LONDON — Once a stark choice between babies or bikes, motherhood is now becoming just another chapter in the careers of elite female cyclists.

"You had to choose between motherhood and professional sport. It was either one thing or the other," Spanish cyclist Ane Santesteban said in an interview published by her Laboral Kutxa team.

Spain's most decorated female cyclist Joane Somarriba knows that only too well, having retired in 2006.

"I started considering (becoming a mother) at age 30, right in the prime of my career," Somarriba, a former road time trial world champion, said. "I raced for two more seasons and then retired to focus on motherhood.