Thursday marked the first big day of the new season for SD Worx-Protime, with the Dutch squad holding its team presentation and a series of press conferences ahead of the start of racing in 2026 at the Women's Tour Down Under.
For years, SD Worx have been the top team in the women's peloton, but it was a title that slipped in 2025. Instead, it was FDJ-Suez, the team of ex-SD Worx racer Demi Vollering, who topped the UCI rankings.
There were 48 wins in 2025, however. Among the triumphs were 25 wins courtesy of star sprinter Lorena Wiebes, six Grand Tour stages in total by Wiebes, Anna van der Breggen and Femke Gerritse, and a litany of Classics such as Mischa Bredewold's Amstel Gold Race triumph and Lotte Kopecky's Tour of Flanders victory.
Despite all that, glory at the Grand Tours evaded the team, with all three jerseys in France, Spain, and Italy heading elsewhere.
SD Worx-Protime Sports Manager Danny Stam said that, once again, the spring Classics and Grand Tours will be among the goals for 2026, though another Grand Tour victory to go with those past triumphs of Vollering and Anna van der Breggen may be a goal for a future season rather than this one.
"I think the big goals are the spring Classics, and I think everybody knows we have some new young talents where we're looking forward to the big stage races in the future. I hope we can be there again in two or three years for the podiums and maybe the wins, but I think the first part should be the big Classics in the spring," Stam said at the team presentation in Antwerp.
"You work a little bit with two groups. The Classics groups know what they need to do in the Classics. For the GC riders, I think we need a little bit more time. I hope Anna can make a step up, also – but let's not forget that she was third in the Vuelta last year, so she's already there."
Team Manager Erwin Janssen said that the Tour de France Femmes provided a catalyst for change in the team, provoking them to evaluate, reinvest, and "work smarter" in response to the relative disappointment, GC-wise.
As a result, Janssen and the team hope that new signings Valentina Cavallar and Nienke Vinke can grow into roles contesting the Grand Tours further down the line.
"For nine years, we were the number one in the world ranking. Then, of course, last year we ended in second place. A lot of teams there chased us, and now we're going to chase them," Janssen said.
"I think the good is that if you look, we are still one of the only women team in the top of women's cycling, and the other teams are mostly combined men's and women's teams. For us, on one side, it's easier because we are a typical women's team, and we only work with women.
"On the other hand, with the combined teams, they have their facilities for the men's teams, which they're using more and more also in the women's team. So, for us, that's a challenge, but the good is that we know we need to work harder and we need to work smarter.
"After the Tour de France last year, we really had some good evaluations, and we saw that we need to invest in performance. So we've made some big steps in performance, and also we've made some really good decisions, like investing more in young talent.
"Like with Valentina and Nienke, we have two young riders where we want to build, helped by the experience of others, so we can do step-by-step again for the stage races."
A theme of the presentation was that the team – from staff to riders – didn't want to talk numbers for 2026. There's no grand goal of chasing win number 49 this year. Stam, however, said that he'd prefer a season like 2025 versus one with few wins and top spot in the rankings.
"In the past, I had many discussions with sponsors about the ranking. I want to win races. If you win races, you come up in the ranking," Stam said.
"Of course, it's nice to be number one, but I think the goal is to win races – if you win three races and you're number one or you win 48 races and you're number two.
"I think we all need to realise that sport is really difficult and it's extremely difficult to win races. If you look at these girls, then you just need to be proud of how many races we've won."
