Stricker completes Bizkaia Durango-Euskadi Murias roster for 2018

Spanish UCI women's team Bizkaia Durango-Euskadi Murias announced Tuesday that they have completed their 2018 roster with Anna Stricker. The Italian was set to race with Lensworld-Kuota but the team announced that it would fold after losing their title sponsor.

"My situation, after what happened with Lensworld, was not easy at all for me and I was really worried that I had to stop cycling," Stricker said. "But Bizkaia Durango-Euskadi Murias was the team which still believed in me and gave me the chance to continue chasing my dreams."

Stricker, 23, joins the team after competing with BTC City Ljubljana in 2017. In previous years, she raced with Inpa-Bianchi, Astana BePink and MCipollini-Giordana, all UCI women’s programs.

Strickers had success this year placing third in a stage 2 at the Women’s WorldTour series’ Tour of Chongming Island, where she finished sixth overall. She placed second in stage 2 at the Lotto Thüringen Ladies Tour. She also won the mountain classification at the Festival Elsy Jacobs. She won a stage at the 2016 Giro della Toscana, was second at the 2015 Giro del Trentino and fourth at the 2014 GP Comune di Cornaredo.

Stricker is aiming to have a strong start to the season with her objectives taking her through the spring Classics and hopefully to the Giro Rosa in July.

"For 2018, I would like to have a good start to the season at the Setmana Valenciana, following with the spring classics in Belgium and Holland, because I love these kinds of races.

"For sure, a big goal for me and the team will be Emakumeen Bira, and I would also like to race the Giro Rosa, because it's in my country and the atmosphere is always amazing there."

Bizkaia-Durango cycling team first appeared in the UCI Ranking in 2004. This year the team will support 13 riders. The complete roster will be announced. "I am really happy about my new team and I can’t wait to start the new season together with them in order to reach good results."