Trek-Segafredo extends six riders, including Van Dijk and Cordon-Ragot
Trek-Segafredo has announced contract extensions for six of its current riders, and with that, the team finalized its roster for 2021. Just a few days ago the team announced that it would keep the powerhouse duo of Lizzie Deignan and Elisa Longo Borghini through 2022.
Ellen van Dijk and Audrey Cordon-Ragot were among the notables secured with extensions announced on Wednesday.
When the team first formed in 2019, Trek-Segafredo signed the full roster on two-year deals, with a plan of building a core group of riders for a strong performance in the future. With an incredible string of results in 2020, including wins at the GP de Plouay, La Course, the Giro Rosa, Liége-Bastogne-Liége, and the Santos Tour Down Under, they have come good on their original goal.
Now, with an eye on the future, the team has extended the contracts of six of their original signings in 2019, “I think it’s important to keep the same core of riders for the next years,” one of the team’s directors, Ina-Yoko Teutenberg, said in the team press release regarding the extensions. “We’re coming to the end of our second year, and we’re really starting to build as a team and come together as a unit. It was crucial to retain the main core so we can hopefully keep going in the same way we performed since lockdown.”
Four of the six riders will remain with the team through 2022; Cordon-Ragot, Van Dijk, Tayler Wiles, and Letizia Paternoster. Cordon-Ragot had an incredible ride at the French National Road Championships, a career highlight victory for the proud Frenchwoman, she also landed in the top 10 in both the road race and the time trial at the World Championships.
“I’m really excited to wear my beautiful French National Champion jersey for more races next year,” Cordon-Ragot said. “I really want to show it in the best way possible, and racing at Tour de Bretagne or Paris-Roubaix next year will be such an honor.”
Audrey Cordon-Ragot before the start of the Ronde van Vlaanderen in 2020
Van Dijk sticking with Trek-Segafredo for another two years is a huge win for both the team and Van Dijk. An incredible time trialist, Van Dijk has also had some impressive road performances while at Trek-Segafredo, winning Dwars door Vlaanderen in 2019 and placing third at Liége-Bastogne-Liége this year.
Ellen van Dijk winning Dwars door Vlaanderen in 2019
Usually devoted to the track, Paternoster was actually the very first victory for Trek-Segafredo, in their very first race, stage one of the Tour Down Under in 2019. Although she has not raced with her trade team once in 2020, Paternoster is about to line up with Trek-Segafredo at the Ceratizit Madrid Challenge on November 6th, where she will be a rider to watch. She was second on the final stage of the Ceratizit Madrid Challenge, a sprint finish won by Chloe Hosking.
Letizia Paternoster pictured during stage 2 of the Ladies Tour of Norway, 2019
The final rider to extend for the next two years is American Tayler Wiles. Wiles is a crucial domestique for the team, while also winning stage 3 of the Women’s WorldTour race Emakumeen XXXII.Bira in 2019. One of the very first riders to be announced to the in 2018, Wiles is part of the core that makes up the atmosphere at Trek-Segafredo.
Tayler Wiles during Strade Bianche in 2020
Both Loretta Hansen and Trixi Worrack only signed one-year extensions with Trek-Segafredo. Worrack is a valuable leader in the team and was teammates with the team D.S. Teutenberg in 2012 and 2013. She has an extensive list of victories, and her most valuable asset lies in her on the road knowledge.
Hansen is relatively new to the professional peloton, having moved to Trek-Segafredo after a year with the US-based UCI team UnitedHealthcare. In her first year on the team, Hansen had a few results, but was taken down in a crash at the Tour of Norway and sustained a concussion. She was forced to sit out the rest of 2019. This year Hansen did not rack up a ton of race days but did achieve a fifth place at the final stage of the Tour Cycliste Fèminin International de l’Ardèche.
Lauretta Hansen races Le Samyn in 2019.
Trixi Worrack at Boels Ladies Tour in 2019
Trek-Segafredo has already announced three new signings to the team for next season: Chloe Hosking, a strong sprinter who has won races like La Course, Amalie Dideriksen, the 2016 World Champion, and Shirin van Anrooij, who stagiaired for the team this year.
“On top of this, I’m glad that we were able to sign a couple of top sprinters and another young talent,” Teutenberg said. “Hopefully, we will be more leveled-out and have riders who can win in every situation.”
These six extensions complete the 14 rider roster for 2021, with Ruth Winder having signed a two-year extension in 2019.
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