Ineos and other men's teams would do well to start women's teams, says star cyclist Lizzie Deignan.

Deignan races for Team Trek-Segafredo, which for years has had a successful men's team. This year it is racing in the Classics with world champion Mads Pedersen and in the grand tours with Vincenzo Nibali.

"I think they're missing a trick, honestly," Deignan told FloBikes when asked about Ineos and others without a women's roster.

"I think in terms of the kind of percentage budget that they would need versus what they spend on a men's team, they could afford to have one of the best women's teams in the world if they kind of tightened up a little bit on some of the missed flights or whatever.

"It wouldn't take that much. And I think it would be received really well."

Deignan, world champion in 2015, joined Trek-Segafredo in its debut 2019 year. This last season, after returning from maternity leave, she won the OVO Energy Women's Tour. Trek-Segafredo had made a "massive" impact when management began the team.

"It's massive. It makes such a difference. I mean, from a personal level, having the support of Trek-Segafredo with my maternity was huge. And they're just the most supportive team I've ever race for.

"And the collaboration with the men is a really successful thing. We have the infrastructure that the men's team already had so quickly, they could put a women's team together. And the shared staff the same, same equipment, shared intelligence, it's almost like two brains are better than one, and it's a really successful model."

Her husband Philip Deignan raced with Team Sky, now Ineos, before retiring. He is helping supper her as she races for her 2020 goals, the Ardennes Classics and a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics.