Career shake up for Amanda Spratt with new challenge at Trek-Segafredo

Amanda Spratt is about to embark on a major career change as she ends an 11-year tenure at Australian team BikeExchange-Jayco – the team where she started out as a professional racer – to join the American outfit Trek-Segafredo from 2023.

The Australian all-rounder has signed a new two-year contract that will see her racing for Trek-Segafredo through the end of 2024 in what she calls a "new challenge."

“I’ve spent 11 years with GreenEDGE and I’m so grateful for these years, but I just felt ready for a new challenge and a different environment,” Spratt said. “I may be one of the older riders now, but I still feel young at heart and my move to Trek-Segafredo has me feeling like a kid in a candy store - and I like candy a lot!”

Spratt, 34, has built a sparking career under the GreenEDGE banner beginning pro-racing in 2012 with Orica-AIS as the team itself started and then developing through its various title sponsors Orica-Scott in 2017, Mitchelton-Scott in 2018 and BikeExchange in 2020.

Spratt spent much of her early career at Orica-AIS and Orica-Scott as a support rider for high-profile athletes Judith Arndt, Emma Johansson, Katrin Garfoot and the then up-and-coming Annemiek van Vleuten.

She then came into her own as a leader, too, winning stages at the challenging Spanish stage race Emakumeen Bira in 2017, 2018 and 2019, and where she won the overall title in 2018. She was also a three-time overall winner of the Santos Women's Tour Down Under during those same seasons.

She spent much of her time at Mitchelton-Scott as a co-leader alongside Van Vleuten in the mountainous stage races, the spring Classics and Ardennes Classics. She finished twice on the overall podium at the Giro Donne, both times in third place behind teammate and overall winner Van Vleuten.

She also finished on the podium for the team at Trofeo Alfredo Binda and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. A staple on the Australian National team, too, Spratt has twice finished on the podium at the World Championships; 2018 Innsbruck and 2019 Yorkshire.

She has battled with injury and crashes in recent years at BikeExchange, recently recovering from iliac artery endofibrosis surgery last October followed by abandons due to COVID-19 at the Giro Donne and then a crash at the Tour de France Femmes.

“Personally, I still feel like I have a lot of areas to improve on so I’m excited to keep learning and getting stronger in every race. It will be my first normal off-season since 2019 after coming back from injury and having a European winter so I’m looking to making the most of that and would love to kick off 2023 well at the Australian races. After that I’m just feeling so excited and motivated to get to Europe and start kicking goals with the team. I can’t wait," Spratt said.

Trek-Segafredo director Ina Teutenberg noted Spratt's strengths in the hard stage races and Classics as an asset to the team's duo of Elisa Longo Borghini and Lizzie Deignan in these areas. She will also focus on the Giro Donne and Tour de France Femmes next season.

Spratt said she was motivated by the transfer to Trek-Segafredo because of the team's philosophy and she has admired it's growth and success since launched in 2019.

"From the first year of the women’s team, I really felt they were a team that raised the level of professionalism and support for women. I love that the Team has such a strong vision and values and for this reason it feels like a dream for me to become part of such a special team," Spratt said.

“I feel ambitious for the next two seasons. I know that on this team I will have a good balance between going for results and working hard for my teammates. When a teammate wins it feels just as good as any of my own wins and this is something special about cycling. 

"That’s also why I’m not worried at all to be on a team with so many strong riders. One of my favorite things about racing is how we can work together as a team and use our numbers well tactically in the final too. I think we will have a really strong climbing group next season so I’m already smiling at the thought of some of the toughest one-day races and tours and what we can achieve together there.”