THIS TREE CAN’T BE TAKEN DOWN. Is there any scenario where Floortje Mackaij cannot excel? In 2022, she shone at races as different as Paris-Roubaix (6th) or the Itzulia (8th). Resilient, tremendously efficient and seemingly born to guide the group to perfection, while also seeking for individual glory when race situations so allow. A true ‘joker’ for any kind of event, which the Movistar Team now enjoys and hopes to build a strong foundation on for its most immediate future – and the years post-AVV.

A DECADE’S EXPERIENCE. And she’s just 27 years old (she made her debut as a trainee in 2013, then a fully-fledged pro in 2014, aged just 14). That, without having focused on cycling until junior stage: she spent ten years, the better part of her youth, devoted to ice skating. Consistent and teamwork, without ruling out individual aspirations, have been Mackaij’s focus in cycling, taking her to most of the biggest events in the WWT. She’s only lacking a TDF appearance – here’s hoping she ticks that off her list with the Blues!

LINKS. For Mackaij, making part of the Movistar Team will also mean to share teams with a great colleague from the Dutch national team: Annemiek van Vleuten. Floortje has become the third rider from the Netherlands -after ‘Miek’ and Erwin Nijboer- to join the Abarca Sports organisation. And at that feat, she will imitate the road of another big friend: Liane Lippert, who has also left behind several years into the same structure. Succes! (Good luck)