Lorena Wiebes will leave Team Parkhotel Valkenburg by mutual consent on Monday, June 1. The Dutch champion had previously attempted to leave the team during the off-season after drawing interest from top-tier squads Sunweb, CCC-Liv and Trek-Segafredo.
Wiebes turned professional with Parkhotel Valkenburg in 2018, signing a contract that would see her race with the team through 2021. Her attempts to extricate herself from that agreement last winter saw Parkhotel Valkenburg launch legal proceedings against her.
In early January, Wiebes and Parkhotel Valkenburg reached a settlement that avoided a court hearing as she agreed to remain with the team on a temporary basis. As of Monday, the 21-year-old is free to sign elsewhere.
“We’re proud to have had Lorena in the team the past few years,” Parkhotel Valkenburg manager Esra Tromp said in a statement on Sunday. “As a junior we already saw that she had the possibilities to grow into one of the top riders in women’s cycling. We are extremely proud that our organisation and environment was the place where that could actually happen.
“Although it is unfortunate to see a rider leave after many successes together, if the match is not there anymore, it is time to move on. We are thankful for the years with Loren and we wish her all the best for the future.”
Wiebes won 15 races in 2019, including all three stages and the overall classification at the Tour of Chongming Island, the RideLondon Classique, two stages at the Boels Ladies Tour and the Dutch road race championships. She ended the season as the number one rider in the UCI World Rankings.
The Dutchwoman claimed one victory in 2020 before the coronavirus pandemic interrupted competition, beating Marta Bastianelli to win Omloop van het Hageland.
