Van Dijk strikes two-year deal with Liv-Plantur

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Team Liv-Plantur announced Friday the signing of Ellen Van Dijk for two years, which will take her through the 2018 season. The Dutch rider joins the team having racing under the Boels-Dolmans outfit for the past two years.

"I am very excited about my move to Team Liv-Plantur," Van Dijk said in a press release from Team Liv-Plantur. "It's the opportunity I was looking for, since the team has, and shows, great ambition to grow. I want to contribute to that growth and to develop myself accordingly with the chances I will have.

"The team is attractive in its professional way of working and solid structure. We will have a great mix of talent and experienced riders and this is a great motivation for me to join."

Van Dijk is a powerful time triallist and a former world champion in the discipline. She recently placed fourth in the event at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, but lost valuable time to the top three competitors; Kristin Armstrong, Olga Zubelinskya and Anna van der Breggen, after crashing on the opening ascent.

This year, Van Dijk has won stages at the Ladies Tour of Qatar where she was third overall, Energiewacht Tour where she won the overall title, and Thuringen Rundfahrt where she was third overall. She also competed in the road race and the time trial for the Netherlands in Rio.

During her career she has secured 28 professional wins, the highlights of which are a stage of the Giro Rosa, the Ronde van Vlaanderen, the overall Boels Ladies Tour 2013, overall Ladies Tour of Qatar, and two overall victories at the Energiewacht Tour, 2013 and 2016.

"Ellen is an absolute world-class rider and we are proud to sign her," said team coach Hans Timmermans. "In our talks it was immediately clear that we were a good match. She wants to be important to a team and for us teamwork comes above everything else.

"In Ellen, we have an excellent TT specialist, and classics rider which makes our team a lot stronger. She values our philosophy and expertise that we have in the team and we think this will be the recipe for success, and grow towards being one of the leading teams in women's cycling."

Team Liv-Plantur have also announced the renewed contracts with Floortje Mackaij, Sabrina Stultiens and Leah Kirchmann. They also recently signed Lucinda Brand from Rabo-Liv, giving them a strong foundation for the 2017 season on the Women's WorldTour.