Katie Hall signs with Boels Dolmans

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The Boels Dolmans team announced the signing of American Katharine 'Katie' Hall, winner of this year's Amgen Women's Race, Tour of the Gila and Joe Martin Stage Race. The 31-year-old climber is joined by former speedskater Eva Buurman on the new additions list for the team.

"I had a successful season in the US this year, and I am excited to make the jump to Europe with Boels-Dolmans," Hall said in the team's press release. "I know the transition to Europe can be challenging but this team's strength, support, and experience will set me up for success."

Hall turned professional with UnitedHealthcare in 2014, having raced in the collegiate ranks while pursuing an advanced degree in Molecular Toxicology at UC Berkeley. She has steadily risen through the ranks, winning a stage of the Internationale Thüringen Rundfahrt in 2015. Hall won the queen stage of the Tour Femenino de San Luis in 2015 and repeated in 2016 en route to the overall victory.

She also won the mountains classification in the Aviva Women's Tour in 2016 and in the Tour de Feminin this season and looks to demonstrate her prowess on the climbs with the team and directeur sportif Danny Stam.

"My ambitions are to be the best team member I can be and to meaningfully attack other teams' best climbers in the hills and mountains and to put them under real pressure," Hall said. "I want to create opportunities for my teammates and to capitalize on opportunities that arise for me."

Buurman comes across from Trek-Drops. A former speed skater, Buurman won the best young rider classification of the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race and has earned six top-ten places throughout the season.

"During the Giro Rosa, I was contacted by Danny Stam, who asked me what my plans were for next year," said Buurman. "I was really honoured to be considered for Boels-Dolmans. After a meeting with Danny it all felt really good, so the decision was made quite easily actually.

"Danny and I discussed how I see myself progressing further, plus how he sees my role within the team. My focus will probably be on the hillier races, but details have yet to be discussed. Foremost, I'd like to take that next step and hope to learn a lot from my new teammates. It's pretty impressive to become teammates with the current world champion and Olympic champion."

Boels-Dolmans currently has Olympic road champion Anna Van der Breggen and world road champion Chantal Blaak under contract through 2020, the only other two riders confirmed for the coming season. More announcements from the top-ranked squad are expected soon.

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