Former triple World Time Trial Champion and Hour Record holder Ellen van Dijk is set to continue her career for at least another year at Lidl-Trek.
The 37-year-old has extended her contract through to the end of 2025, the team said in a press release.
Van Dijk has already triumphed in 68 professional races, including the Tour of Flanders back in 2014, the European Championships road race in 2021 and no less than 40 individual time trials, her total against the clock extended this year by winning the TT in both the Vuelta a Extremadura and Tour de Normandie this spring.
She also recently came second in the European Championships time trial, a race she won four times on the trot from 2015 to 2019, and eighth in the equivalent event at the Road World Championships, which she conquered in 2013, 2021 and 2022.
An ultra-versatile rider who took sixth in this year's Paris-Roubaix, as the team press release stated, "Since giving birth to her son, Faas, one year ago, she has worked tirelessly on her comeback, refusing to let even a broken ankle slow down her goal of competing at the Paris Olympics. Her resilience and drive remain as strong as ever."
Talking to Cyclingnews this summer, Van Dijk said that she "thought it was all over" when she broke her ankle in June, but she fought back determinedly to take part both in the Paris Games and the Tour de France Femmes. "Walking is more difficult than cycling, but it's not about walking," she explained in the same interview.
Part of the Lidl-Trek team ever since it began in 2019, Van Dijk said she had received excellent support from the team during her pregnancy and injury and that "this team really feels like my home, it's where I belong."
"I have put a lot of energy into coming back [this season] and I thought it was a shame to only use that [energy] for one year.
"I feel like I want to continue, I still have the motivation, and I know I have more to give Lidl-Trek."
"Ellen is not only a phenomenal athlete but also an invaluable presence within the team. She passes on an incredible amount of knowledge to our younger riders, showing them what it takes to compete at the highest level," commented Ina-Yoko Teutenberg, Lidl-Trek sports director in the same press release.
"Having her on board for another year is a huge boost."
