World-renowned cycling and triathlon ‘leader’ joins Saint Piran as Directeur Sportif for 2024
Christine White, one of the continent’s most regarded and influential leaders in cycling and triathlon has joined the UK cycling team Saint Piran Cycling as a sports director for 2024. This marks the Cornwall team’s latest drive to increase women's representation in the often male dominated sport.
North Wales-based Christine has lived and breathed cycling for over five decades, since she started racing at ten years old. Starting with time trials, road and track racing, Christine moved on to take her natural talent to new levels, participating in races across the world representing GB and winning accolades in road and time trials within the UK.
Christine has worked as a UCI World Cycling Centre female coach in France, working with African nations. On her return to the UK she was also awarded a UCI Directeur Sportif Scholarship in Aigle, Switzerland.
In 2023, Christine was also awarded a British Cycling Total Computers Scholarship. This led to the British Olympic Association recognising Christine's exceptional skills, selecting her to represent the UK in Cycling for the Olympic Solidarity IOC Scholarship. Her project work with the International Olympic Committee and British Cycling continues to attain the prestigious ICECP certificate in 2024.
Christine’s move to work across all road teams within the Saint Piran family recognises this outstanding experience and her 2023 UCI Directeur Sportif Scholarship. The Wales based professional will be managing races for:
● Saint Piran Men’s UCI Continental Team
● Saint Piran Women’s Elite Road Team
● Saint Piran (U23) Uskis Men’s Development Team
● Saint Piran’s 0503 men’s and women’s team
Christine cannot wait to get started. She said: “I am thrilled to contribute to Saint Piran's success in 2024. Joining this vibrant and dynamic team aligns perfectly with my values, beliefs and deep-rooted coaching philosophy centred on 'nurture' and 'wellbeing' for everyone involved".
John Trott, Director of Cycling for the Saint Piran Cycling Group sees this move as a key building block in their 2024 development. He said: “We are constantly looking at ways we can progress cycling as a sport and in the way it can change society. Bringing Christine to Saint Piran does both.
“Christine has an outstanding record across the world and her insight and understanding of our sport is second to none. We have young riders and staff that will benefit from Christine’s insight and knowledge - with Christine on board we are instantly stronger as a unit.”
The Saint Piran Group has a number of programmes designed to increase female participation in cycling, both on and off the road. The addition of a female DS within the men’s professional UCI ranks is an important step. Other steps include:
Saint Piran relaunched its female elite mountain bike team to focus on increasing female participation in off-road racing with new programmes to be launched in the coming weeks.
The group runs a bike hire centre in Cornwall promoting female participation with free bike sessions.
The team supports road riding by running the women’s road league in the South West.
