VolkerWessels Cycling Team have secured Maaike Boogaard, Maud Rijnbeek and Lonneke Uneken for the 2027 season, keeping three Dutch riders who have filled different roles across the team’s Women’s ProTeam programme.
The team announced the three contract extensions together, with team director Marnix Drysdale saying there had been outside interest in the riders but that all three wanted to continue with the VolkerWessels project. The renewals give the squad continuity as it looks to build on a 2026 campaign that has mixed WorldTour invitations with a strong programme of one-day races and shorter stage events.
Drysdale said VolkerWessels were “very pleased” to keep the trio and pointed to their belief in the team’s longer-term plans. For VolkerWessels, retaining riders who had interest from elsewhere gives the 2027 roster a more settled base before further additions are announced.
Uneken has delivered VolkerWessels wins and consistency
Uneken has been the most prolific of the three in terms of 2026 results. The former SD Worx rider won the Midwest Cycling Classic in March and has remained regularly involved near the front of races throughout the season. She finished second at Dwars door de Westhoek, third at the Argenta Classic and added further top-10 results at Veenendaal-Veenendaal, the Antwerp Port Epic and several late-season one-day races.
Her background gives VolkerWessels a rider with experience at the highest level as well as a reliable finishing speed. Uneken can operate in a sprint-oriented role but does not need a completely flat race to be effective, which has made her useful across the team’s Belgian and Dutch one-day programme.
The 2027 extension gives VolkerWessels another season to build around that consistency. Uneken has already shown she can turn opportunities into results without needing the team to structure every race around her, an especially useful quality for a squad balancing its own targets with invitations to larger events.
Rijnbeek continues after another Tour de France Femmes
Rijnbeek joined VolkerWessels for 2025 after several seasons in the AG Insurance-Soudal structure, a move confirmed by the team two years ago. She has since become one of the riders trusted across the team’s harder WorldTour invitations and more selective one-day races.
Her 2026 season included another Tour de France Femmes appearance, giving VolkerWessels experience across the full nine-stage race. Away from the Tour she finished ninth at the Thüringen Women Cycling Challenge and ninth at La Picto, with her value coming as much from durability and support work as from headline results.
At 23, Rijnbeek still has room to develop within the team rather than being retained purely for experience. VolkerWessels have consistently given her race days across different terrain, and another season provides continuity after two years in which she has moved from a WorldTour environment into a more prominent role with the Dutch squad.
Boogaard extension follows difficult injury period
Boogaard’s extension carries a slightly different significance. The 28-year-old joined VolkerWessels for 2025 but much of that season was shaped by an iliac artery problem that eventually required surgery. ProCyclingUK followed her return after the operation, which came after a long period of trying to understand why she could not race at her expected level.
She returned to regular competition in 2026 and gradually rebuilt a programme that included the Baloise Ladies Tour and Tour de Pologne Women. Her best one-day result of the season was 10th at GP Mazda Schelkens, but the more important part of the year was simply re-establishing herself in the peloton after the disruption of the previous season.
Boogaard also brings significant experience from earlier spells with BTC City Ljubljana, UAE Team ADQ and AG Insurance-Soudal. She has won at WorldTour level before, including the 2022 Vuelta a Burgos stage to Aranda de Duero, and that background gives VolkerWessels another rider capable of supporting less experienced teammates while still taking chances herself when form and terrain allow.
VolkerWessels keep an established Dutch core
Keeping Boogaard, Rijnbeek and Uneken together strengthens the Dutch core of a squad that has grown quickly since stepping up to ProTeam level. Their profiles are different enough to matter: Uneken offers finishing speed and one-day results, Rijnbeek gives the team a younger rider with WorldTour stage-race experience, while Boogaard adds depth and experience after working her way back from a difficult medical setback.
The team have not announced the precise lengths of the new agreements, but all three will remain with VolkerWessels beyond the end of 2026. Drysdale’s reference to outside interest also suggests these were not simply automatic renewals. For VolkerWessels, keeping riders who had other options gives the team useful continuity as the 2027 roster takes shape.
