World number 1, Lorena Wiebes, is reportedly looking to leave Parkhotel Valkenburg
The number-one-ranked rider in women’s road cycling, Lorena Wiebes, is reportedly looking for a way out of her contract with Parkhotel Valkenburg.
The 20-year-old Dutchwoman has had a breakout year, claiming 15 victories including eight Women’s WorldTour races and the Dutch road title. She ends the season atop the UCI’s individual World Ranking.
In 2017, Wiebes signed a three-year contract to race with Parkhotel Valkenburg from 2018 through 2020 but, according to Dutch website Wielerverhaal, the sprinter has received offers from three top teams for next year — CCC, Trek-Segafredo and Sunweb — and is keen to leave her current team to further her career.
Wielerverhaal reports that Parkhotel Valkenburg is, understandably, keen to hang onto the rising star.
In the wake of the Wielerverhaal article, Wiebes took to Twitter to offer her perspective on the issue.
“It is very unfortunate it had come to this situation between me and Parkhotel Valkenburg,” she wrote. “I have always been grateful to my teammates (and staff) and they have always done everything to help me in the races as good as possible.”
In her tweet Wiebes responded to the suggestion that a lack of support in sprint finishes was one of the reasons she wants to leave.
“It is not surprising that I often had to do it alone in the final,” she wrote, “because Parkhotel Valkenburg is a development team and I could not expect anything more from the girls either.”
Wiebes seemed to paint her possible departure as a positive for both her and Parkhotel Valkenburg.
“Looking forward to next season I think the pressure on my teammates will only get higher after the success of 2019,” she said, “and the focus of developing young talents will get lost in the pressure of getting results.”
The post World number 1, Lorena Wiebes, is reportedly looking to leave Parkhotel Valkenburg appeared first on CyclingTips.