Double junior World champion joined by Kirsten Wild and Charlotte Becker at ambitious Dutch team
Double World junior champion Lucy Garner will kick off her professional cycling career at Argos-Shimano, as the Dutch team makes a number of signings for 2013. The British rider, who celebrated her 18th birthday on the day before her second rainbow triumph last month, and is expected to be one of the hottest properties in women’s cycling as she steps up to the elite level.
Garner’s second title came in Limburg, and she is also European champion, which was a title she took in the Zeeland province of the Netherlands. With her partner being the current under 23 cyclocross World champion Lars van der Haar, signing for a Dutch team appears to be something of a dream come true.
"I would love to live and race in the Netherlands,” she has said in the past. “Beautiful races and nice people. What more do you want?"
Along with Garner, the team has signed Dutch sprinter Kirsten Wild, as well as Germans Charlotte Becker and Marlen Jöhrend.
Wild’s arrival sees yet another of the big names from the folding AA Drink-Leontien.nl team find a home for 2013, while Becker’s sees a third confirmed departure from Specialized-lululemon after it was announced last week that Emilia Fahlin and Chloe Hosking are to join Hitec Products.
As part of a wholesale change at Argos-Shimano - which is currently known as Skil-Argos because of the extended deal that the women’s side of the team had signed with the power tools company - only the contracts of Amy Pieters, Kelly Markus and Esra Tromp have been confirmed as bing extended; Adrie Visser has left for Dolmans-Boels, while former Dutch champion Suzanne de Goede has retired.
Wild’s acquisition sees the 29-year-old united with Pieters, with whom she was part of the Netherlands Team Pursuit team in the London 2012 Olympics this summer.
The team is still in negotiations with several riders to fill its three remaining spots; like its men’s outfit, the women’s line up is run with what it refers to as ‘1t4i principles’ of ‘Team, Inspiration, Improvement, Integrity and Innovation.’
Argos-Shimano 2013 roster so far
Charlotte Becker, Lucy Garner, Marlen Jöhrend, Amy Pieters, Kelly Markus, Esra Tromp and Kirsten Wild