Lorena Wiebes has very quickly ridden into to the top of the cycling world, and could almost unanimously be agreed to be the most successful female sprinter of 2022. Hence, it was very meaningful her move away from Team DSM and into Team SD Worx into 2023.
“At SD Worx I will work with Barbara Guarischi who has so much experience. I think we will find out next week already if we have that connection too," Wiebes said in an interview with CyclingTips. The Dutch rider will travel into the USA for a first team camp with her new team, in which she's signed a three-year deal, one of the longest in the field.
In 2022, Wiebes took 23 wins - her age, coincidentally. She's taken DSM into absolute success in the sprints, with wins in races such as the Tour de France Femmes, European Championships, Simac Ladies Tour, Women's Tour and Ronde van Drenthe just to name a few - which even included GC wins.
However, she has signed with fellow Dutch team, where she will have a new leadout and new teammates, and less of an absolute leadership role. The likes of Lotte Kopecky, Demi Vollering and Marlen Reusser will be some of the very important names who she will team up with, however the combination may prove even more profitable to the Dutch rider, who is seeking to thrive also away from the sprints.
“There are many goals on the road in the years to come next to Worlds and the Olympics,” Wiebes reveals. “Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix are long-term goals. Next year I want to ride Flanders and learn from my teammates. I would love to ride a final in Roubaix too but that is also down to luck.”
Although hard, it is not an inconceivable objective, seeing as she's been able to defend herself (and occasionally even win) on hilly terrain, aswell as in the cobbles, time-trials and windy races. “I never thought my development on the road would be so fast,” she admits.
“You hope to do better every year and I noticed this winter I had made that step up but it always remains to be seen what the competition does. I didn’t expect this development but we did take it into account with my contract. We had a clause that I could go somewhere else to develop further," Wiebes continued. Now in her off-season, she is also taking up cyclocross, looking to keep her form and also test her new capacity in a different discipline.
“I like doing these disciplines in the winter time. For now, it’s just to keep fit. I am just not a running person. Niel (where she finished 22nd, ed.) is a runner’s course so that could be fun. No, I really like racing my bike through the woods. It’s just fun and the atmosphere around the cross is lovely too," she admits.
However, the incredibly talented sprinter has many more goals laying in her future aswell. “I have some races on my wishlist like Gent-Wevelgem although we must of course determine the tactic on that day. After Paris there is more room for something else. What Lucinda Brand shows in cyclocross inspires me," she added.
“I also like exploring scratch races or a team pursuit on the track but 2024 is still too soon. We will see what happens after that. Nothing is set in stone," Wiebes concluded, teasing her presence on the track aswell.
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