Handsling Alba Development Road Team will race as CAMS Alba from 2027 after securing title sponsorship from Cycling Accident Management Service, giving the Scottish women’s UCI Continental squad confirmed backing for its next phase. The team said the agreement would support its work developing young riders while competing in Britain and in Europe.
The announcement concerns a team with a relatively short history. Alba Development Road Team was founded in 2022 and moved up to UCI Continental status in 2024. It has since combined domestic racing with a European programme, with rider development at the centre of its stated purpose.
CAMS, the new title partner, is a firm which assists cyclists with non-fault claims involving personal injury and bike damage. From next season its name will replace Handsling in the team title. The team has focused on developing riders while racing domestically and in Europe.
A funding boost for a development programme
Bob Lyons, Alba’s performance director and manager, said the agreement was important because CAMS already understood the need to create opportunities for women in cycling. He said the partnership went beyond branding and would mean investment in riders and in an environment where talented young women could develop, race and progress.
Lyons said there remained a need for investment in the pathway beneath professional women’s cycling, which he described as the gap Alba was designed to address. He added that the team had seen one rider move from Alba to the Women’s WorldTour in each of the last three years.
In practical terms, the confirmed title backing gives the development programme a named partner as it moves into 2027. Lyons said the support would help Alba build on its work of giving young women opportunities to develop, compete and progress.
The team won the National Road Series and National Circuit Series through Eilidh Shaw in 2024, before Kate Richardson won the National Circuit Series last year. The results show title-winning performances by two riders in successive reported seasons.
What CAMS Alba will build on
Alba’s riders this year included Richardson, Maddie Leech, Izzy Sharp and Arabella Blackburn. The report identified Richardson as a European Track Championships team-pursuit gold medallist, Leech as reigning world Madison champion, Sharp as a former Lidl-Trek rider and Blackburn as a junior track world champion.
The report highlighted the riders’ listed track and professional credentials.
Sam Moss, a CAMS director, said the company had a history of supporting women’s cycling and saw the arrangement as a continuation of that work. Moss said CAMS was particularly focused on helping young women remain involved in sport, develop confidence and access opportunities.
Dame Laura Kenny, a CAMS ambassador, similarly presented the partnership as an opportunity-based investment. She said women’s cycling had progressed but still had potential for further growth, and said the new backing could offer young female riders support, an environment and belief as they develop.
Context: DAS-Hutchinson closure announcement
The sponsorship news followed the reported announcement that DAS-Hutchinson would close its women’s UCI Continental programme at the end of the year. The CAMS sponsorship provides confirmed title backing for Alba, while the same report says DAS-Hutchinson is due to close its women’s Continental programme.
For Alba, the immediate change is straightforward: the team will take the CAMS Alba name in 2027. The agreement means the team is set to race as CAMS Alba from 2027, while Lyons said the backing would help it continue creating opportunities for young women riders.