“2024 was quite a good year for us", team manager Rutger Tijssen looks back. “We developed strategies and worked on goals for the team and the riders. We also achieved seventeen victories, and for the first time, we finished on the podium in the final classification of a grand tour. With Marianne Vos, we won silver at the most important one-day race of the year: the Olympics.”

With seven wins, Vos played an important role in the team's successful year, but she finds it difficult to name one specific highlight for herself. “It's hard to choose a highlight. In the spring, I won three classics, and then in the summer, I took the green jersey in the Tour de France Femmes and won a silver medal at the Olympics. Overall, it was a good season, and I'm looking forward to 2025.”

After successful year, Vos remains ambitious for new cycling season

At the beginning of the year, the staff was renewed, and Jos van Emden and Jan Boven began their first season as sports directors of the women's team. “I don't want to say it was a new beginning because we also learned a lot from the past years, but with Jos and Jan, the staff was changed. We built on the past years and were able to develop the women's team well in several areas last season. Next season, we will continue this and learn from the mistakes we made last year.”

Vos shares team manager Tijssen's opinion and also looks back on the team's development with great pleasure. “Every year the team makes great strides, and that is, of course, nice to see. I was part of the start of the team, and then to see how the team has grown makes me very happy. Hopefully, we can continue to develop as a team in 2025.”

“For next year, we have five new riders", Tijssen continued. “Viktória Chladaňová and Imogen Wolff are two young talents who will combine road racing with cyclo-cross. With Marion Bunel, the final winner of the Tour de l'Avenir, we have a French talent in the ranks who is a good climber, and with Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, we are going to discover what is possible for the Olympic champion on the mountain bike. This first year will primarily be a period of discovery, laying the groundwork for years to come. In addition, with Martina Fidanza, we have strengthened our sprinting team for the upcoming season.”

“I was not ready to stop cycling yet", Ferrand-Prévot explains her decision to make her comeback in road cycling. “Because I had already done almost everything in mountain biking, I decided to return to road cycling because I simply wasn't ready to hang up my bike just yet."

Despite not knowing what to expect, the Olympic mountain bike champion does have some goals for next season. “I want to be 100 percent when I make my appearance in the Tour de France Femmes, despite not knowing what it will lead to. In addition, I want to perform well in Strade Bianche because the profile suits me, and, of course, I also want to help Marianne win some spring classics again.”

Ferrand-Prévot looks forward to road cycling comeback with Team Visma | Lease a Bike Women

Lieke Nooijen, one of last season's revelations, also looks to the upcoming cycling year with a positive view. “In my first year, I was able to make huge strides, especially in the classics and time trial. In the coming year, I hope to make even bigger strides in this and also get better at stage races, and then to ride grand tours in the coming years.”

Van Empel aims for further development in 2025 after instructive year

After the successful season for the yellow-and-black formation, Tijssen is also ambitious for 2025. “We have different goals. With Marianne, we aim to win Paris-Roubaix and Milan-San Remo. In addition, in the grand tours, we are aiming for the best possible final classification with Pauline. We also want to win with half of our riders, so we have more new names at the top.”

Realistic Team Visma | Lease a Bike Women aims to learn and grow in 2025 Tour de France Femmes