Maud Oudeman will leave Team Visma | Lease a Bike at the end of the 2026 season to join Movistar Team on a three-year contract running through the end of 2029.
The 23-year-old Dutch rider arrives after four seasons in the Visma structure and five years at WorldTour level overall. Movistar confirmed the transfer on Thursday, with Oudeman joining from 2027 as the Spanish team continues to reshape its women’s roster for the next cycle.
Oudeman has developed into a reliable stage-race rider, particularly on longer climbs. Her 2026 season brought eighth overall at the Volta a Catalunya Femenina, 10th at the Vuelta a Burgos Féminas and 14th at the Tour of Britain Women, before she added seventh at the Giro dell’Emilia in October.
Oudeman signs through the end of 2029
Movistar have given Oudeman a three-year deal covering the 2027, 2028 and 2029 seasons. The move comes at the natural end of her current Visma | Lease a Bike contract, which runs through 2026.
She said the team’s approach to racing was one of the main attractions. Oudeman described Movistar as a squad she had “always looked up to” and highlighted its attacking style and ambition to race for wins.
“I believe Movistar Team is the right environment for me to continue developing,” she said, also pointing to the team’s emphasis on collective work and its family atmosphere.
Team manager Sebastián Unzué said Movistar were attracted by the combination of Oudeman’s experience and the scope they still see for improvement. He noted that she arrives with five seasons of WorldTour racing despite only being 23.
A steady rise as a stage-race rider
Oudeman’s 2026 results have strengthened the sense that her best route forward lies in stage races and selective one-day events rather than sprinting. She opened the year with 11th overall at the Tour Down Under before finishing 10th at the Vuelta a Burgos Féminas in May.
That Burgos result matched the 10th place she had already taken there in 2024. The repeated top-10 finishes matter because they show the progression is not based on one isolated week. Oudeman has become increasingly consistent when races feature sustained climbing and repeated hard stages.
She then finished eighth overall at the Volta a Catalunya Femenina, her best stage-race result of the season. ProCyclingUK covered the decisive final stage, where Paula Blasi secured the overall victory in Barcelona.
Later in the summer, Oudeman placed 14th at the Tour of Britain Women. She closed the European season with seventh at the Giro dell’Emilia, another result that suited a rider whose strengths increasingly show on longer, harder climbs.
From Zwift Academy to five WorldTour seasons
Oudeman first reached the WorldTour after winning the 2021 Zwift Academy, earning a contract with Canyon SRAM for the 2022 season. ProCyclingUK covered the beginning of her professional career when she made her elite debut the following year.
She moved to Jumbo-Visma in 2023 and remained with the organisation as it became Team Visma | Lease a Bike. Over the following seasons she gained experience across stage races, Grand Tours and one-day events while gradually taking on more opportunities for her own results.
Her 2024 contract extension with Visma took her through to the end of 2026. At the time, team management already identified her ability on longer climbs as one of her strongest qualities, while Oudeman said stage racing was the area in which she wanted to continue developing. ProCyclingUK reported that Visma extension alongside Rosita Reijnhout’s new deal.
Movistar add another long-term stage-race option
Oudeman’s arrival fits Movistar’s recent recruitment pattern on the women’s side. The team have been adding riders on multi-year contracts rather than building only around short-term depth, with Mireia Benito already signed through 2029 and Ginia Caluori also joining from 2027.
For Oudeman, the move offers a fresh environment without changing the type of races in which she is likely to be most useful. Her best 2026 performances came across week-long stage races and climbing-heavy one-day events, and Movistar now have three seasons to see how far that progression can go.
She joins with plenty of WorldTour experience but still at an age where her role can expand. The immediate challenge will be turning regular top-15 stage-race finishes into more frequent top-10s while finding opportunities to ride for her own classification alongside the team’s established leaders.
