Liv Racing Xstra has renewed the contract of Rachele Barbieri. The Italian rider already had a contract for next season, but now she has also signed for 2024. The team is extremely satisfied with her rapid development this season.
Rachele Barbieri has two victories to her name so far this year. In the third stage of the Bloeizone Fryslân Tour and in the ZLM Omloop der Kempen Ladies she was the strongest in the sprint. In the spring and summer, she also achieved a series of top placings, both in classics (third in the Scheldeprijs and Veenendaal-Veenendaal) and in stage races. In the Giro d’Italia Donne she finished in the top ten four times. She repeated that performance last week in the Tour de France Femmes.
Barbieri: “I am very happy with the recent performances in the Giro d’Italia Donne and Tour de France Femmes. There I showed that I am one of the better sprinters of this moment. For me it was very nice to get the confirmation in these big races as well.”
Confidence
Even before the Tour de France Femmes, she had an offer from Liv Racing Xstra. She did not have to think about it for long. “Last year I decided to focus on road cycling again after two years. Liv Racing Xstra offered me the opportunity to get back into road cycling at the highest level. The transfer to the team meant a lot to me. Last winter and in the first races I felt I had a lot of space to show my sprinting abilities. I’m happy with the confidence I feel from Liv Racing Xstra and want nothing more than to grow together.”
A special thanks goes to her colleagues. “Last winter I joined the team. Although I still had a lot to prove, I immediately received 100 per cent support from the other riders. They rode for Rachi, without the certainty that it would pay off. I was impressed by that. There is a click, we work as a team. If we can grow together, there’s still a lot to achieve. Together we are building a perfect sprint train. And with together I don’t only mean the riders, but also the staff. We work intensively together, with the aim to become better. The team feels like a family to me, it is a very pleasant environment to work in.”
Team manager and owner Eric van den Boom is extremely pleased with her rapid development. “Rachele is someone who shows a lot of commitment and is the perfect example of professionalism. This may be one of the reasons why she has made such great progresses faster than expected. She has shown us that she can connect with the world top when it comes to sprinting. There is a good match between her and Giorgia Bronzini and Wim Stroetinga. We like to continue working together to see how far we can go together.”
European championships track cycling
This Monday Rachele Barbieri leaves for the European Championships track cycling in Munich. She will take part with the Italian selection. Later in August she will wear the Liv Racing Xstra jersey again.