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Team dsm-firmenich regarded to solidify their ladies’s roster for 2024 and past with the signing of a trio of riders – Italian Rachele Barbieri and British U23 riders Josie Nelson and Abi Smith.
Barbieri and Nelson signed for the subsequent three seasons to hold by means of to 2026, whereas 21-year-old Smith was confirmed for 2024 and 2025. The team recently renewed the contracts for dash star Charlotte Kool and Classics chief Pfeiffer Georgi, and all three new riders would play key roles for continued success.
Barbieri is a flexible rider who accomplished her sixth professional season on the street, the final two years with Liv Racing. She not solely brings expertise to Staff dsm-firmenich, but additionally the pace as an alternative choice for Kool to win races, in line with Head Coach Rudi Kemna.
“She has proven that she is an effective sprinter in her personal proper and may end off races, however she is also a really succesful lead-out rider too,” Kemna mentioned. “We see her becoming in very effectively to the lead-out and dash group that we’ve got in our Girls’s program the place she will act because the final rider when we’ve got Charlotte as our finisher, however Rachele will even get some alternatives too.”
The 26-year-old demonstrated her pace in stage racing in 2022 with a stage 3 victory on the Bloeizone Fryslan Tour (previously Wholesome Ageing Tour) and second place within the factors classification, in addition to a second place on stage 10 of the Giro d’Italia Donne. Along with a silver medal at Italian street nationals, she took third at Scheldeprijs and sixth at Tour of Flanders.
On the observe, she received the 2017 World title within the scratch race for Italy, and in addition has gold medals within the madison and omnium occasions from the European Championships.
“I’m wanting ahead to becoming a member of the dash group and serving to Charlotte [Kool] within the finales,“ she mentioned in a group assertion. “Everybody works actually arduous for one purpose and that makes me actually excited to turn into part of the group. I’ve large desires and ambitions nonetheless and I believe that at Staff dsm-frimenich the entire assist and sources can be found for me to assist realise them.”
Nelson and Smith have been fixtures on British Biking groups for a number of years, Nelson profitable the 2022 Criterium nationals and this yr ending second in street race nationals to new teammate Georgi. Smith first hit the radar two years in the past with a bronze medal at British Nationals within the ladies’s under-23 time trial.
All-round skills have been highlighted by Nelson this season at Staff Coop-Hitec with a fourth place on the queen stage of the Tour of Scandinavia a fourth place on the Cadel Highway Race.
Smith was a part of the US-based EF Schooling-TIBCO-SVB group the final two-and-a-half years, which has now folded. She raced within the spring Classics and several other stage races throughout her time with EF, incomes a high 10 on stage 2 at Santos Tour Down Underneath and was one spot off the rostrum on the home Ryedale Grasscrete Grand Prix. Two bouts with COVID-19 and an harm have restricted her race days, however she regarded ahead to persevering with her growth.
“Josie is a proficient rider and has confirmed she is able to acting on quite a lot of terrain. her skillset long-term, we imagine that she will develop right into a rider that may doubtlessly compete within the finals of hilly someday races, however within the rapid future she will even have the ability to present robust assist in these sort of races too,” Kemna commented.
“Abi has a really large engine however has suffered from setbacks within the earlier seasons. Except for her potential towards the clock, we expect that Abi can grow to be an all-round rider with the group. She will be able to use her energy to assist management and catch the breakaway to set-up a dash for instance, however she can also climb effectively, so could be an vital issue deeper into races comparable to Liège-Bastogne-Liège in order that we’ve got extra numbers within the finale.”
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