Leah Kirchmann extends with Sunweb through 2022
Canadian time trial champion joined team in 2016
There’s more business going on in professional cycling during the COVID-19 pandemic than one might think, and Thursday saw Canadian ace Leah Kirchmann extend her contract with Team Sunweb until the end of 2022. Kirchmann has been a stalwart member of the squad since 2016, when she took second place overall in the WorldTour.
Happy to announce my contract extension with @TeamSunweb until 2022! ? Find the full press release below -> https://t.co/VL5sCEQYnw
— Leah Kirchmann (@L_Kirch) April 24, 2020
The Canadian time trial champion started off the season with a good run: sixth and the points jersey at the Tour Down Under, ninth in Race Torquay and fifth in the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race. Compatriot Alison Jackson joined her at the German-registered squad this year.
Kirchmann’s highlights last season were a second Grande Prix Cycliste de Gatineau title, and a notable runner-up spot behind Marianne Vos at La Course by the Tour de France. Kirchmann was 18th overall in the WorldTour with 563.5 points. Her season came to an unfortunate end with a medial collateral ligament injury suffered in Stage 1 of the Boels Ladies Tour.
In her debut season with Sunweb when it was Liv-Plantur, Kirchmann wore the pink jersey at the 2016 Giro Italia Femminile after taking the prologue in Gaiarine.
On Thursday the UCI announced that it was working with several bodies, including the Cyclistes Professionnels Associés (CPA) women’s section, to come up with a framework for women’s racing to continue in 2020, although both men’s and women’s WorldTours are suspended until August 1.
