Telefónica-backed squad adds another star to its project
German road race champion - one of the best allrounders in the peloton - signs three-year contract with TDF, Giro-winning team.
The Movistar Team, the winning squad of this year’s Tour de France Femmes and Giro d’Italia Donne, wants to remain a major force in the UCI Women’s WorldTour in 2023, and so announces Thursday the signing of Liane Lippert (Friedrichshafen, GER; 1998), the German road race champion, who has agreed to a three-year contract (2023-25). She comes from Team DSM.
Lippert’s arrival sees the Movistar Team secure yet another of the world’s biggest talents. Liane is currently in her best season to date, as shown by her 2nd overall in the recent Tour of Scandinavia; the national title conquered back in June; or the good level shown in 2022 over races as diverse as Amstel Gold / Brabantse Pijl (3rd at both), the Itzulia (6th in GC) or the TDF, where she fought against the best in the mountains despite some early crashes.
Lippert, a magnificent all-rounder, thus joins a roster that will feature next year, amongst many other names, Emma Norsgaard, Arlenis Sierra, Paula Patiño, Spaniards Sheyla Gutiérrez and Sara Martín or the world’s best rider, Annemiek van Vleuten, in her farewell season in 2023.
Liane Lippert: “I’m really excited to join the team for the next three years. I think the environment in the team is really great, and also the way of working and improving riders should help me much. I’m really happy that the team wants to help me grow stronger in the future, bring me to the next step physically. I’m already on a really high level, but I want to learn, especially from the more experienced riders in the team, to hopefully win races together. From the outside, the Movistar Team looks like a big family, which is a big reason why I’m looking so much forward to this.”
Sebastián Unzué: “We’re so happy to be able to announce Liane’s signing with the team. We want to keep building a strong future for the team, and she’s one of the riders poised to become a leader of the team once Annemiek ends her successful career. She’s a solid rider for all kinds of scenarios, one who can be at the front of the bunch near the end of the most important races. She’s also someone who will play a crucial role for Annemiek, yet I’m also sure that having someone like Van Vleuten by her side will help her grow much and complete her progression as one of the best in the field. I’d like to sincerely thank Liane for her confidence in our project – I’m sure we’re in for three years of big success together.”