Jasmin Glaesser and Stephanie Roorda join Twenty20-Ridebiker for 2017
Trio of Canadians feature on roster as team shifts focus to the next Olympic cycle
The American UCI team formally known as Twenty16-Ridebiker have announced their roster for 2017. With the Rio Olympics in the rear view mirror, the team changes it’s name to Twenty20 reflecting a switch of focus to the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 after medal success at the 2016 Rio Olympics. As the team enters its 13th season it adds two time Olympic bronze medalist Jasmin Glaesser and Stephanie Roorda who has a trio of world championship track cycling medals to her name. The pair joins Annie Foreman-Mackey who was recruited by the team ahead of the 2016 road world championships. The trio of Canadians have all been members of Canada’s track program.
Glaesser was a member of Canada’s women’s team pursuit that won bronze at the Rio Olympics in 2016 and the London Olympics in 2012. She has also won medals on the track at the world championships, Pan Am Games and at multiple rounds of the track cycling World Cup. Glaesser took her first UCI road win in 2016 on Stage 2 of the Tour of the Gila. She’d finish that race third in the general classification and first in the youth classification.
Roorda contributed to a bronze medal performance at the world championships in the same discipline in 2015 and took bronze in the scratch race at the 2016 championships in London. Roorda is current Canadian omnium champion and won a bronze medal at the Track Cycling Challenge in Switzerland. Roorda also finished second at the Giro di Burnaby during 2016 B.C. Superweek.
“The addition of Jasmin Glaesser brings more stage race opportunities to our core of Leah Thomas, Chloe Dygert and Gretchen Stumhofer,” said team director Mari Holden. “We will be looking to develop Nina Laughlin in her climbing skills and Steph Roorda for lead-outs and sprints.”
The team which is composed of professional, junior and Paralympic athletes uses a balanced approach with careful longer term planning to build success in it’s program which produced two Olympic and four Paralympic medals in Rio. “We will begin the new squad with some young talented athletes. We have a mix of North American athletes from the track and road and will continue to work on both individual and team time trials and the North American Road program,” explained Holden about the plans for the coming season.
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Returning athletes include Olympic silver medals Chloe Dygart, Foreman-Makey, Sofia Arreola, Holly Breck, Larissa Connors, Shayna Powless and Jamie Whitmore.
The 2017 season will be focused around UCI Women’s WorldTour events with domestic races to give opportunities to developing riders. The teams GC hopes will be anchored on Chloe Dygart, Glaesser and Thomas.
In mid-December the team gathers for a training camp in California in preparation for the season opener the Women’s Santos Tour Down Under and the Cadel Evans Road Race. The next target is the fourth round of the UCI Track World Cup in Los Angeles on February 25 to 26 with an eye on the world championships in April in Hong Kong.
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2017Â Twnety20-Ridebiker roster
Sofia Arreola (Mexico)
Holly Breck (U.S.)
Larissa Connors (U.S.)
Chloe Dygert (U.S.)
Annie Foreman-Mackey (Kingston, Ont.)
Jasmin Glaesser (Vancouver)
Nina Laughlin (U.S.)
Shayna Powless (U.S.)
Steph Roorda (Calgary)
Gretchen Stumhofer (U.S.)
Leah Thomas (U.S.)
Jamie Whitmore (U.S.)
Director: Mari Holden (USA) Director
