: 2nd

: 3rd

: 3rd Crescent Vårgårda TTT : 4th

: 7th

: 8th

;2016 :

::1st

::4th Road race : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

::1st

British rider classification ::1st Stage 3 : 1st

: 1st

: 1st Crescent Vårgårda TTT : 1st Stage 2 ( TTT)

: 5th Road race,

;2017 : 1st MaillotReinoUnido

Road race, National Championships : 1st

: 1st

: 1st Stage 1 ( TTT)

Giro Rosa The is an annual elite women's road bicycle racing stage race. It was rebranded from 2013-2020 as the Giro Rosa, having been branded the Giro Donne until 2012 and again in 2021. It has been considered the most prestigious stage race in women's roa ...

: 2nd

: 3rd

;2019 : 1st Jersey green

Overall

::1st

Points classification ::1st Jersey light blue

British rider classification ::1st Stage 5 : 7th Overall

: 7th

;2020 : 1st Jersey violet

Overall

UCI World Tour The UCI WorldTour (2009–2010: ''UCI World Ranking'') is the premier men's elite road cycling tour, sitting above the UCI ProSeries and various regional UCI Continental Circuits. It refers to both the tour of 38 events and, until 2019, an annual ...

: 1st

: 1st Stage 1 ( TTT)

: 4th

: 6th Road race,

: 8th

: 9th

Emakumeen Nafarroako Klasikoa The Emakumeen Nafarroako Klasikoa is an annual professional road bicycle race for women in Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ul ...

;2021 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

Tour de Suisse The Tour de Suisse ( en, Tour of Switzerland) is an annual road cycling stage race. Raced over eight days, the event covers two weekends in June, and along with the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is considered a proving ground for the Tour de France ...

::1st

Points classification ::1st Jersey red

Mountains classification : 1st

Paris–Roubaix Paris–Roubaix is a one-day professional bicycle road race in northern France, starting north of Paris and finishing in Roubaix, at the border with Belgium. It is one of cycling's oldest races, and is one of the 'Monuments' or classics of the ...

: 4th Overall

::1st Stage 1 ( TTT) : 7th

: 9th Overall

Thüringen Ladies Tour The Lotto Thüringen Ladies Tour, formerly known as the Thüringen Rundfahrt der Frauen (Women's Tour of Thuringia) is a stage race for women road cycle racers held every July in the German state of Thuringia. It is rated a class 2.1 event by ...

: 9th

Classics results timeline

References

External links

Rider biography
British Cycling
Profile
MTC (management company) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Deignan, Lizzie 1988 births Living people British cycling road race champions People from Otley Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England Cyclists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists of Great Britain English Olympic medallists Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic medalists in cycling English female cyclists Cyclists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Cyclists from Yorkshire Cyclists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games UCI Track Cycling World Champions (women) UCI Road World Champions (women) Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England Commonwealth Games medallists in cycling English track cyclists People educated at Prince Henry's Grammar School, Otley Sportspeople from West Yorkshire