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Leah Kirchmann signs with Liv-Plantur

Leah Kirchmann

Canadian multi-champion Leah Kirchmann has signed a one-year contract with Dutch women’s team Liv-Plantur after three years with American squad Optum presented by Kelly Benefit Systems. Kirchmann’s highlight in her final year with Optum was winning two stages of the Women’s Tour of California to take the points jersey and place second on GC.

Kirchmann swept the Canadian road nationals in 2014, victorious in all three races, including her fourth crit title. That year she also came third in the first La Course by the Le Tour de France.

Liv-Plantur, eighth ranked in UCI’s system, and Optum, 11th ranked, will both be included in the inaugural Women’s WorldTour. The first race is the Strade Bianche on March 3 and the last the World Champions road race in Qatar on September 15. Two races in the United States, the Amgen Tour of California May 19-23 and the Philadelphia International Cycling Classic June 5, are in the middle of the calendar.

Dutch rider Amy Pieters was Liv-Plantur’s top-ranked rider of 2015, 14th by the UCI’s reckoning. Kirchmann came 30th, one place behind compatriot Karol-Ann Canuel of Velocio-SRAM. Canuel is off to another Dutch squad in 2016, Boels-Dolmans, after Velocio folded.

Liv-Plantur also signed Australian Carlee Taylor from Lotto-Soudal and two Dutch riders, Riejanne Marcus and Rozanne Slik, from Parkhotel Valkenburg.

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