Second at La Vuelta Femenina, Riejanne Markus apparently close to signing a deal with Lidl-Trek for 2025

Everything seems to be working perfectly for Riejanne Markus in 2024. The Dutch lady had a bit of a slower start to the season, but since May, she has taken her performances to a next level, when she arrived runner-up at La Vuelta Femenina, short only of Demi Vollering. And last Friday, she even scored the first victory of her 2024, winning the prestigous Veenendaal - Veenendaal Classic with a solo ride.

Markus is currently in her fourth season at Visma | Lease a Bike, but according to Algemeen Dagblad will no longer compete for the Dutch formation next year. The 29-year-old Markus is reported to be on her way to strengthen the ranks of the no. 2 team in the world (at least according to UCI ranking) Lidl-Trek.

Several sources confirm to AD that Markus will move to the American formation. The all-rounder has an expiring contract with Visma | Lease a Bike and could count on the interest of various teams. Her current employer also wanted to continue the successful collaboration, but Markus appears to have opted for a new adventure at Lidl-Trek.

According to the AD, the choice for Lidl-Trek did not come out of the blue. The team of Shirin van Anrooij, Ellen van Dijk, Elisa Longo Borghini and Elisa Balsamo, among others, has been investing heavily in women's cycling for years. And the efforts are beginning to pay off results-wise. In the first months of 2024, Lidl-Trek was a fair opponent to SD Worx - Protime, the team that has been dominating women's cycling for years.

Lidl-Trek is also a team that has been seriously working on time trial for a long time, a discipline in which Markus excels and wants to specialize further. It could've been seen two years ago, when the team decided to fully support Van Dijk in her (successful) hunt for a new world hour record.

Markus joined then Jumbo-Visma Women in 2021 and has achieved considerable success in recent seasons with the Dutch formation, notably winning the highly-valued Dutch national champion title in 2022, or finishing 4th overall at La Vuelta Femenina 2023.