The 20-year-old extends with Trek-Segafredo and Baloise-Trek Lions
Multi-disciplined talent Shirin van Anrooij signed a three-year contract extension and will continue to race on the road for Trek-Segafredo and cyclocross with Baloise-Trek Lions through 2025.
The 20-year-old emerged this winter as one of the hottest prospects in cyclocross and has continued to show the same talent on the road. Van Anrooij is the current UCI WorldTour Youth Ranking leader and has just enjoyed her best classics season yet, where she was a key player in several Trek-Segafredo wins.
I’ve made huge steps since joining this Team. The last two months of racing the classics for the first time ever went so much better than expected. I had learned a lot as a stagiaire already, but then I had a setback with my crash in Tabor. At the beginning of last year’s season, I struggled a lot, both mentally and physically, but the Team kept believing in me and helped me gain confidence again.
The thing about this Team that I enjoy the most is that it’s really unique to feel like you’re part of one big family. I’ve also enjoyed the way we race; we have a plan and really go all out for this plan. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t, but we do it as a team, which makes it special.
In this Team, I have the possibility to make the combination together with Baloise-Trek Lions, which is an important factor for me. I really enjoy combining both disciplines, and I think it makes me a better cyclist. I still have so much to learn, and I feel like this environment gives me the opportunity to develop further as a rider. I’m surrounded by so many strong riders, directors and coaches with all this experience. Everyone around me is really trying to teach me as much as possible.
I hope we will discover my strengths more and more in the upcoming years and to really work towards particular races and become a better rider. I believe the Team has a good view of which races suit me well and can teach me to race a bit more with my head instead of only my legs. I’d like to focus a lot on climbing and time trials to see what I’m capable of in stage racing.
Sport Director Ina Teutenberg added: “We’re really happy to keep Shirin in the Team for another three years. When we signed her out of the junior ranks, we knew that she had a big potential. Last year she still struggled a lot after a hard winter with a bad crash and surgery, but this year we have seen her make the progression we were hoping for – and then some. It’s fun to see the development of a young rider as they move from strength to strength.
“We’re hoping we can build her up to be a really strong contender for the Ardennes Classics and stage races. She’s still super young with lots of years to learn and grow stronger, and I’m stoked to be part of that journey with her.”