As maligned as the British domestic scene has been in recent years, it still remains a talent pipeline to the top of cycling. The latest proof of this is Robyn Clay, who has gone from winning the National Road and Circuit Series, and the Rapha Super-League too, to the WorldTour.
The 22-year-old, when contacted by Cycling Weekly to arrange an end-of-season interview, asked if we should wait until after her new team had been announced, and it was a good job we did.
It turns out, riding for the Dutch team didn’t just complete her ambition of riding on the Women’s WorldTour, but a long-term goal of hers. To some, a team is a team, but to Clay its more than that.
“The dream was to get on a pro team,” she told CW. “It was actually to get onto Picnic. It has been pretty much since I started racing, so I guess I need to think of a new dream now.”
“I’ve just always seen them as a very gritty team,” she explained, when asked why Picnic. “They just get stuck in, you know they get the job done. I really like that, not caring too much about… I don’t know how you look, or anything like that. Just really getting stuck in racing.”
(Image credit: Craig Zadoroznyj/SWpix.com)
There are no set goals at the moment, considering it will be quite the step up for Clay, but everything is labelled as a learning opportunity. She has only taken part in two WorldTour races, the Amstel Gold Race and the Tour of Britain Women, but that will soon change.
“I’m just going to try and soak it all up,” she said. “I’m going to Holland at the end of the month to meet the staff, get my bike, have a bike fit and all that sort of stuff. That’s exciting. I’m sure I’ll learn some new things there, straight away. Then I’ve got a team camp in December. But even being at the Tour de l’Avenir, I learned a lot. Three of the GB girls that were there with us were WorldTour [Flora Perkins, Millie Couzens, and Imogen Wolff], so I learned a lot from them. Nutrition plans, the little routines they have before and after a race, little things like that. I feel like there’s a lot to soak up.”
Her plans for next year are pretty succinct, no ‘I want to ride the Tour de France Femmes’.
“It’s honestly just that I just want to learn,” Clay said. “I want to get stronger. I just want, yeah, I want to become a better cyclist and do exactly as I’m told and do a good job.”
At Picnic PostNL, she will join a British group – also on the Dutch team are CW columnist and former national champion Pfeiffer Georgi, Becky Storrie, and Josie Nelson, although Abi Smith has now left the squad.
“I know Becky, and I know Josie a bit, but I don’t really know Pfeiffer. I know her dad, but not her yet,” Clay said.
She’ll have a lot of time to get to know the trio, as Picnic seeks to rebuild after the exits of Charlotte Kool, Franzi Koch, and Marta Cavalli. For a team that won four times in 2025, there might be some expectation on Clay to hit the ground running, but the 22-year-old has coped with every challenge thrown her way so far.
She leaves DAS-Hutchinson as their best rider. “I’ll miss it,” she said. “It was just good vibes, it was fun. Everyone wanted the same thing. I’ll definitely miss it, but I’m also excited for what’s to come.”
As for the domestic scene, it will be poorer for the loss of Clay, but it’s doing what it is supposed to, providing a challenge, and getting riders to move up. The National Series will also miss her.
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