Team Sunweb strengthened with signing of world No. 1 Lorena Wiebes

Team Sunweb added powerhouse young sprinter Lorena Wiebes to its ranks, the Dutch squad announced on Monday, bolstering its lineup before the condensed WorldTour begins again in 61 days.

We are thrilled to announce that world number 1 ranked rider @lorenawiebes joins our Women's program!??

??#WelcomeLorena
??@lorenawiebes

?https://t.co/8f3r0980bG#KeepChallenging pic.twitter.com/duREowAZoL

— Team Sunweb (@TeamSunweb) June 1, 2020

The 21-year-old Wiebes is the No. 1-ranked elite woman in the world after 15 victories last season, edging out fellow Dutch riders Marianne Vos and Annemiek van Vleuten. The number one team in the women’s peloton, Sunweb also has Canada’s 15th-ranked Leah Kirchmann, 20th-ranked American Coryn Rivera and 49th ranked Canadian Alison Jackson in its roster.

The Dutch champion won last year’s Tour of Chongming Island and was runner up in the Boels Ladies Tour while riding for the pink and green clad Parkhotel Valkenburg team, with which she was supposed to race through 2021 before a contract battle. The sprinter also took Spar-Omloop van het Hageland-Tienen-Tielt-Winge on March 1.

In a Sunweb press release Wiebes said, “I’m really motivated to be a part of Team Sunweb to grow together and continue my development as a rider. This is a very professional top sports environment for me to do that and I’m confident that the people around me will help bring me to the next level. I’m looking forward to getting back to racing when it is safe for everyone to do so and making my first appearance for the team. Knowing that day will come keeps me motivated to train during these unusual and challenging times.”