Sarah Duster has been confirmed as another Cervélo TestTeam rider who will not be riding for the new Garmin-Cervélo team next year. The 28-year-old German will be transferring to the Dutch Nederland Bloeit team for 2011, according to her personal website.
“From 1.1.2011 I will go to Nederland Bloeit,” she writes. “After 5 years the same team (2006 Univega, 2007 Raleigh, 2008-2010 Cervélo) I will now switch teams. It is a new challenge for me and I am exited that I will be riding on the same team with the world number 1 Marianne Vos.
“We are now a strong classics force,” she adds, “where every now and then I can have a chance to get myself a result.”
Düster has made her name as hard worker for the team and this season has often served as a seemingly fearless leadout for both Kirsten Wild and Lizzie Armitstead. Unfortunately, she crashed in a warm up race just before this year’s World Championships and fractured her pelvis, forcing her to miss the race.
On Wednesday Wielerland.nl reported that Düster’s Swiss teammates Emilie Aubry and Patricia Schwager had made the move across to the Dutch team. With the German also leaving, the Garmin-Cervélo team will bear no trace of the original Swiss Univega team, which included riders like Nicole Cooke, Karin Thürig, Priska Doppmann and Christiane Soeder.
With only Britons Emma Pooley, Sharon Laws and Armitstead, along with Dutchwoman Iris Slappendel confirmed as staying on with Garmin-Cervélo, the team will be making a complete split with the past. With Noemi Cantele, Trine Schmidt, Jesse Daams and Lucy Martin all due to join the team in 2011 though, it will doubtless remain one of the strongest in the sport.
So far little else has been confirmed about the Nederland Bloeit team, aside from Vos’ continued leadership; puncheur Suzanne De Goede will be leaving the team for the new Skil-Koga team and Loes Markerink has retired from the sport (at the age of 24) but very little else is known at this point.