Canyon-SRAM announced Monday the signing of two new riders with Pauliena Rooijakkers, from Liv Racing, and Shari Bossuyt, from NXTG Racing, each inking two-year contracts with the Women's WorldTeam through 2023.
“I’m very excited to be part of Canyon-SRAM. Since I start pro racing the team, and the professionalism of the team behind the riders, always had my interest. I can’t wait to be part of that,” Rooijakkers said.
“I’m a real climber. The nervous races don’t suit me so well. I really like to climb and fight against the mountains and myself. GC riding is something I’m really working on and is the next step in my career. The races in the Basque country suit me, and I’m looking forward to the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift next year.”
Rooijakkers has been racing among the elite women's peloton for ten years beginning with Boels-Dolmans in 2012 and also racing for teams Parkhotel Valkenburg, and WaowDeals, CCC-Liv and Liv Racing for the past four seasons.
“The most important thing is to be really part of the team. When we each do our job, we will have multiple options in the finals in order to win. For me, to win a WorldTour race, I know that I need the support of my teammates, and vice versa, for my teammates to win they need a strong team around them in the final," she said.
“I enjoy training hard to improve myself every day. Suffering in training and making sacrifices for your career is no problem for me. I enjoy my work and I’m looking forward to the rewards for the hard work.”
Team manager Ronny Lauke noted in a press statement that Rooijakkers' addition to the team was at the request of Kasia Niewiadoma.
Niewiadoma has been in a leadership role on the Canyon-SRAM since 2018 and has a contract to stay with the team through 2024.
Niewiadoma also noted that Rooijakkers will add to the overall strength of the team in mountainous events.
“I have seen Pauliena working hard for her leaders for some years already," Niewiadoma said. "I would be impressed with her climbing skills with, in my opinion, sometimes not the best preparation. I can see she has the engine for the long steady climbs that we have in the Giro d’Italia Donne for example. Pauliena is strong, feisty and wants to win races, and I love to see riders with fire like this joining our team; it’s contagious and affects other riders in a good and motivating way.”
Bossuyt is the Belgian U23 individual time trial champion, and has also signed with the team for two years. The 21-year-old rider from Kortrijk has raced the past two seasons with the development team NXTG Racing, and feels ready to step up to a Women’s WorldTour team, according to a press statement.
“It’s going to be great to be a part of Canyon-SRAM Racing next year. Being a pro cyclist with a team at this level gives me a lot of motivation. I’m looking forward to racing and learning a lot from the other riders,” Bossuyt said.
“My brother cycled, and my parents went to the training sessions on the weekends, so after some time, I got on the bike too. I was seven years old when I started. I just know it’s going to be a lot of fun to be a pro at Canyon-SRAM next year. I hope for a good season overall and to be a part of some good results with the team."
